Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

TELL LARAMA

EGYPT

struction consisted of five sectors with the
main entrance being on axis. Four other
entrances were located, two on each side of
the central one. A fragment of red-brick
threshold was cleaned in the first entrance
from the east parodos.
A test trench measuring 13-5 by 4 m in
the western part of the building was later
enlarged in its southern part. It provided
a follow-up of last year's work in this area,
the main purpose being the investigation of
the entrance to the theater parodos. The
foundations were discovered to stand on
a thin leveling layer of sand. They are larger
than the walls, obviously in order to
compensate for the swampy ground
prevalent in the region of Pelusium. This is
a structurally sound building technique
and one can only wonder why it was

executed so sloppily. Only the western part
of the parodos substructure was wider, the
rest being irregular and narrowing toward
the bottom. Cracking of the walls, clearly
visible during the excavations, could pos-
sibly be attributed to uncontrolled pro-
cesses of subsidence which must have put
a strain on the building as a whole. It would
explain the presence of red-brick structures
observed east of last year's trench, which
should now be interpreted as buttressing
the upper parts of the entrance and the
structure as a whole.
Moreover, a late Hellenistic or early
Roman structure [Fig. 3] was discovered in
the spot where an entrance from the earlier
phase had been assumed. The building
technique (red bricks and concrete pave-
ment) suggested a date for the structure in


Fig. 2. Orchestra area, view from the west. After excavations
(Photo K. Jakuhiak)

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