Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1983 - 77

case had been carefully dressed and
precisely fitted together without mortar.
Around the outside, the blocks are
battered at an angle of about 30 degrees.
We do not know what this substructure supported originally, nor can
we find any close parallel for it, but it is
clearly Pharaonic in design if not in
date. Graeco-Roman structures built
in traditional Egyptian style are well
known throughout Egypt, and there is
one- a Ptolemaic temple of Isis- almost
within sight of this spot a little further up
the lake at Taposiris. The relationship,
if any, of this complex to Marea itself
remains to be determined, but eventually
it may shed some light on earlier settlement in the area.
As work proceeds at Marea, efforts
are being made to recover plant and
animal remains so that we might learn
more about the regional environment
and economy. Analysis of soil samples,
still in progress, has revealed truly
exceptional preservation of pollens. Most
belong to natural vegetation such as
shrubs, trees and grasses, but traces of
grain as well as animal fodder hold some
promise that more information can be
obtained about agricultural activities.
Most of the faunal remains are also in
excellent condition- right down to fish
scales and the tiniest rodent bones. Ifeeth
and bones of pig are among the most
common, along with those of sheep and
goat. Donkey,horse and cattle are not as
well represented, and camel not at all.
Remains of dog, cat and chicken are
present, while those of duck and gazelle
suggest that hunting was at least a minor
adjunct to the food supply. Approximately half the skeletal material recovered, however, belongs to fish- a clear
and not unexpected testimony to that
side of the town's economy.
The wine of Marea
Wealso know that the Mareotis region
was renowned in antiquity for its vineyards. The Mediterranean climate, in
conjunction with the good quality of the
local gravelly and well-drained soils, was
particularly suited to growing grapes;
the area was, in fact, one of the few in
Egypt where wine could be produced.
The Mareotic wines had a high reputation, and they were exported widely
about the Mediterranean.
Athenaeus, an author of the third
century A.D., described the grapes of
Marea: "Mareotic grapes are very good
to eat. The wine made from them is
excellent; it is white and pleasant,
fragrant, easily assimilated, thin, does
not go to the head, and is diuretic."
Athenaeus' opinion was by no means
universal, however.Horace, in the Odes,
tells us that Mareotic wine is heady stuff
and induces delusions. Lucan, in a
pointed metaphor in his Pharsalia , labels
it downright pedestrian.
Archaeological evidence for ancient

wine production is widely found in the
Mareotis area. In our reconnaissance to
the east and west of Marea, we located
several basins for crushing the grapes
and precipitating the mash. Some of
these are stone or brick-built and covered
with plaster, while others are cut out of
the native limestone in the ridge south
of the harbor. Water, of course, was
necessary for wine production. Hundreds of ancient cisterns and wells were
mapped by British hydrologists early in
this century, and many can still be seen
today.
The most vivid archaeological testimony to wine production can be seen at
Abu Seif Hassan, about 15 kilometers
east of Marea on the south shore of the
lake. While many of the ancient structures have been robbed out in modern
times for use in local houses, a mound
remains there which is comprised of
millions of amphora fragments dating
to at least as early as the first century
a.D. The site, which has never been
excavated, seems to have been a factory
where amphoras were made for the
export of wine. The broken vessels and
sherds presumably represent badly fired
or cracked rejects.
The major mystery at the moment is
where the earlier, pre-Byzantine town
(or towns) of Marea was situated. We
know from Classical sources that Marea
existed as far back as the sixth century
b.c., and perhaps earlier. Yet the site
under excavation seems altogether of
Christian date. The non-Christian tombs
southwest of the harbor, or the newly
discovered port on the shore almost
directly below the same ridge, may be
related to another Marea, still buried in
sand and perhaps even obscured by
subsequent construction. The only evidence we have is in a few surface sherds
belonging to the fourth or fifth centuries
b.c. and a stamped amphora handle from
Knidos in Asia Minor (also a prolific
exporter of wine), dating to the early
Roman Imperial period. No doubt the
lake level oscillated enough in the past
to affect the location of harbors, at least,
and therein may lie the clue to changes
in the settlement pattern.
In any case, it is clear that the Mareotis area was, in all phases of antiquity, of
prime strategic importance. It was no
coincidence that the Libyan incursions
of the thirteenth to tenth centuries b.c.,
and the later armies of Julius Caesar,
Niketas and Napoleon, passed through
this coastal strip en route to the Delta.
Marea itself was at the western frontier
of Egypt, well situated to serve as a
transshipment point for goods moving
between the Nile, the Western Desert
and the Mediterranean. But much more
work is required in this archaeologically
rich, although poorly known, part of
North Africa before all the details of its
political and economic roles can be fully
established. (See "For Further Reading," page 54.)

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1983
September/October

Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1983

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1983