COPTOS

Coptos: translation

Greek name for a site in northern Upper Egypt, modern Qift. Ancient Egytian Gebtu, capital of the fifth Upper Egyptian nome. The chief deity of the town was the fertility god Min, who was also regarded as the god of the Eastern Desert. The town was an important center for expeditions into the desert to the stone quarries or to the Red Sea coast to connect to trade routes to Punt and other key locations. The temple that survives there dates to the Ptolemaic Period with Roman additions, but earlier remains have been found that date back to the Early Dynastic Period. The site was partly excavated by Flinders Petrie from 1893–1894 and a French expedition from 1910–1911. Further excavations took place from 1987–1992 by an American expedition from the University of Michigan, and a French team has been working the area since 2002.

See also Berenike; Myos Hormos; Wadi Hammamat.