Mennat-Allah El Dorry

Mennat-Allah El Dorry is an Assistant Professor and Chair of Coptic Studies in the Department of Sociology, Egyptology and Anthropology at Ain Shams University. She is an archaeobotanist specializing in Egyptian food and agricultural history, with extensive fieldwork at monastic sites including Wadi al-Natrun, Aswan, and Bahareya Oasis.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Egyptology from The American University in Cairo (class of '05), with minors in Coptic Studies and Film Studies
• MA in Archaeology/Archaeobotany from University College London (2007)
• PhD from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster with thesis "Monks and Plants: A Study of Plant Foodways and Agricultural Practices in Egyptian Monastic Settlements" (summa cum laude, funded by Gertrud-und-Alexander-Böhlig-Stiftung)

Research Interests: El Dorry's work bridges Egyptology, Coptology, and archaeobotany to reconstruct ancient Egyptian food systems and agricultural economies. Her research emphasizes monastic settlements, analyzing botanical evidence to explore wine production, fuel manufacturing, and cotton textile economies. She integrates multidisciplinary approaches to examine how plant resources shaped religious communities and daily life across historical periods in Egypt.

Scientific Awards:

• summa cum laude PhD
• Gertrud-und-Alexander-Böhlig-Stiftung PhD Fellowship
• Fellowships in Berlin, Lyon, Brussels, and Cairo

Advising and Grants: Since 2021, El Dorry has taught archaeobotany to undergraduate and graduate students at Ain Shams University. Her research has been sustained by international fellowships enabling cross-border collaboration, alongside the Gertrud-und-Alexander-Böhlig-Stiftung grant that supported her doctoral fieldwork and analysis of plant remains from Coptic monastic contexts.

Labs and Teams: Her field investigations involve collaborative work at key monastic complexes including St. John the Little in Wadi al-Natrun, Dayr Anba Hadra in Aswan, and Bahareya Oasis sites, where she directs botanical sampling and analysis to reconstruct ancient agricultural practices.