Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (13.2001(2002))

MARINA EL-ALAMEIN

EGYPT

surviving in the lowermost courses,
indicate the presence of some rooms there.
The building extending to the north of the
north portico comprises several small
rooms and a tholos bath; the orientation of
this building, however, differs from that of
the portico and of the square, being
slightly at an angle with respect to the
portico. It is also quite likely of earlier
date. The west side of the square does not
appear to have had a colonnaded portico.
Some small structures were uncovered
instead: a staircase to the north of the north
portico; a big paved room to the southwest
of the square, provided with steps leading
down onto the pavement of the square. For
the moment, it cannot be excluded that the
square with porticoes had been added to
a pre-existing bath as a kind of palaestra.
Finally, it should be noted that the
street (?) uncovered during the previous
season to the east of the mound of debris
abuts either the south end of the east
MAPPING
An important part of our work this season
was devoted to the mapping of the site of
the ancient settlement, including the
residential quarters and the necropolises.

portico or the eastern end of the south
portico. The latter terminates here not in
a wall, but in a row of five (!) columns (cf.
Fig. 5). Further excavation is needed to
elucidate this question and to understand
the function of the building, as well as its
relation to the basilical structure on the
south.
A few bronze coins found between the
flagstones of the square and the porticoes
range in date from the final years of the
reign of Augustus until the time of
Hadrian.17’ It is very likely that the square
and its porticoes date to the first half of the
1st century AD. It was used over a long
time, certainly well into the 3rd century, as
indicated by pottery sherds and fragments
of terracotta oil lamps. Also found stuck
between the flagstones of the pavement
was a very fine ring stone of red glass paste,
engraved with a representation of a young
satyr playfully feeding a bunch of grapes to
a small goat.18)
THE SITE
The position of all the buildings and tombs
was checked and rechecked, and a revised
complete plan of the site was traced (cf.
Fig. 1).

17) I am indebted to Prof. Barbara Lichocka for a provisional identification of the coins. They were attributed to Livia,
Claudius, Galba(P), Domitianf?), Trajan or Hadrian, Hadrian.
18) For a similar motif but of poorer execution, found upon a gem of the 2nd century AD, of red jasper, now in Munich,
cf. E. Brandt, in: Antike Gemmen in Deutschen Sammlungen I. Miinchen (Munich 1972), 74, No. 2570.

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