Paola Davoli. The House of Serenos, Part II: Archaeological Report on a Late-Roman Urban House at Trimithis (Amheida VI). ISAW/NYU Press, 2022.

From ISAW

The House of Serenos, Part II (Amheida VI) is the latest monograph in the Amheida series and the second volume dedicated to the archaeology of the large élite residence now known as the “House of Serenos,” at Amheida, or the ancient city of Trimithis, in the Dakhla Oasis of the Western Desert of Egypt. The Amheida project started in 2001 and since 2008 New York University has been the primary sponsoring institution. The House of Serenos was one of the three main areas under investigation between 2004 and 2010. 

In this volume Paola Davoli provides an authoritative account of the architectural and archaeological history of the house, from its construction, through its various renovations and expansions, to its ultimate abandonment in the late fourth century CE. Her discussion includes a systematic treatment of building techniques, materials, features, finds, and stratigraphy, and she carefully contextualizes this élite house at the edge of the Roman Empire, with its impressive wall decorations and dome, in its desert environment, the evolving urban plan of Trimithis, and the wider culture of late antique Egypt.

The volume also includes an appendix by Nicholas Warner on the traditional techniques, economics, and presentation of the full-scale reconstruction of the House of Serenos that the project built on site in 2008–2009 as a visitor center.