The Fourth Century was the period of 301 to 400 AD. That city wasn’t part of the Byzantine Empire. It was part of the Roman Empire. The empire split in 395 so maybe you could say it was part of the Eastern Roman Empire for about 5 years. But with that quibble aside, these stories are a good reminder of the lesson of “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.” Cities that were bustling hubs disappear into nothing. Palmyra is another one. Hell, the population of Rome itself fell to about 35,000 in the 6th Century and large parts of that city became ruins. Discovering a city like this just opens up a wealth of knowledge about what the trade routes were and what that part of the world was like.
Ironic, since the invading Arab Muslims genocided the Byzantines along with the Copts. Modern Egypt has absolutely nothing to do with the ancient version.
For some reason this made me think of Indiana Jones.