An early Roman burial ground in the port of Berenike on the Red Sea coast of Egypt
2022, 31, Vol. 31, Regular Issue
University of Warsaw, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology
Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw
Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures
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Abstract
The cemeteries uncovered in the Red Sea harbor town of Berenike (Egypt), a thriving commercial center for close to 800 years, have been dated, to the early Roman (1st–2nd centuries CE) and late (4th–5th centuries CE) periods, but the ethnicities and religious proclivities of the deceased buried in these graves are still in doubt. Several individual burials as well as numerous ring cairn tombs in the Eastern Desert hinterland also contribute to the picture of mortuary differentiation in the town. The Berenike Project aims to launch mapping work and additional excavations in search of answers to these issues.
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