Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
Journal Title: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean - Year 2017, Vol 26, Issue 2
Abstract
Key information on the location, size and dating of the Ptolemaic fortifications of Berenike Trogodytika comes from archaeological excavations carried out in 2013–2015, following the 2012 season when the presence of military architecture in the Red Sea harbor was first discovered and identified (Woźniak and Rądkowska 2014). Sections of a thick wall constructed of gypsum anhydrite blocks on a wide foundation were recorded in the northern part of the site (trenches BE-13/90 and BE13-93). The wall was part of the defenses protecting the harbor from the north, the only land access to the site through marshy ground on the fringes of the so-called “northern lagoon”. Further work in trenches BE14-97 in 2014 and BE15-104 in 2015 uncovered the remains of a well preserved early Hellenistic fortified city gate, built of gypsum anhydrite blocks and chunks of coral. The complex has no parallel at present anywhere in the Red Sea region. A series of shallow basins interconnected by pipes made of truncated necks of early Hellenistic amphorae, found to the east of the gate, served probably to collect rainwater. The water function? of the gate was confirmed further by a large basin or cistern, about 1 m deep, abutting the complex on the southwest. A subterranean network of four rock-cut chambers(?) was discovered at the bottom of the internal gate chamber. A corridor in the east wall of the gate shaft, with a covered channel in the floor, led off to the northeast, in the direction of a rectangular anomaly observed on the magnetic map, which could be another rock-cut shaft.<br/><br/>
Authors and Affiliations
Marek Woźniak
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP343277
- DOI 10.5604/01.3001.0012.1820
- Views 57
- Downloads 0
Settlement history of Iraqi Kurdistan: an assessment halfway into the project
The objectives of the “Settlement history of Iraqi Kurdistan” project include the identification and recording of archaeological sites and other heritage monuments across an area of more than 3000 km2 located on both ban...
Inscribed pot-stands represented in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari
On the lateral walls of the Bark Hall in the Main Sanctuary of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut, four stands for burning offerings are represented in front of Amun’s bark. Conservation work on the walls of this room unco...
Newcomers and autochthons. Preliminary report on 2013 activities in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, Iraq
The aim of the project “Newcomers and autochthons” is a detailed analysis of the archaeological remains dated to the Late Chalcolithic and Ninevite 5 periods found during the survey conducted in the Upper Greater Zab are...
Faience objects from the Tomb MMA 1152 at Sheikh Abd el-Gurna
Excavations in the area of tomb MMA 1152 at Sheikh Abd el-Gurna, conducted since 2003, have uncovered a substantial set of faience objects coming from burials made there during the later Pharaonic Period, before the tomb...
The iconography of co-rule at Deir el-Bahari: Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III in the Statue Room of the Main Sanctuary of Amun
Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III were represented as seemingly equal kings on the side walls of the Second Room of the Main Sanctuary of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari. Iconographic analysis reveals the r...