DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Medeksza, Stanisław: Marina el-Alamein: conservation work, 2000
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41368#0071
MARINA EL-ALAMEIN
EGYPT
rooms 26 and 27, changing substantially
the known form of this building. (This
new room had undergone considerable
rebuilding and reuse quite recently, during
World War II.)
Further clearing of the eastern street in
front of the facade of H 10 has revealed the
secondary character of this facade. It was
rebuilt substantially, apparently after some
cataclysm, which took place no earlier than
the 3rd/4th cent. AD. Initially, this wall
was one-block thick, that is, half a royal
cubit. In order to rebuild this wall directly
on the occupational level, a wall was
erected that was 0.53 m thick (typical
length of stone blocks used in the
construction of houses at Marina). It
blocked the entrance leading to the small
unit no. 8 that had been a vestibule
connecting the peristyle courtyard with
staircase 8a. This entrance was presumably
earlier than the entry complex 5, but
should still be connected with the late
occupational level of the street, dated to
the 4th cent. AD at the earliest. Other
clearing work included the ambitus
between houses H 10a and H 19, the
northeastern corner of H 10a, including
the combined eastern wall of rooms 29, 28,
27, 26, 25 and 25b. In all these trenches a
layer of ashes, 8 cm thick, was discovered,
providing clear evidence of the
conflagration that had destroyed the
buildings.
An analysis of the stratigraphy and the
walking levels on the street in the area of
the main entrance to H 10 indicates that in
the first two stages of the existence of this
complex the entrance was in line with
room 8, which abuts the staircase that had
led up to the putative terrace-roof or upper
floor.
Finishing work was carried out on the
niche in room 2 of H 10, the anastylosis of
which had been undertaken last year. The
architectural decoration of the niche had
survived in 90%; now the missing parts of
the cornice and shell tympanum were
restored, including fragmentary remains of
painted coloring. Some new elements were
prepared and part of the missing
stuccowork (dentils) was restored (Fig. 5).
The wall with the niche was raised to
4 m in height, while the remaining walls
in this complex, after reconstruction, vary
from 0.70 to 2.60 m. The actual height is
dependent on the original condition of the
walls and their context in particular rooms.
At the junction of houses H 10 and H 10b,
in passage 17, an Ionic column with capital
was re-erected. It rises to a height of
3.51 m now. It was hollow inside and
Fig. 5. House 10. Niche in room 2, after
conservation and partial reconstruc-
tion in 2000
(Photo S. Medeksza)
69
EGYPT
rooms 26 and 27, changing substantially
the known form of this building. (This
new room had undergone considerable
rebuilding and reuse quite recently, during
World War II.)
Further clearing of the eastern street in
front of the facade of H 10 has revealed the
secondary character of this facade. It was
rebuilt substantially, apparently after some
cataclysm, which took place no earlier than
the 3rd/4th cent. AD. Initially, this wall
was one-block thick, that is, half a royal
cubit. In order to rebuild this wall directly
on the occupational level, a wall was
erected that was 0.53 m thick (typical
length of stone blocks used in the
construction of houses at Marina). It
blocked the entrance leading to the small
unit no. 8 that had been a vestibule
connecting the peristyle courtyard with
staircase 8a. This entrance was presumably
earlier than the entry complex 5, but
should still be connected with the late
occupational level of the street, dated to
the 4th cent. AD at the earliest. Other
clearing work included the ambitus
between houses H 10a and H 19, the
northeastern corner of H 10a, including
the combined eastern wall of rooms 29, 28,
27, 26, 25 and 25b. In all these trenches a
layer of ashes, 8 cm thick, was discovered,
providing clear evidence of the
conflagration that had destroyed the
buildings.
An analysis of the stratigraphy and the
walking levels on the street in the area of
the main entrance to H 10 indicates that in
the first two stages of the existence of this
complex the entrance was in line with
room 8, which abuts the staircase that had
led up to the putative terrace-roof or upper
floor.
Finishing work was carried out on the
niche in room 2 of H 10, the anastylosis of
which had been undertaken last year. The
architectural decoration of the niche had
survived in 90%; now the missing parts of
the cornice and shell tympanum were
restored, including fragmentary remains of
painted coloring. Some new elements were
prepared and part of the missing
stuccowork (dentils) was restored (Fig. 5).
The wall with the niche was raised to
4 m in height, while the remaining walls
in this complex, after reconstruction, vary
from 0.70 to 2.60 m. The actual height is
dependent on the original condition of the
walls and their context in particular rooms.
At the junction of houses H 10 and H 10b,
in passage 17, an Ionic column with capital
was re-erected. It rises to a height of
3.51 m now. It was hollow inside and
Fig. 5. House 10. Niche in room 2, after
conservation and partial reconstruc-
tion in 2000
(Photo S. Medeksza)
69