Xenodochia in the Pilgrimage Sites and Egyptian Monasteries from the Sixth to the Ninth Centuries: Survey of Literary and Archaeological Sources

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the structures dedicated to the accommodation of pilgrims (xenodochia) in pilgrimage sites and the Egyptian monasteries between the sixth and ninth centuries. In the previous studies about pilgrimage sites in Christian Egypt, scholars have rarely focused on the type of structures and accommodation facilities offered by any religious institution to its visitors. To tackle such a topic, one needs to consult a fairly large amount of written and archaeological sources searching for clues that might help understand the organizing system of accommodation facilities offered to visitors in monasteries during this period. The early archaeological field work of certain monastic sites being unfinished or in some cases published with confusing interpretations about the function of the xenodochia, led to a lack of reliable information about this specific topic. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5913/jcscs.2019.69748874