A Late Antique House in Marea, Egypt : Excavation Season 2014

Abstract

The Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum in Cracow and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw has recently launched archaeological works at Marea, a site located 40 km west of Alexandria, Egypt, on the southern shore of Lake Mareotis (Maryut) (Fig. 1). 1 Excavations were conducted within a large residential building (Sector h1) situated in the north-eastern part of the site (Figs. 2, 3). Previous archaeological explorations demonstrated that this city was an important harbour in the region and a vital link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile River, from the hellenistic Period onwards. 2 however, the identification of theancient name of this siteis still under discussion: Marea, as it is today called after Mahmoud bey el- -Falaki by most of the scholars, or Philoxenite, as suggested by Mieczysław Rodziewicz.