Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (14.2002(2003))

ALEXANDRIA

EGYPT

back wall, measuring some 26 m in length,
were restored in the course of the season.
The wall had a core of irregular stones
thickly poured with ashy lime mortar and
a facing made of regular courses of smaller
dressed blocks, with conspicuous brick
lacing laid every seventh course. The
disintegrated core was consolidated and
the missing facing duly rebuilt to a height
of 3 m above the portico pavement, using
original stones taken from the immediate
vicinity. Brick lacing was restored with
new bricks cut to the required dimensions
(Figs. 1, 8-10). (The wall coping in the
northern section will be completed fol-
lowing a thorough clearing and exam-
ination of the other (eastern) facing.) The
newly restored wall facing, albeit done in
original stones, was clearly separated from
the extant original masonry with a layer of

bitumen tarpaper and additionally with
two slightly recessed courses of new
blocks. Moreover, the bitumen tarpaper
introduced into the wall structure also
works as an insulation layer, preventing
damp and salt migration.
As part of the final display of the site,
several sections of walls in structures
adjoining the Theatre on the north were
also restored. Two long parallel walls,
forming a sort of casemate structure
running north for some 18 m, were
discovered to be partly dismantled. The
eastern wall was seriously damaged and
distorted. It was rebuilt up to 1.40-1.60 m
above ground level using original stones
found nearby. It will be restored eventually
to a height of c. 2-2.30 m to serve as
a retaining wall counteracting the load of
the adjacent escarpment.


Fig. 7. Theater Portico. The back wall in sector M, view after restoration
(Photo G. Majcherek)

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