Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika

Key information on the location, size and dating of the Ptolemaic fortifications of Berenike Trogodytika comes from archaeological excavations carried out in 2013–2015, following the 2012 season when the presence of military architecture in the Red Sea harbor was first discovered and identified (Woź...

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Main Author: Marek Adam Woźniak
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: University of Warsaw Press 2018-07-01
Series:Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean
Subjects:
Online Access:http://pam-journal.pl/gicid/01.3001.0012.1820
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author Marek Adam Woźniak
author_facet Marek Adam Woźniak
author_sort Marek Adam Woźniak
collection DOAJ
description Key information on the location, size and dating of the Ptolemaic fortifications of Berenike Trogodytika comes from archaeological excavations carried out in 2013–2015, following the 2012 season when the presence of military architecture in the Red Sea harbor was first discovered and identified (Woźniak and Rądkowska 2014). Sections of a thick wall constructed of gypsum anhydrite blocks on a wide foundation were recorded in the northern part of the site (trenches BE-13/90 and BE13-93). The wall was part of the defenses protecting the harbor from the north, the only land access to the site through marshy ground on the fringes of the so-called “northern lagoon”. Further work in trenches BE14-97 in 2014 and BE15-104 in 2015 uncovered the remains of a well preserved early Hellenistic fortified city gate, built of gypsum anhydrite blocks and chunks of coral. The complex has no parallel at present anywhere in the Red Sea region. A series of shallow basins interconnected by pipes made of truncated necks of early Hellenistic amphorae, found to the east of the gate, served probably to collect rainwater. The water function? of the gate was confirmed further by a large basin or cistern, about 1 m deep, abutting the complex on the southwest. A subterranean network of four rock-cut chambers(?) was discovered at the bottom of the internal gate chamber. A corridor in the east wall of the gate shaft, with a covered channel in the floor, led off to the northeast, in the direction of a rectangular anomaly observed on the magnetic map, which could be another rock-cut shaft.
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spelling doaj.art-6816364cf2e44a46900099ab4775b0aa2024-04-08T12:17:33ZdeuUniversity of Warsaw PressPolish Archaeology in the Mediterranean1234-54152083-537X2018-07-01262436010.5604/01.3001.0012.182001.3001.0012.1820Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike TrogodytikaMarek Adam Woźniak0Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of SciencesKey information on the location, size and dating of the Ptolemaic fortifications of Berenike Trogodytika comes from archaeological excavations carried out in 2013–2015, following the 2012 season when the presence of military architecture in the Red Sea harbor was first discovered and identified (Woźniak and Rądkowska 2014). Sections of a thick wall constructed of gypsum anhydrite blocks on a wide foundation were recorded in the northern part of the site (trenches BE-13/90 and BE13-93). The wall was part of the defenses protecting the harbor from the north, the only land access to the site through marshy ground on the fringes of the so-called “northern lagoon”. Further work in trenches BE14-97 in 2014 and BE15-104 in 2015 uncovered the remains of a well preserved early Hellenistic fortified city gate, built of gypsum anhydrite blocks and chunks of coral. The complex has no parallel at present anywhere in the Red Sea region. A series of shallow basins interconnected by pipes made of truncated necks of early Hellenistic amphorae, found to the east of the gate, served probably to collect rainwater. The water function? of the gate was confirmed further by a large basin or cistern, about 1 m deep, abutting the complex on the southwest. A subterranean network of four rock-cut chambers(?) was discovered at the bottom of the internal gate chamber. A corridor in the east wall of the gate shaft, with a covered channel in the floor, led off to the northeast, in the direction of a rectangular anomaly observed on the magnetic map, which could be another rock-cut shaft.http://pam-journal.pl/gicid/01.3001.0012.1820Hellenistic/Ptolemaic fortificationsBerenikeharborRed Seawater installations
spellingShingle Marek Adam Woźniak
Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean
Hellenistic/Ptolemaic fortifications
Berenike
harbor
Red Sea
water installations
title Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
title_full Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
title_fullStr Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
title_full_unstemmed Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
title_short Shaping a city and its defenses; fortifications of Hellenistic Berenike Trogodytika
title_sort shaping a city and its defenses fortifications of hellenistic berenike trogodytika
topic Hellenistic/Ptolemaic fortifications
Berenike
harbor
Red Sea
water installations
url http://pam-journal.pl/gicid/01.3001.0012.1820
work_keys_str_mv AT marekadamwozniak shapingacityanditsdefensesfortificationsofhellenisticbereniketrogodytika