It is
heartwarming to read that excavations in the city and harbor of Ptolemais have resumed in 2023.
The initial diggings
began in 2001 and were carried out by a Polish Mission (see: Ptolemais,
heritage of the Ptolemies). Work was, however, interrupted in 2010
because of the Libyan Civil War that led to the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi and
years of unrest and chaos.
After its
return, the Polish Archaeological Mission focused on Ptolemais’ Acropolis,
sitting on a plateau some 300
meters above the city. Following a hitherto unknown
road, they discovered remains of a residential area from Roman times. The layout
of a residence revealed several rooms surrounding an inner courtyard,
including a kitchen and a staircase leading to the upper floor. At least one of
the rooms was paved with mosaics. The most remarkable feature was perhaps the
presence of a basin at the center of the courtyard where rainwater was
collected. From there, the water was led into two underground cisterns for
storage. Also, a plaster mask was retrieved from one of the cisterns. It has been
modeled on a human face, and its purpose remains unclear. It is thought to be
related to some unknown Libyan tradition, as similar masks were found in a
sanctuary at Slonta, in northern Libya.
Nearby, a Roman milestone with a Greek inscription was
unearthed. It has been dated to the days of the Severan Dynasty Emperors, who
ruled between 193 and 235 AD.
In the meantime, conservators in Poland are joining their efforts to
restore the excavated mosaics and frescoes.
The ancient
port of
Ptolemais lies about four kilometers to the
East, where its remains sit close to the surface of the
Mediterranean.
What appeared to be a single shipwreck turned out to be a series of sunken ships: a 100-meter-long scatter of fragments and amphorae, probably used to
transport wine, was located. The underwater explorations carried out in 2024
and 2025 exposed submerged port structures, traces of roads, discarded anchors, and sounding weights among fallen columns.
A rare find was
that of a bronze aequipondium,
literally a counterweight used in Roman weighing scales, in this case in the shape
of a woman’s head and filled with lead.
Obviously, a lot
of work remains to be done in this country, where excavations are a precarious
enterprise.
