Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (19.2007(2010))

ALEXANDRIA

EGYPT

serving as a ready foundation. The stones
used for their construction were 25 by
35-40 cm. In only one case, E 141, the
inside of the superstructure was laid with a
layer of irregular stones, possibly a bedding
for the plastered floor inside the marker or
else a stone casing for an earth grave below.
Grave E 145 had a marble stela mounted
in the eastern, shorter side, its inscribed side
facing east. It was fitted between two
appropriately grooved stones and set with
mortar. A third stone had been placed at the
back of the stela to balance it upright [Fig. 5].
The Qufic inscription on the stela (Reg. No.
5154, Fig. 6), dated to the 9th/10th century,
is surrounded with a line that turns into a

Fig. 5. Mounting of thefunerary stela on grave
E 145 (Photo E. Kulicka)

scrolling leafy branch at the top. Moreover,
there are five rosettes decorating the slab.
The cutting on the back suggests that the slab
was salvaged from somewhere, its primary
use having been in an architectural screen of
some kind or as revetment.
On a general note, all successive levels of
burials are positioned directly on top of
earlier features: The Upper Necropolis
superstructures are fitted into the walls of
Middle Necropolis tombs of the second
subphase, and these in turn stand directly on
the older superstructures from subphase I.
The Middle Necropolis as such is barely a
meter above the level of the pavement in the
Theatre Portico.


:ig. 6. Funerary stela, Reg. No. 5154
(Photo E. Kulicka)


53

Polish Archaeology in che Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007