EXCAVATIONS IN ALEXANDRIA IN 1989-90

Grzegorz Majcherek
The Polish-Egyptian Conservation and Archaeological Mission at Kom
el-Dikka, sponsored jointly by the EAO and the PCMA, and directed
by Dr. Wojciech Kołątaj, worked from October 1989 till the end of July
1990. l The multiple tasks of this campaign could not have been
accomplished without the indispensable assistance of the authorities
of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization to whom we wish to express
our thanks. Particular gratitude is due Mrs. Doreya Said, the Director
of the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, for her constant help
and support.
Beside ongoing archaeological research integrated with the mis-
sion's restoration program, excavations were concentrated in the habi-
tation quarter adjoining street R4 on the east (Sector W1N). The objec-
tives of this campaign, which was a continuation of previous seasons,
were twofold: to continue the investigation of Houses G and H, and
to study and verify the stratigraphy and chronology of the area as
worked out on the basis of excavations conducted so far.
The continued occupation of the quarter from the Late Ptolemaic
(c. 2nd-1st centuries BC) to the end of the Byzantine period (end of
the 7th century AD) was fully confirmed. As a result of the present
excavations, substantial remains of Late Roman building G were
cleared and its plan and functions thoroughly studied. Several subse-
quent chronological phases covering the period from the 4th to 7th century
AD were distinguished; their detailed description will be published
in the final report. Fragments of the Early Roman structure fragmentarily
l
The archaeological research was headed by Grzegorz Majcherek who worked
with a team including: Assist. Prof. Przemysław Gartkiewicz (architect), Assist.
Prof. Barbara Lichocka, Dr. Barbara Tkaczow, Miss Jolanta Jabłonowska, Miss
Iwona Zych (archaeologists) and Mr. Stefan Sadowski (photographer). The
Egyptian Antiquities Organization was represented by Messrs Ala'a ad-Din
Mahrous and Ahmad Mousa.

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 preserved underneath were also unearthed. Further research here
is planned for the coming season.
Building G bears a general resemblance to the previously excavated
House H, its plan however appears to be less regular. It was found that
the walls of the building had been largely dismantled in the 8th-10th
centuries AD, when they served as a ready source of material for
the medieval structures built on a higher level. Owing to this, most of
the plan could be traced only approximately in ghost walls. The walls
that have survived are in their majority founded upon entirely new

Fig. 1. Plan of the Late Roman houses G and H in sector W1 N

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 foundations, which often have nothing to do with the earlier structures.
The reason for the alteration of the old building plan, dated by coins and
pottery to the turn of the 3rd and 4th century AD, must lie in the degree
of destruction sustained by the Early Roman structures.2 The Late
Roman occupation layer is separated from the earlier layers by a thick
stratum containing ashes, fragments of polychrome plastering and
architectural elements. Reused fragments of architectural decoration
were also found in the foundations (rooms nos 2, 3, 10) and include such
items as drums of engaged Doric columns covered with stucco.3 At the
close of our work, the entire street facade of House G had been cleared,
but its extent into the insula remained undetermined. On the remaining
sides, both on the north and south, the building was separated from
neighboring edifices by narrow alleys (some 1.50-1.70 m wide)
perpendicular to street R4.
The main walls of the house were built in a technique typical of
the period and apparently derived from opus africanum; pillars con-
structed of large blocks, with spaces in between filled with small irre-
gular stones in an ashy mortar. The western part of House G comprised
four rooms, each provided with a separate entrance, the northernmost
of which (G-8) had been explored already in 1989. The adjacent room
(G-10) is the largest so far uncovered. Only the front wall with its thick
lime plaster coating has been preserved. The debris overlying the latest
clay floor contained numerous colored marble pieces of opus sectile
pavement, which doubtless must have come from the destroyed upper
storey. The finds from the occupation level: sherds of Egyptian Red Slip
ware (A and B), Cypriot Red Slip and amphorae of Egyptian origin as
well as several coins dated to the reign of Heraclius indicate that
2
The destruction of the eastern quarters of Alexandria is usually connected
with the ransacking of the city by the Palmyrenians. Cf. A. Adriani, Repertorio
d'Arte dell'Egitto Greco-Romano, Serie C, I-III, Palermo 1963-66, pp. 209, 211.
3
In general appearance these elements resemble the relics of a Doric style structure
discovered beneath the nearby building of the National Insurance Company,
cf. H. Riad, Vestiges d'un edifice ptolemaique, BSAA 1, 42 (1967).

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 the building was destroyed probably around the middle of the 7th
century AD.4 The two rooms located further to the south (G-2 and G-3)
were also substantially damaged. The front wall was dismantled to the
foundations, while the eastern walls have all but completely disap-
peared. Exploration in room G-13, which is side by side directly with
G-8, uncovered a deep rectangular well. The shaft was cleared down to
a depth of about 6 m, not reaching the bottom, and was found to have
walls constructed of well-fitted dressed stone. Pairs of large blocks pro-
truded from the middle of opposing walls at a point just below the
preserved top and about 2 m down, directly below the first. These blocks
may have served to mount some kind of water-wheel, equipped with
ceramic pots (qawadis) attached with ropes. The proximity of this wall
and a pair of pools discovered in room G-8 obviously indicates a rela-
tion between the two water facilities. The finds on the paved floor pre-
served around the well include coins of Tiberius II and Phocas and
point to the turn of the 6th and 7th century AD as the period of use.
A similar but fragmentarily preserved pavement was cleared in room
G-11. The dating material from the fill contained two well preserved
St Menas ampullae. The remains of a large lavatory were discovered in
the spacious room G-12. An angled section of a conduit ran through
the room and served presumably as a sewage tank, since no outlets
were found. In the southern part of the room the conduit increased
slightly in width and was covered with some large slabs. Two large
blocks pierced with a rounded aperture c. 0.30 m in diameter were
found sub situ. Several coins and a considerable amount of pottery
sherds from the fill point to a surprisingly long period of use, from the
4th to 6th century AD. A small room located in the southeastern corner
of the excavated area initially opened out onto the alley between
houses G and C. In the 5th century some of the walls were replaced and
the room enlarged.
In summary, it appears that in the Late Roman period House G
served needs as complex as the previously investigated House H. The
4
See the review of ceramic material in: G. Majcherek, Polish excavations at Kom
el-Dikka, 1989-1990, Bulletin de Liaison du GIECE, 1991, in press.

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 large rooms opening onto the street may have been used as shops, while
the rooms in the back served both as workshops and domestic areas.
Both houses were continuously occupied at least till the middle of the
7th century AD.
In the southern wing of House H some remaining layers of Late
Roman date were also explored. Room H-8b turned out to contain
some well-preserved domestic facilities consisting of four containers
set into the floor. Two of these were reused Baetican amphorae, while
the others were bodies of Palestinian amphorae, which were an early
4th century AD version of the widely traded Gaza-type vessels. Some
of the containers had their covers still in situ – limestone slabs with
a funnel hole in the centre closed with stone stoppers. The fill in which
the amphorae were embedded contained a great deal of pottery typical
of the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, including two lamps: one with a relief repre-
sentation of a sandaled foot, the other with an erotic scene on the discus.
In compliance with the study program concerning Early Roman
structures in the quarter, it was decided to explore the lower layers in
room H-2. A small basin was discovered there, alongside the western
wall. The rest of the room was taken up by a small staircase descending
below the level of the basin and a small-sized well. It would appear that
these facilities belonged to a private bath of the Early Roman villa.
Another deep sounding was dug in the partly explored room H-8a.
About 1.50 m below the 6th century street level, the remains of
a clay floor covering the entire room space was noted. Close to the
blocked entrance a small storage bin constructed of stone was discover-
ed. Further exploration beneath it revealed the presence of a rectan-
gular shaft 6 m deep. Although it was originally built as a well, the
composition of the fill proved that in this period it must have served
as a sewage tank. The clay flooring was laid upon an even layer of burn-
ing and ashes. It probably coincided with the destruction and final
abandonment of the Early Roman house, tentatively dated to the late
3rd century AD. Apparently the structure was once more inhabited while
still in ruins, with the aforementioned facilities being the first signs of
renewed occupation. The Early Roman occupation level, comprising

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 several lime floors was reached immediately below. The archaeological
context of these layers included a considerable amount of ceramic
material, bearing evidence to a long-lasting habitation in the period
from the 1st to the 3rd century AD. Further exploration revealed a clear
architectural sequence, visible in the walls of the house. Roman struc-
tures were built directly on top of the remains of Ptolemaic ones. The
foundations of the Ptolemaic building were reached at a depth of 4.50 m
below the street level, on top of a clay layer some 0.70 m thick. Much
to our surprise the remains of yet another structure came to light under
the deposit of clay. Although it is tempting to see it as the remainder of
the first structure built in the area, its nature as well as precise dating
is yet to be determined.
Particularly important discoveries were made while studying the
urbanistic development of the quarter. The sewage system uncovered
in the alley separating houses H and G, proved the existence of the side
street as early as the Early Roman period. It was presumably much
wider at that time, reaching some 5 m, that is about half the width of
the R4 street.5 Its presence throws new light on the previous findings
and hypotheses concerning additional subdivisions of the great insulae
defined by the basic urban street network.6Another channel was discovered
on street R4 at a depth of 4.80 m. No precise dating material was
available here: however, the level of the channel relative to the uncover-
ed architectural structures indicates that it must have formed part of the
urban sewage system of the Ptolemaic period. Its course along the
facades of the houses presents evidence for the permanence of the
street network of Ptolemaic date, existing in this area in basically
unchanged form till the end of Antiquity.

5
An Early Roman street of similar course and dimensions was uncovered
during the 1973 excavations below the Theatre Portico.
6
M. Rodziewicz, Alexandrie III. Les habitations romaines tardives d'Alexandrie,
Varsovie 1984, pp. 17-33.

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