Sabratha, an old Phoenician colony in North Africa

Since the toppling and execution of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been left in turmoil. The centralized government he had put into place has totally collapsed, and the country has fallen apart. The old Tripolitania in the west, with cities like Oea (Tripoli), Leptis Magna, and Sabratha, is separated from the Cyrenaica in the east around the modern city of Benghazi and old Cyrene. The deserts to the south have become a no man's land where smugglers, militias, and armed groups of all kinds roam and rule freely.

There is no room for archaeologists who fear the worst as the more than two thousand years old sites are the scene of armed conflicts or otherwise fall victim to urban expansion. Armed groups often gather inside archaeological sites from where they organize their attacks.

For decennia, the conservation and restoration of the antique sites were entrusted to Western experts and archaeologists, but the political and practical insecurity has kept them away. Recently, a Spanish archaeological mission visited Sabratha and reached an agreement to restore the site. Pending due security measures, however, their good intentions cannot materialize (see: Still hope, though scant, for Libya’s heritage). 

Meanwhile, looting is still occurring on a large scale. Taking advantage of the lack of security, smugglers have no difficulty collecting archaeological treasures (see: Cyrene and other Lybian sites defaced and left for grabs). Occasionally, some of these artworks are seized, but there is no overview of the looting. The fact that Sabratha has become the departure point for illegal migrants from Africa is not helping either.

All museums have closed, including the major one in Tripoli. Some of the most precious artifacts have been stored in safe locations, but that will never be enough to truly safeguard the vast and varied amount of artwork.

I have found no particular information about the situation at the Museum of Sabratha, which holds a rare collection of mosaics and frescoes.

One of the most striking mosaics is the Triumph of Bacchus which displays three inserted medallions. It appears that these medallions were created by specialized craftsmen in Alexandria who were famous for using tiny tesserae. Looking closely, one can easily notice the difference in size and style between the overall mosaic and the inserts. The top medallion shows Bacchus standing on a chariot that is pulled by two panthers. The central medallion contains a rather aggressive lion head, and the bottom one is a carefully executed panther head. 

Another remarkable piece of the museum is the sizeable mosaic retrieved from the Basilica of Justinian, which must have been exceptionally large. The work of art is filled with Byzantine-Christian symbolism, such as the vine surrounding an ostentatious peacock (representing immortality) and the bird in a cage (the human soul trapped in his body). The phoenix, in turn, stands for the resurrection. The mosaics that once covered the floor of the side naves of the Basilica are hung from the walls.

The frescoes, although rather small, are very well executed and very lively. Most of these pieces were recovered from the House of Leda.

The importance and significance of Sabratha deserve to be underscored. Few people realize that as early as the 10th century BC, Phoenicians from Lebanon founded three trading posts on the shores of North Africa. In time, these became known as the Tripolitania. It was the Greeks who founded the first colonies in the Cyrenaica in the 8th century BC, including cities like Cyrene (see: Picking up Alexander’s traces in Cyrene). After the death of Alexander, this area was ruled by the Ptolemies as the Cyrenaica was part of Egypt.

Click here to see all the pictures of Sabratha

The Moon was not a God

Anaxagoras was one of the first persons to state that the moon was a rock. His theory was that the moon had been flung into space by the Earth. The Sun, in turn, was labeled as being a burning rock. The philosopher probably was born in 499 BC in Klazomenai, when Asia Minor was still under Persian rule.

His greatest merit was his attempt to describe the occurrence of eclipses, meteors, rainbows, and the behavior of the Sun and the Moon. The eclipse that he witnessed in 463 BC while he was travelling through Greece may have contributed to his further in-depth observations.

His most surprising “discovery” – that certainly was very disconcerting to people in antiquity – was his statement that the moon’s face was illuminated from the Sun on the opposite side of the Earth. He realized that the phases of the moon resulted from the alignment of the Moon, Sun and Earth. In short, he described the solar eclipse.

He wrote a book about this and other theories but, as so often, his knowledge only percolated through fragmentary work by later scholars among which we find Aristotle. As a consequence, Anaxagoras’ concepts may have been part of Alexander’s schooling baggage.

Contrary to the generally accepted theory of the time, he declared that the Moon and the Sun were objects (rocks) and not gods. The Athenians deeply resented this impiety and Anaxagoras was accused of blasphemy. Consequently, the philosopher was arrested and sentenced to death. However, thanks to the personal intervention of Pericles, Anaxagoras was exiled to Lampsacus on the Hellespont.

None of his contemporaries could have imagined that Anaxagoras’ ideas about the eclipses and lunar phases would live on for 2,600 years, that is until this day.

Edge of Empires. Pagans, Jews, and Christians at Roman Dura Europos by JY Chi and S Heath

Edge of Empires (ISBN 978-0-691-15468-8) by JY Chi and S Heath, depicts the history of Dura-Europos on the Euphrates in a unique way. The book was published by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University on the occasion of the exhibition Edge of Empires: Pagans, Jews, and Christians at Roman Dura-Europos that ran from September 2011 until January 2012.

It contains lots of valuable information, both for those who know the site as for those who hear the name for the first time. 

After starting with a precious map and site plan of Dura-Europos, several aspects of the city and its excavation history are being highlighted.

Dura-Europos was discovered in 1920, and a French military detachment started excavations in 1922, under the direction of Franz Cumont. This initial approach is treated with an update in Chapter I, New Research by the French-Syrian Archaeological Expedition to Europos-Dura and New Data on Polytheistic Sanctuaries in Europos-Dura by Pierre Leriche and Gaëlle Coqueugniot, with the active collaboration of Ségolène de Pontbriand, Mission Franco-Syrienne d’Europos-Dura.

Chapter 2, Art Historical Frontiers: Lessons from Dura-Europos by Thelma K. Thomas, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, underscores the unparalleled array of religious art and architecture and highlights objects of everyday use.

Chapter 3, Trading at the Edge: Pottery, Coins, and Household Objects at Dura-Europos by Sebastian Heath, Institute of Study of the Ancient World, New York University, generally treats trade and military power in the 3rd century AD. Being at the edge of the Roman Empire, the city was coveted by the Parthians and the Sassanids. In 256 AD, after a fierce fight that left its marks all over town, the Sassanids took over. To save Dura-Europos, much of the houses and many structures were buried, preserving many objects that illustrate its far-stretching connection and military infrastructure.

Chapter 4, The Diversity of Languages in Dura-Europos by Jean Gascou, Université Paris-Sorbonne underscored the mixture of languages that were common in Dura-Europos. The list seems endless: Greek, Latin, Hebrew, forms of Aramaic, Syriac, Judeo-Aramaic, Northern Arabic, Iranian although in Parthian and Middle Persian form.

Chapter 5, Excavations at Dura-Europos: Archival Photographs from the Yale University Art Gallery, Dura-Europos Collection with a unique series of black and white photographs taken during the early years of excavations.

Last but not least, a Checklist with pictures complements the photographs used in the previous chapters of the book.

All in all, a very informative document, which I truly enjoyed reading from cover to cover. It brought back memories of the site as I saw it in 2009 (see: Dura-Europos, last stop on the Euphrates), i.e., just before the Arab Spring. I have no idea how it looks like today. Much has been destroyed as appears from areal views (see: Loss of our cultural heritage in the Middle-Eastern conflicts) or may simply have crumbled through negligence.

Roman and Byzantine mosaics uncovered at Side

Although excavations in Side have been ongoing since the 1940s, a large number of artefacts and many buildings are still hidden underneath the modern housing. The old city was abandoned by the end of the 10th century, and it was only in the early 20th century that a new settlement, named Selimiye, arose on top of the ruins. A group of Muslim exiles from Crete built their houses on top and among the sand blown remains of old Side (see: Side did not put up any resistance).

[Picture from the Hurriyet Daily News] 

As it seems, daily life took precedence over archaeology, and as a result, much of ancient Side is waiting to be exposed to view. According to the latest news, measures have been taken to prevent illegal constructions and implement the conservation of old Side. They have gone as far as to demolish illegal buildings and additions and to reconstruct them in their historical context.

It is quite exciting to hear that since 2016 many streets and squares have been renovated and I wonder whether the coat of asphalt smeared over the Roman Decumanus has been removed as well.

In November 2019, several floor mosaics from the late Roman/early Byzantine period were unearthed and will now be covered with a thick, unbreakable glass plate. This way, locals, as well as foreign tourists, will be able to enjoy the artwork.

Another striking find happened in 2017. A letter addressed by Emperor Gallienus to Side in 266 or 267 AD was unearthed. A copy of this text now replaces the original, which has been moved to the Museum of Side. Unfortunately, the article in the Hurriyet Daily News does not give us any details about the contents of the document. Sadly, the accent of their article lies on luring tourists to Side rather than on the archaeological value of the discoveries. 

Restoration plans for the lighthouse of Patara

It seems that at last, the plans to restore the unique lighthouse of Patara are going to be materialized. The remains of this lighthouse that was built under Emperor Nero in 64 AD were exposed a few years ago and the inscription to that purpose reads “I am Emperor Nero. I built this lighthouse to greet sailors”. It was said to be written in bronze but the more recent article published by The Archaeology News Network mentions that the letters were made of gold.

[Picture from The Archaeology News Network]

Standing at the mouth of the Xanthos River, the tower proper was approximately 26.5 meters tall with a diameter of six meters; it rested on a square podium. Inside the tower, two interlocking cylindrical structures were connected by a spiral-shaped ladder. As mentioned in an earlier blog (see: The oldest lighthouse in the world at Patara), this lighthouse is the oldest in the world ever recovered.

The plans are to actually rebuild the lighthouse to its original height and guide modern sailors with its light.

We’ll remember that Patara surrendered to Alexander the Great in 333 BC and we may wonder what kind of beacon guided the ships up the river in his days.

Antiochus III captured Patara in 196 BC and the city was annexed by the Roman Empire in 43 AD. Since Patara and its harbor were an important hub on the ancient trade routes, it kept its importance till far into the Byzantine times.

[Updated in December 2023]

The Library of Alexandria

Usually, I am not too keen on those artistic renderings of buildings and cities from antiquity. Even the most elegant praising paintings of Alexander the Great by so many artists from the Middle Ages to modern times seldom do appeal to me.

Yet, sometimes we have to give Caesar what is Caesar’s. Right now, I feel the artwork of Kevin Kok, Senior Level Artist at Ubisoft, Montreal, deserves some credit. 

Only by chance did I find his captivating set of drawings of the Library of Alexandria, among many other subjects he tackled successfully.

Here are a few of those images:

Corner view of the great Library of Alexandria

Great Entrance of the Library of Alexandria

Interior shot of the Library of Alexandria

Interior shot of the Library of Alexandria

Rear shot of the Great Library of Alexandria

Enjoy!

[Pictures from Kevin Kok Senior Level Artist at Ubisoft Montreal]

An otherwise unknown head of Alexander the Great?

Among the huge amount of debris and parts of statues that have been unearthed in Pergamon, modern Bergama in Turkey, there is this colossal marble head. It probably was decorating the largest room of the upper terrace of the Gymnasium.

[Picture from the MET]

Best known in Pergamon is its unique altar dedicated to Zeus that has been entirely moved to the Altes Museum, Staatliche Museen in Berlin (see: Pergamon is simply huge). The altar is a statement in its own right and leaves little or no space for other details, whatever their size, condition or beauty.

One of such an odd artifact is the partial remainder of a head, probably designed to be the central figure of a circular medallion of approximately 1.2 meters in diameter. It seems to be one of kings that ruled over the Pergamon Empire since similar heads once decorated the walls of this Gymnasium. It is not impossible either that it represents Alexander the Great. Why not? Time-wise the marble fits the 2^nd century BC, but that is not certain either.