An update about Naucratis

So far, Naucratis has been put on the map as a trade emporium that the Greeks established in the Nile Delta as early as the 7^th century BC (see: Egypt, land of the free for ancient Greeks?)

Where earlier excavations led to believe that Naucratis occupied only a small area, it has recently been established that the city was at least twice the original assumed size.

[A stele from the site of Thonis-Heracleion (picture) matches one from Naukratis]

In the 5^th century BC, Herodotus tells us that Naucratis was the main link in the trade between Egypt and other countries around the Mediterranean. In its heyday, it was home to at least 16,000 people who appear to have lived in high-rise buildings of three to six floors, not unlike the mud-brick houses we encounter today in Yemen. It was a cosmopolitan city with Greek temples and sanctuaries (Herodotus even mentions a Hellenion).

Thanks to its lively trade, goods, and cultures mixed and mingled. Grain, papyrus, and perfumes from the Egyptian hinterland were exchanged for silver, wine, and oil from mainland Greece, Phoenicia, and the Isle of Cyprus. Amphorae, cooking pots, and statuettes in both Egyptian and Greek fashion have been recovered, generally dating to the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC. Ritual terracotta figurines offered during the local festival related to the inundation of the Nile have been found, as well as statuettes of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of the sky, women, and love.

Major digs have unearthed a wide range of objects, among which are rare wooden remains of Greek ships. Further archaeological research has found proof that the Canopic Branch of the Nile was navigable all the way down to the heart of the city, although Herodotus gave us the impression that the freight from the ships arriving from the Mediterranean was to be transhipped into barges which would sail the river to reach Naucratis.

As a comparison for its importance, Naucratis has been called the Hong Kong of its time. I guess that says it all.

It will be interesting to visit the British Museum later this year as they’ll feature a special exhibition, Sunken Cities, Egypt’s lost world, a way to give us a better insight into that underwater world. The exhibition will run from 19 May until 27 November 2016.