The Bir Dunqash site is located at N24 56’ 22" / E33 52’ 14" has uncovered a compound estimated at 22 m x 13m. This site has three interior rooms with wheel-ridged redware sherds and red slip sherds surrounding it. These sherds have been dated to be roughly around the Roman or Byzantine date.
This site gives evidence that the trade routes from Coptos to Berenice were actually farther north than they had previously been stated and it gives evidence of Ptolemaic occupation in the important gold mining center. It has also shown that the Roman constructions were rebuilt several times and the latest shows that the constructing of the structures have certain features that are different from their predecessor, the Ptolemaic occupation.
The difference are that they haven’t been laid out using any unit of measurement, relatively heavy walls with corner towers, and show evidence that the cisterns are made of baked brick and large. Another difference is in the way the rooms are laid out. They have one to two rooms along the walls and the units of three or more rooms are placed in the corners.
