Water and Fire – The History of a Mound of Ash: Water Management in Hellenistic Berenike, Its Environmental and Logistical Setting

• Authors: Marek A. Woźniak , Szymon Popławski

Abstracts

EN

Archaeological work since 2014 in the Hellenistic areas of Berenike, a key port on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus in c. 275 BC, has brought extensive evidence of water-related structures: a rock-cut well located inside a rebuilt early-Hellenistic gate and a nearby cistern with an associated rainwater-collection system, that has changed the way in which the sources and uses of water in Hellenistic Berenike is understood today. The research started with the excavation of an ash mound, a characteristic landmark in the western part of the site, which is now believed to be the rubbish dump from the furnace that heated a Hellenistic bathhouse. At this stage in the research, it can be argued that Hellenistic Berenike had sufficient water available on site not only for drinking (hence potable), and agricultural and industrial uses, but also for public bathing. This article summarises the current state of research, presenting recent discoveries of a Hellenistic date at the site within their archaeological, architectural and environmental contexts.

Keywords

EN

Hellenistic bath; water supply; Red Sea; Graeco-Roman harbour cities; the ancient Spice Route; Hellenistic Egypt

• Publisher: Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences)
• Year: 2022
• Issue: 35
• Pages: 163-187

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Marek A. Woźniak

• Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw

• https://orcid.org/0000000324500192

author

Szymon Popławski

• Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wrocław

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Identifiers

DOI

10.12775/EtudTrav.35.008

Biblioteka Nauki

2180001