Egypt’s Western Desert during the Third Intermediate Period in light of new discoveries at Mut al-Kharab in Dakhleh Oasis LONGRICHARD JAMES 2019 Monash University excavates at Mut al-Kharab, a large temple dedicated to the god Seth, located in Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert. This site is producing exciting evidence from the Third Intermediate Period, an obscure phase of Egyptian history covering the first half of the first millennium BCE. This study involves the collation and analysis all the known evidence from this period relating to the Western Desert and its associated oases. As such, we now have a greater understanding of interactions throughout the region, the relationship between the oases and the Egyptian state, and evidence of a possible oasis culture, based on distinct pottery traditions and religious practices.