According to the traditions of the Coptic Church, Saint Mark brought Christianity to Egypt shortly after the death of Christ in the first century A.D. Over the next few centuries, numerous small monasteries and hermits' cells were established in western Thebes. These mudbrick structures frequently made use of the already ancient ruins of temples and tombs from pharaonic times. For example, a monastery was built in the ruins of the upper terrace of Hatshepsut's temple. This area came to be known as Deir el-Bahri—a name that means "northern monastery" in Arabic.

The primary Christian site excavated by the Metropolitan Museum's Egyptian Expedition at Thebes was the Monastery of Epiphanius, which was built and occupied during the seventh century A.D. The complex, with its monks' cells, rubbish heaps, and cemetery, made use of the courtyard and rooms of a tomb belonging to a Dynasty 11 vizier named Dagi who had lived more than 2,500 years earlier (ca. 2000 B.C.).

Among the most important finds from the monastery ruins were the many ostraca, pieces of broken pottery used for writing. For thousands of years, the Egyptians had used bits of pottery and limestone to record legal documents, financial records, school texts, prayers, etc. The Epiphanius ostraca preserve the same kinds of texts, and also include verses from the Bible and sermons. A number of letters written on papyrus were also found. These texts, translated and published by Walter E. Crum and Hugh G. Evelyn-White, are revealing about life in Egypt during a turbulent time in history.

A number of the ostraca and other works that came to the Museum in the division of finds are on display in the Mary and Michael Jaharis Byzantine Egyptian galleries under the Museum's main staircase off the Great Hall (gallery 302).