Berenike Project: Results of the winter 2013-2014 Field Season.

The University of Delaware (USA)/ Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (University of Warsaw) Berenike Project: Results of the winter 2013-2014 Field Season By Steven E. Sidebotham Introduction The University of Delaware (USA)/Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (University of Warsaw) Berenike Project conducted its fourteenth season of excavations at this Ptolemaic-Roman (third century BC-sixth century AD) port on the Red Sea coast of Egypt this winter. Berenike lies about 825 km south southeast of Suez and approximately 260 km due east of Aswan (Figs. 1-2).

Fig. 1 (drawing by M. Hense) 1

Fig. 2 (drawing by M. Hense)

We had a good, but somewhat truncated excavation and survey season; we started fieldwork on December 26 and continued until January 19 (actually 21) as our original permit ended that day. With the ongoing "issues" there the Egyptian military did not have time to review and renew our permit.

The project comprised five components: 1) continued geophysical surveying of Berenike, 2) continued excavations at Berenike, 3) continued survey work in the Eastern Desert, 4) continued excavations at the Bronze Age cattle cemetery in Wadi Khashab, 5) documentation and study of the finds.

1) Geophysical survey at Berenike Geophysical survey work initiated at Berenike in 1999 and continued briefly in 2008, gathered momentum between 2009 and 2014 and culminated in the coverage of 95-100% of the ancient site (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3 (overall survey directed by T. Herbich) This is one of the few archaeological sites in Egypt and the only Hellenistic-Roman one that has such complete geophysical coverage. Results in past seasons have assisted in determining where to lay out trenches. The work this season provided exciting results suggesting the presence of a substantial religious or administrative area at the north central area of the site (circled in light red on the geophysical map: Fig. 3) and also identified a possible tetrapylon at the intersection of one of the north-south streets (kardines) with one of the east-west ones (decumani) (circled in light blue on the geophysical map: Fig. 3). These two areas will be some of the prime targets of our excavation efforts this coming season (winter 2014-2015).

2) Excavations at Berenike We excavated, as promised to HFF, one trench in the early Roman trash dump and another in an early Ptolemaic trash dump (both circled in green on the geophysical map: Fig. 3). Finds from these areas included some ostraca written in Greek, which remain, at this point, unread. So, whether they contain anything of interest pertaining directly to maritime related issues or not will have to wait for our specialists’ (R.S. Bagnall and R. Ast) analysis of them. Also some nice, but not unusual, maritime finds including what is

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the best preserved wooden brailing ring we have ever documented from all our years of excavation at Berenike (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 10 cm)

Other finds were of a religious nature (some figurines of the deity Bes) and the usual array of pottery, Ptolemaic and Roman coins, beads, metal and organic finds (floral and faunal) as well as textiles, cordage, matting and basketry, and a quantity beautiful glass, some sherds of which came from a thin, blue bottle that had been mould blown (Fig. 5).

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Fig. 5 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 5 cm) We had time, given the nature of the trenches, to excavate in whole or in part four (we promised two in our proposal to HFF) trenches in the southwestern harbor area (circled in light yellow on the geophysical map: Fig. 3). Results here were very good. In one trench we recorded (for the first time anywhere in the Red Sea region either on land or underwater) a sizable portion (about half) of a ship's frame, made of cedar

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(communication from J. Zieliński) of an early Roman era (first or early second century AD) vessel (Figs. 6-8 and video clip). It had been badly charred in antiquity. We expended considerable effort attempting to preserve and conserve the timber moving it to our on site magazine for storage (see video clip below). L. Blue is currently examining drawings and photographs of this timber. In addition, we also documented several lengths of rope made of palm fiber, which lay alongside the frame. The longest of these was 3.10 m x 7 cm in diameter.

(*Hold CTRL button and click picture to watch video)

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Fig. 6 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 50 cm)

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Fig. 7 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 20 cm)

Fig. 8 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 20 cm) From this timber we should be able to make some rough calculations as to the size of this particular ship. In the past, based on the scanty remains of shipwrecks, scholars have been able to speculate on the sizes of vessels sailing in the Red Sea in Roman times. Now we can provide data that should add to this information.

The three other trenches in the southwestern harbor area were a mixed bag. One produced little, but two others (need to continue next season) hold great promise. One revealed a section of cross walls and another numerous nice large early Roman amphora fragments suggesting that these two trenches had been part of one or more wharfs or warehouses (Figs. 9-10).

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Fig. 9 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 50 cm)

Fig. 10 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 10 cm) Another, begun at the very end of the season did not get very deep, but the finds suggested that this area might have had an administrative function. Here we recovered a beautiful ring intaglio carved with the image of a rider on horseback (Figs. 11-12). It measures 8-9 mm in diameter x 3 mm thick. It is first century AD in date and at this 9

point we believe that it depicts a victor in some equestrian event. J.A Harrell, L. Thoresen and G. Platz have examined photos of the specimen and have concluded that it is made of chromium chalcedony and that the surface had probably been heat treated.

Fig. 11 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham)

Fig. 12 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham)

Not relevant to the grant, but perhaps of interest, was our continued work inside the late Roman harbor temple (begun in 2010). This season we also carefully articulated an enigmatic sunken structure that we had excavated in previous seasons. Dating either Ptolemaic or early Roman, this construction comprised nice, in many cases, recycled, white gypsum/anhydrite ashlars. This strange edifice lay adjacent to the late Roman harbor temple (circled in light purple on the geophysical map: Fig. 3). Our detailed cleaning and articulation then allowed us to create a detailed photogeometric plan (still in process) of the entire facility (Fig. 13). We will continue work in this area next season.

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Fig. 13 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham) Other trenches (not relevant to the grant, but of interest perhaps) included one with an animal cemetery (at least 45 skeletons). The bodies were mainly cats, a few dogs, but most interestingly also a baboon, a monkey, some gazelles and a human (actually we found this individual in a previous season right at the edge of a trench)(circled in light turquoise on the geophysical map: Fig. 3). Animal cemeteries from the Roman era in Egypt are very unusual and not well documented. So we are happy to have recorded this.

Another trench had the well preserved remains of the top most extant sections of the early Ptolemaic city wall; part of one end had likely been a battlement, which had been blocked off at some undetermined point later in antiquity. We had found portions of a robbed early Ptolemaic defensive tower and robbed wall section in earlier seasons, but this season we had a fine stretch of, apparently, mostly pristine city wall made of gypsum/anhydrite ashlar blocks (Fig. 14)(circled in light orange on the geophysical map: Fig. 3). We plan additional excavations in this area next season.

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Fig. 14 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 50 cm) Near it we documented a complete Ptolemaic amphora with the name ANTIOXOY (“of/belonging to Antiochus�) painted on it (Figs. 15-16) and another almost entire, but broken, early Ptolemaic amphora. We also found in this same area a large pool/hydraulic installation with the top portion of an aryballos and a skeleton of a large man, clearly buried here after the wall had fallen out of use.

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Fig. 15 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 50 cm)

Fig. 16 (photo by S.E. Sidebotham. Scale = 5 cm) 3) Survey work in the Eastern Desert Given the brevity of the season, we were only able to conduct cursory surveys of the desert area on two of our days off. At those times we revisited seven sites in order to examine them further and collect additional surface pottery for analysis (see Figs. 1-2).

These were: the small fort in Wadi Lahma (24° 09.92' N/35° 21.93' E), the remains of the

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Roman praesidium in Abu Ghusun (24° 23.22' N/35° 02.93' E), the Roman emerald mining settlement at Sikait (24° 37.84’ N/34° 47.76’ E), the Roman road station in Wadi Gemal East (24° 34.15’ N/34° 48.95’ E to 24° 34.03’ N/34° 49.06’ E), the emerald processing center at Kab Marfu’a (24° 32.62' N/34° 44.31' E), the hafir in Wadi Khashir (24° 11.05' N/35° 14.08' E) and the Ptolemaic-Roman gold mining settlement at Muweilah (24° 13.35’ N/35° 04.11’ E). These sites form part of a volume -- the writing of which is near completion -- of a survey of the ancient roads linking Berenike to the Nile emporia of Edfu (Apollonopolis Magna) and Quft (Coptos). Next season we would like to continue our detailed total station survey of Nugrus (24° 37.12' N/34° 46.24’ E) (begun in 2003), one of the better preserved Roman era emerald mining settlements located about 120 km northwest of Berenike. That is an ancillary part of the Berenike Project. We have worked (survey and excavations) in the vast emerald mining area (approximately 300 km2) known to the Romans as Mons Smaragdus off and on since 2000 and plan to publish a separate volume on the results of our work there once the various surveys have been completed.

4) Excavations at Wadi Khashab Farther afield, we continued excavations at a remote desert location in Wadi Khashab (24° 19.394’ N/34° 31.476’ E) where in 2010 we recorded what we then believed to be a prehistoric cattle cemetery. Excavations here documented large bovine skeletons some with and some lacking (deliberately removed) horns. Also this season from this same location we found fragments of a bowl decorated with a series of incised lines, which seem to date to the early Bronze Age and a later human burial. Again, restrictions on our permit prevented us from completing work here, but we hope that we will be able to do so next season before any looters discover the site.

5) Documentation and study of the finds.

As usual, we carefully document all of our finds. We have several artists who draw many of the artifacts and two photographers. One of these photographs all the finds, often in context shots, while the other (Sidebotham) takes all the site/field photographs and some of the small finds. Sidebotham also documents much of the fieldwork and lab work using a video camera.

By Egyptian law no archaeological finds may be exported from the country. Thus, we must bring in specialists to study these. Given the logistical and financial limitations of having large numbers of specialists on site each season, we stagger their work over the course of two or three seasons. This season we had a field conservator, faunal and botanical specialists, a worked wood specialist, leather specialist and numismatist on site.

Some of their respective studies of the finds took place on site; some continued their work at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) warehouse at Quft following the close of excavations. Other specialists (especially the epigraphers/papyrologists) will undertake their initial studies of the finds from photographs and will, at some point in the future, see the actual objects by studying them in the SCA warehouse in Quft.

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We want to thank our ‘Ababda Bedouin workmen, our Egyptian staff, our non-Egyptian staff, the Supreme Council of Antiquities and our inspector this season, Mr. Abdelrahim Mahmoud Ahmed. We owe special thanks to the Honor Frost Foundation for its generous support of our project this season and hope that the Foundation might support our research in the future.

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