Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (9.1997(1998))

ALEXANDRIA

KOM EL-DIKKA
PRESERVATION WORK 1996/97
Wojciech Kolqtaj
The Polish-Egyptian conservation work was carried out from
November 1, 1996, until May 30, 1997.1
CISTERN
Investigations of the cistern's southern water-drawing well
and the area next to the western wall of the corridor-ramp proved
that the entire lower part of the wall had been dismantled in the
Middle Ages and that the lower end of the well is destroyed,
presumably because of the crumbling of the vaults of the
underground aqueduct above which it had been located.
Considerable hazard and the impossibility of carrying out
immediate reconstruction necessitated breaking off all work in the
area following only a provisional protection.
Work was completed on the final landscaping of the southern
end of the eastern wall of the corridor. A large part of the face of
the upper wall was completed and the top of the wall was insulated.
Test trenches dug along the southern end of the wall (western face)
that separated the cistern from street R4 revealed that the structure
was preserved to a depth of ca. 5 m above sea level. A partial
reconstruction of the western face of this wall was begun in
accordance with the original work program, resulting in a total of
9 m being reconstructed over the season 9 (fig. 1).

1 The staff included: Dr. Eng. Wojciech Kol^taj, Director; Eng. Wieslaw Kuczewski,
conservator; Eng. arch. Beata Kol^taj, architect; Dr. Grzegorz Majcherek, archaeologist.
The Egyptian side was represented by Mr Ahmed Mousa, chief inspector, and
Messrs: Al'a ed-Din Mahrous and Ashraf Abd el-Raouf Ragab.

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