Near Eastern Institute

The Archaeology of Egyptian Alexandria

The busy city of Alexandria stretches languidly along the Mediterranean coast, about 30 km into the north-central sector of Egypt. The easy availability of natural gas in the area, as well as oil pipelines reaching all the way from the Suez, make Alexandria a vitally important center of industry.
Alexandria boasts a modern day population of over 4 million citizens, and is one of the largest settlements in Egypt. As a bustling seaport, Alexandria deals with around 80% of Egypt’s trading. This huge city also houses an impressive library, called the ‘Bibliotheca Alexandrina’, and is a popular tourist destination. Indeed, summer time in Alexandria brings hordes of sun worshipers from all the surrounding cities to the  beaches there.

Alexander The Great
The city itself  sprang up from the ruins of a tiny town called Rhakotis, that existed around  330 BC, in the time of the old Pharaohs. The original settlement was peopled mainly by pirates, fishermen and traders of all types of goods, including slaves.  Alexander The Great  was the force behind the actual erecting of the city, and his legacy still stands proudly in our modern times.

Back in those ancient days, Alexander The Great had many plans for Alexandria, intending it to supersede the great city of Naucratis as the supreme trade center. He also wanted Alexandria to be a link between the Greeks and the fertile Nile Valley. From its earliest days, the city was important in the trading between Europe and Asia, allowing it to profit from its overland connection of the Mediterranean and Red seas.

Alexandria was also Egypt’s Capital City, carrying that title for at least one thousand years. Sadly, Alexander soon left the city and never came back, at least not while he was alive. He journeyed on and passed away while on his travels, and his body was eventually brought  back to Alexandria by his faithful viceroy, Ptolemy.

Wonders And Catacombs
Alexandria has always been a city of great attractions. In ages past, it was famous for its lighthouse, called ‘Pharos’, which was unusual enough to qualify as one of ‘ Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ‘. This lighthouse was a unique invention at the time and saved countless ships from being dashed against the rocky coastline. It featured a series of mirrors which magnified the lighthouse flames and when lit up, could be seen by ships for miles around.

The city also houses the ‘Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa’,  which are deemed among the ‘ Wonders Of The Middle Ages ‘, and I have to agree.They are a true hint at the lives and mindset of those people who lived here in long gone days.These mysterious catacombs comprise a complicated labyrinth of many levels, that can only be reached via an ancient spiral stairway.

There are dozens of chambers in these catacombs, containing a variety of sculptures, sarcophagi, immense pillars and also many Roman-Egyptian religious symbols.Another feature of the catacombs are the heavily adorned burial grounds.Very near to these burial areas lies a  vast banqueting area, where families of the deceased held meals in their honor.
These catacombs had been forgotten for ages, and were fortunately brought to light again when they were re-discovered during the 1800s.

Alexandria still has so many secrets for us to uncover. However, the fact that the modern city grew on top of the ancient one, makes thorough digging and examination nigh impossible.There is also the fact that parts of the ancient city have been submerged, over time, by the sea, especially those areas that lay along the coast.This renders the cost of any excavation in Alexander prohibitively high, and thus does the city reveal her secrets only very slowly. We have to be patient and see what treasures Time may uncover.