Excavations were continued on two sites: a complex of monastic architecture located in the central part of the kom, south of Tower A, and cemetery C, situated outside the modern monastery enclosure wall. A new site, Hermitage 85, was explored in the area west of cemetery C. Anthropological examination of skeletal material from cemeteries C and A was carried out concurrently with studies of other finds – textiles, pottery, worked wood, glass and shoes. Arabic documents discovered in 1997 were the object of further research.