Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (15.2003(2004))

MARINA EL-ALAMEIN

EGYPT

ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING AND CONSERVATION WORK

In order for building-conservation work to
commence following old Egyptian rescue
excavations, the architectural structures in
question needed to be cleaned again.
Digging down to the foundation levels was
also required wherever walls have to be
preserved and reconstructed properly.
While in most of the houses the present
fieldwork was a continuation of previously
undertaken steps,2) the clearing of House
H 13) was undertaken only this year, fol-
lowing the decision to include this
structure in the future tourist sightseeing
circuit. Over the past 13 years (the house
had been excavated in 1987-1990), the
ruins had suffered from the erosive action
of acid rains and strong abrasive winds.
Cracking of the walls and subsidence of the
pavements had taken place in consequence
of a variety of seismic and other geological
factors. Clearing started from the central
peristyle courtyard including the two
cisterns found under the pavement, where
it was hoped that elements of the court-
yard's architectural decoration, such as
column shafts and cornices, would be
found. The barrel vaults in both the
cisterns turned out to be damaged. The
vaults will have to be restored before the
building is opened to tourists.
Inside House H 21c, no earthworks
were conducted, the main thrust of the
clearing concentrating on a N-S street
running alongside the eastern wall of the
building from the town center to the
harbor. One of the future tourist pathways
will follow this road.

As always, routine seasonal cleaning of
all the buildings restored in the past few
years had the added benefit of letting
experts review the condition of all the
joints and wall tops, as well as the state of
preservation of the architectural decoration.
This annual review helps to identify weak
spots and repair damages incurred over the
rest of the year.
Progressive corrosion is prevented
by building up walls and restoring
missing sections, using lime mortar mixed
with a small quantity of white cement
(4 parts sand to 2 parts lime and no
more than 1 part white cement). This
cement reinforcement is essential in view
of the exceedingly poor quality of the
lime supplied for restoration work at
Marina. Unfortunately, original building
methods cannot be applied at Marina el-
Alamein, this because of the unendurable
materials used, such as clay and lime-clay
mortars, and clay undercoating under wall
plaster.
A conservation issue of some impor-
tance is the quality of the mortar used
today. Barring the use of a concrete mixer,
it is impossible to achieve by traditional
methods (using primitive hand shovels)
a lime mortar characterized by stable com-
position, not to mention the unwelcome
addition of salty sand. The resultant
problematic quality of the mortar is clearly
visible in the varied coloring of the joints
and tops of walls. Salt efflorescence appears
locally on wall faces, as well as wall tops.
Also, the excessive use, contrary to our

2) See previous reports published annually in Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean.
3) Cf. W.A. Daszewski, Temoignage de I'urbanisation de la cote mediterraneenne de l'Egypte a I'epoque hellenistique et
romaine a la lumiere des fouilles de Marina el Alamein, Bulletin de la Societe Fran false dUgyptologie, 132 (1995), 11-28
esp. 19-21, Fig. 8.

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