From Roman industrial center to early Islamic town: archaeological excavations at ʻMarea’/Philoxenite in the 2020–2021 season

Abstract

Being one of the biggest and best preserved archaeological sites in the western hinterland of Alexandria, ‘Marea’/Philoxenite is, therefore, one of the most important points of reference for studies of the Mareotis region. Despite the fact that the site has been investigated for many years, by various excavation teams, the nature and chronology of the different phases of settlement remain unclear. Since 2018, systematic stratigraphic excavations have been carried out at the site with the aim of investigating insufficiently studied parts of the settlement. In 2020 and 2021, this goal was achieved by opening and surveying 11 trenches in the southwestern part of the site. This led to the identification of hitherto unknown structures: two churches, two tombs, an irrigation system and numerous rubbish dumps associated with the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic phases. The study also determined the extent and functional changes of various parts of this settlement, in different historical periods.

Keywords

• Egypt
• Roman period
• Byzantine period
• churches
• town
• graves