EL-NABIH CISTERN: the historical and architectural study, and the initial excavations

Prospects

Prospects

Studying data from the site and documentary resources tells us essentially about the recent history of El-Nabih cistern. We can be more precise about the context in which similar edifices disappeared at a moment when the demographic expansion of the modern city demanded the opening up of new zones for building. We can clearly identify the structure as a monument, an undeniable repository of the past, because of its architectural qualities and its position as a witness to the history of the city of Alexandria. The first excavation campaign has already provided important information about its construction and its functioning, as well as about cisterns in general. These results, still being studied, are very promising for the next campaign, planned for spring 2007 (fig. 18). And while we are waiting, certain conservation work has been undertaken on weak points of the structure.