Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

TELL FARAMA

EGYPT

REMARKS ON THE STRATIGRAPHY

Based on a study of the stratigraphy,
especially in the northwestern part of the
theater, it now seems that the Roman build-
ing was erected on a layer of eroded mud
brick, leveled in places — under the parodos
entrance, for example — with a thin layer of
pure sand. The second stratigraphic phase
was connected with the existence of the the-
ater. Upon abandonment of the building,
the third phase began, during which the
theater was destroyed. In the northern part
of the theater, this was reflected by a layer
of brown soil, possibly eroded mud-brick,
mixed with lime and crushed red brick. The
late installations there (lime kilns?) would
have been connected with this phase.
In the northwestern part of the theater,
where the parodos was explored, evidence of
this phase included two mud-brick struc-
tures, quite solid in appearance, although
hardly well-built. The accompanying de-
posits of eroded bricks, black ashes, animal
bones and pottery found between the struc-
tures suggested a connection with the rub-
bish dump that had evidently developed in

the ruins. Perhaps the mud-brick structures
were used as some kind of platform during
the demolishing of the theater building.
The layers lying against the structures on
the outside were characteristic of a process
of dilapidation and destruction: crushed
bricks, ashes, potsherds, fragments of lime
and painted wall plaster.
Interestingly, most of the pottery from
the layers between the mud-brick structures
appeared to be of Hellenistic date (see below
for a more detailed specification). A spat-
tering of late 3rd or early 4th century AD
material was found only in the surface
layers. Obviously, the only explanation for
the appearance of such early material within
what is evidently a Roman-period structure
is that the pottery must have come here
together with relatively late rubbish, having
been removed from ruined buildings of
Hellenistic date, perhaps in the course of
some extensive urban works in the
immediate vicinity. The ruins of the theater
would have provided a ready dumping place
for unwanted rubbish.

THE POTTERY AND OTHER FINDS

Evidence of painted plaster decoration
came from trenches in the northwestern
and northern part of the theater, attributed
respectively to the parodos or corridor de-
coration and the stage constructions. The
former consisted of mainly red, black and
light brown painted surfaces and a few
fragments with red stripes painted on light
red or pink background. The latter in the
majority were painted red on various
reddish backgrounds.2

Most of the 36 coins discovered during
the season were corroded beyond identi-
fication. The majority were bronzes of
Roman and Late Roman date with a spat-
tering of Hellenistic examples. Of special
merit was a silver Ptolemaic piece (possibly
Ptolemy IV or V, 222-180 BC) discovered
within the pulpitum structure.
Only about 5% of the pottery as-
semblage from the theater was actually of
Roman date, including six pieces of

2 See K. Jakubiak's report in PAM XV, Reports 2003 (2004), 74.

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