ALEXANDRIA

Salvage excavations

The Gabbari site. Beneath the bridge... the Necropolis

Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great some 2300 years ago, is today a bustling town of 4 million inhabitants. Ancient and Arab authors describe at length the wonders and the woes of this now almost mythical town. Paradoxically, however, little in the way of archaeological evidence is apparent. The remains of this megalopolis of the Hellenistic and Roman world lie beneath buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In recent years, Alexandria has experienced a new building boom and the centre of town is swiftly being reshaped. The deep foundations of the new tower blocks cut through the archaeological layers to rest on the bedrock. Only salvage excavations can allow us to grasp the precious information that lies hidden in the earth. Within a limited time frame, the archaeologists try to slip between the phases of destruction of the old and construction of the new.

Our understanding of ancient Alexandria grows daily thanks to the urgent salvage digs undertaken by the CEA team. Whether on land or underwater, notably on the site of the ancient Pharos, these excavations have aroused international interest.

In the garden of the former British Consulate, the setting of concrete piles, as seen in the photo, for a new wing of the adjacent hospital led to the discovery of several dwellings from the beginning of the Ptolemaic era.

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