Heritage Days 2018

For the past 17 years, the CEAlex has been exploring the Alexandrian hinterland through surveys and excavations. The aim is, on the one hand, to draw up an archaeological, palaeoenvironmental and heritage map of the region to the south of the western arm of Lake Mariout through cartographic research and field surveys. On the other, we are carrying out targeted excavations over specific periods, enabling us to retrace the phases of occupation of this region from the Pharaonic era to the 9th century AD, when the region was abandoned by farmers, occupied by semi-nomadic Bedouin tribes and became semi-desert until the late 1970s.

We have concentrated our attention on four sites: Kom Bahig with vestiges dating back to before the foundation of Alexandria; the Marea peninsula with its Hellenistic tower-houses overlooking the lake, which had become a major traffic artery; the site of Akademia with a winery from the Early Roman Empire and a farm from the Late Roman Empire; and Kom of the Quarry with its long occupation from the 2nd century BC to the 7th century AD. Through this exhibition, we wanted to bring the results of our research to the general public, with a focus on the lives of the people who lived in this region.