Ancient graffiti found at a monastery in Egypt shows how worshippers asked for mercy, commemorated visits, and left their names at a Christian religious center more than 1,300 years ago.
Discovered in and around the church of the Monastery of St. Kyriakos in Oxyrhynchus, the markings include prayers, lists of names and drawings linked to religious life in Byzantine Egypt.
The inscriptions were uncovered during excavations in November and December 2024. A study published in the journal “Veleia” in 2026 by Leah Mascia, José Javier Martínez García and Adriana Recasens Escardó suggests most date from the fifth through seventh centuries.
One weathered stone preserves a Coptic appeal translated as “God of Macarius, have mercy on apa Amoun.” The researchers link it to devotion to St. Macarius, although they cannot establish whether Amoun lived locally or came from elsewhere. Its wording suggests that particular inscription dates to the sixth or seventh century.
Ancient graffiti at Egyptian monastery capture prayers and pilgrims’ names
Another inscription calls on Jesus Christ and God and names two men, Prakos and Stefanos. The carved text may have commemorated a visit made by the pair, with one person writing for both.
On a column fragment, the name Proou survives in red paint. Researchers believe the neatly written name may have been added by someone from the monastery to mark the man’s devotion.
A second red inscription, preserved on a stone reused as part of the southern entrance steps, contains the names Eudaimon and Kollouthos. Its opening may identify a deacon, but the writing is incomplete.
The markings were made in different ways. Some were scratched into stone or drawn with charcoal, while others required brushes and red pigment. The more carefully formed lettering and use of Christian prayers suggest monks or other experienced writers sometimes produced inscriptions for visiting worshippers, who were unlikely to carry painting supplies.
Crosses, boat carvings and the monastery’s burial traditions
Two other stones combine drawings and writing. One carries a red cross with faint letters; another shows a boat, a cross, and other marks. The study notes that boat drawings remained common in Christian-era Egypt, though most letters on these stones cannot be read.
The church also contained tombs and memorial stones for the city’s elite, suggesting that worship there included practices connected to burial and possibly devotion to a martyr.
Most inscribed stones were found among the ruins, but their placement and wording suggest they were marked before the monastery was abandoned. Researchers conclude that writing names, prayers, and drawings was likely an accepted part of worship, sometimes carried out by pilgrims and sometimes by church personnel on their behalf.
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