DOI Artikel:
Hogarth, David G.: Egypt Exploration Fund, [4]: Report on prospects of Research in Alexandria
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10057#0019
Alexandria, Noktii of the Boulevard de Rosette.
7
the east. The surface earth was very dry and loose; at the north end
of the pit we found, at 3 ft. depth, one course of a wall one stone thick,
resting on earth. Descending further we found very little pottery
or loose stones, some fragments of marble-paving, Syrian or Italian, but
no trace of industrial occupation of the site. At 11 feet we hit the top
of a large wall made of small stones, very strongly welded together with
mortar containing saud and brick-dust. Clearing away still deeper, I found
this wall to be 8 feet 6 inches across from face to face. Of its elevation
roughly 4 feet survived, and it ran at an angle of 310 deg. Eventually we
uncovered a length of 1 7 ft. on the south side of the pit: then occurred a
break, after which a fragment continued, whose western face had been
stripped to a depth of 3 feet. A much ruined wall, originally at least G
feet thick, returned eastwards, starting from the break in the first wall ;
but so many of its stones Lad been abstracted that it was hard to say
where its true faces had been, and it presented, when found, the appear-
ance of a rude stair. In order to investigate west of the big wall we
found it necessary to enlarge the pit, and in so doing cut through two
layers of very coarse concrete at hh and 8 feet below the surface, and
found two rough walls resting on loose earth, running 2 feet apart west-
wards from the line of the big wall. They seem to have been built much
later than the latter, outside of which on the west we found a coarse
bed of concrete 3 inches thick, and below it a deep drain constructed of
small stones, running west. In the drain was discovered a rude un-
glazed ampulla of a type common in Alexandria, bearing stamped on
the one side ATIOYMHNA round a cross, and on the other the saint
(Menas) standing between two animals, apparently kneeling camels. In
the debris near the wall were found an egg-shaped bead of speckled
diorite, a very coarse lamp, some fragments of bone handles, and a
seated statuette in late and ccarse blue-glazed ware, perished almost
beyond recognition.
Having cut the concrete, I dug down 15 feet more through rough
stones and loose earth, finding no traces of construction (other than the
foundation courses of the big wall above) nor any antiquities. The level
of fresh water was reached exactly 30 feet below the surface, and after per-
severing 2 feet more into the mud I desisted, and, according to the terms
of my contract with M. Salvago, had the pit filled in again. Subse-
quently I had a small second pit sunk at 20 feet from the Boulevard do
Rosette on the line of the big wall found already. The wall was found
here also in the same state of ruin; and this latter pit yielded no anti-
quities or further indications.
7
the east. The surface earth was very dry and loose; at the north end
of the pit we found, at 3 ft. depth, one course of a wall one stone thick,
resting on earth. Descending further we found very little pottery
or loose stones, some fragments of marble-paving, Syrian or Italian, but
no trace of industrial occupation of the site. At 11 feet we hit the top
of a large wall made of small stones, very strongly welded together with
mortar containing saud and brick-dust. Clearing away still deeper, I found
this wall to be 8 feet 6 inches across from face to face. Of its elevation
roughly 4 feet survived, and it ran at an angle of 310 deg. Eventually we
uncovered a length of 1 7 ft. on the south side of the pit: then occurred a
break, after which a fragment continued, whose western face had been
stripped to a depth of 3 feet. A much ruined wall, originally at least G
feet thick, returned eastwards, starting from the break in the first wall ;
but so many of its stones Lad been abstracted that it was hard to say
where its true faces had been, and it presented, when found, the appear-
ance of a rude stair. In order to investigate west of the big wall we
found it necessary to enlarge the pit, and in so doing cut through two
layers of very coarse concrete at hh and 8 feet below the surface, and
found two rough walls resting on loose earth, running 2 feet apart west-
wards from the line of the big wall. They seem to have been built much
later than the latter, outside of which on the west we found a coarse
bed of concrete 3 inches thick, and below it a deep drain constructed of
small stones, running west. In the drain was discovered a rude un-
glazed ampulla of a type common in Alexandria, bearing stamped on
the one side ATIOYMHNA round a cross, and on the other the saint
(Menas) standing between two animals, apparently kneeling camels. In
the debris near the wall were found an egg-shaped bead of speckled
diorite, a very coarse lamp, some fragments of bone handles, and a
seated statuette in late and ccarse blue-glazed ware, perished almost
beyond recognition.
Having cut the concrete, I dug down 15 feet more through rough
stones and loose earth, finding no traces of construction (other than the
foundation courses of the big wall above) nor any antiquities. The level
of fresh water was reached exactly 30 feet below the surface, and after per-
severing 2 feet more into the mud I desisted, and, according to the terms
of my contract with M. Salvago, had the pit filled in again. Subse-
quently I had a small second pit sunk at 20 feet from the Boulevard do
Rosette on the line of the big wall found already. The wall was found
here also in the same state of ruin; and this latter pit yielded no anti-
quities or further indications.