Construction of Ancient Houses in Marina El-Alamein. Analysis of the Demand for Building Stone

Abstract

Although structures within the ancient settlement in Marina el-Alamein were built almost exclusively of local limestone, no remains of ancient quarries have been found. The author calculates the cubature of stone used in the construction of the houses, based on the knowledge of the applied building solutions. The resulting data make it possible to address the question of the city managing the works without its own quarry, sourcing limestone from subterranean structures alone.

Keywords

• Graeco-Roman Egypt
• Marina el-Alamein
• construction techniques
• residential architecture
• quarry