Excavations restarted in Ptolemais, Cyrenaica region of Libya

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. 

[Picture from TVP World]

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.

Reading and decoding inscriptions

Today’s visitors will inevitably come across many inscriptions when visiting ancient sites or museums. Reading Greek or Latin is not for everybody, and understanding the meaning of the text and context is reserved only for the happy few. The stone or marble support has more often than not suffered from wear and tear, leaving the untrained eye to merely guess its value. 

We are lucky to find an explanation next to the inscription, rarely a full translation, as those are reserved for scholars. Well, the text may be boring, but it also may contain some exciting twists and turns. Yet, who wants to know? 

In antiquity, people would read the latest laws and decrees, regulations and agreements, peace treaties, manumission of slaves, grave markers, boundary stones, milestones, etc., as they walked through public spaces. Some of these texts are still in situ, particularly those engraved on the walls of still-standing monuments. The majority, however, has found a place in the museum for safekeeping and is often out of sight. 

The most familiar examples of inscriptions are those chiseled on grave steles, sarcophagi, and tombs. They also appear on the pedestals of statues lining streets such as Phaselis’ Harbor Street or Olympia’s road to the Stadium. Others serve to identify the deities, kings, and emperors that fill the sanctuaries and agoras, or the niches of theatres, stadiums, libraries, baths, Nymphaeums, and other public buildings. 

But some inscriptions will surprise many of us. 

For instance, this stele at the Louvre Museum holds the accounts of the Parthenon Treasury. The text covers both sides of the stele made of Pentelikon marble and illustrates how democracy works. Athens’ magistrates submitted the public accounts to the citizens for all to see. The front side, beneath a relief of the Sacred Olive Tree flanked by Athena and the people (demos), displays the expenses for military operations, religious ceremonies, and the Panathenaic festival held in honor of their patron goddess for 410-409 BC. The reverse side has the expenditures for 407-406 BC.

In Butrint, Albania, a striking series of inscriptions is carved on the outside walls of the Roman Theater of Buthrotum, as the city was called in antiquity. 

They are hard to read but worth our attention because these are manumissions, slaves who had gained their freedom for whatever reason. Their sheer number is mind-blowing!

As surprising and revealing are the Edicts on prices! Who would have thought that there were strict rules to define the prices of goods in antiquity! 

The first such example I encountered was at Ptolemais in Libya, proclaimed by Emperor Diocletian in 301 AD.

Also by Diocletian is the Edict on maximum prices for products and labor discovered in Halicarnassus, dated to 301 AD. The Emperor hoped to stave off a financial crisis and prevent inflation. 

Although this tablet was unearthed in Bodrum (the modern name for Halicarnassus), bits of similar Edicts were also found in Pergamon, Aizanoi, Aphrodisias, and Stratonikea. It is quite surprising to read that the Edict from Halicarnassus consists of 37 parts. Part 9, for instance, is about shoes and boots … 27 different kinds and sizes are listed!

Taxes are another matter that deserves attention. One such inscription that is hard to miss can be seen on Curetes Street in Ephesos, close to the Library. 

This tax law was written in the second half of the 4^th century AD, during the rule of Emperors Valentian I, Valens, and Gratian.

Less obvious is Alexander’s tax remission from the wall of the Temple of Athena in Priene, now exhibited in the British Museum in London. 

Alexander contributed to the cost of building the unfinished temple, and in return, he was allowed to dedicate it: “King Alexander dedicated the temple of Athena Polias”. 

This text was followed by a longer inscription setting out the terms of an agreement between Alexander and Priene under which the city was to be exempt from taxation. 

Not all inscriptions were written in Greek or Latin, and I find it fascinating to hunt for these exceptions. 

Having a closer look at Lycia’s sarcophagi strewn throughout the landscape, I discovered texts that seemed to be written in Greek but are in Lycian, as they contain several odd letters that do not exist in the Greek alphabet. Antiphellos and Limyra have good illustrations of Lycian texts.

Another case is to be found in Sillyum, some 25 kilometers northeast of Antalya, an often overlooked site, although the hillside is easily spotted in the otherwise flat plain of Pamphylia. 

It takes some detective work to locate the inscription in the Pamphylian language carved in the doorpost of a Hellenistic building – a very rewarding effort though!

The people of ancient Side also had a language of their own. A small inscription has survived and can be seen at the local museum located inside the remains of the Roman Baths.

After Alexander conquered Lycia and Pamphylia, Greek became the lingua franca, and the local tongues disappeared.

The beauty of Alexandrine mosaics

The first time I was confronted with the fine and delicate mosaics created in Alexandria was in Libya. 

Unexpectedly, this was in the eastern city of Ptolemais, seeing the centerpieces of the mosaic floors in the Summer Triclinium of the Palazzo delle Colonne. It was as if I could zoom in time and again to discover ever more details! 

Another striking example was exhibited at the local Museum of Sabratha in western Libya. Here it was a carpet-like mosaic depicting the Triumph of Bacchus. The three central roundels executed in fine Alexandrine mosaics stood out against the otherwise rather rough tesserae of the outer mosaic. The top roundel showed Bacchus, after whom the mosaic was named, followed by a lively lion head and a panther head. 

Another example was presented at the Bozar Museum in Brussels during the Exhibition on Alexandria in 2022. Here the fine centerpiece of the mosaic was a wild Medusa face on loan from the Museum of Alexandria dated also from the 2^nd century AD. 

Scenes of gods and goddesses were very common in antiquity, but it seems that animals were generally introduced by the Romans. 

Lesser known is the panel of a colorful parakeet, one of three centerpieces that decorated a floor of Palace V in Pergamon. This is the only one that made it to the Museum of Pergamon; the other two are lost in the mist of time. 

Now the story of this parakeet requires some extra information. To start with, it has been identified as the Psittacula eupatria, noble fatherland or of noble ancestry. Apparently, it was Alexander the Great who sent the first birds from Punjab to the West, where they were received as exotic pets by the rich and famous of his time. 

The mosaic panel was made in Pergamon in the days of Eumenes II or Attalus II to decorate the so-called altar room of Palace V on the city’s acropolis.

The technique also used the opus vermiculatum meant to emphasize the contours of the bird – a parakeet in this case. To that effect, one or more rows of dark tesserae would be inserted around the subject to enhance the pictorial effect and create an extra contrast or a shadow.   

It is hard to imagine how the artisans of those days were still able to see what they were doing handling those tiny bits of stone, marble, and glass varying between 0.5 to 1 millimeter in size and keeping an eye on the contrast effect at the same time. High-skilled craftsmanship, no doubt.

Another isolated Hellenistic Mausoleum

Years ago, upon leaving the site of Ptolemais in Libya, I was pleasantly surprised by the remains of a Hellenistic Mausoleum (see: Ptolemais, heritage of the Ptolemies in the Cyrenaica). It looked abandoned and neglected; nobody could tell me anything about it. 

Presently, another similar Mausoleum has been spotted in Darende, near Malatya in eastern Turkey. In antiquity, the city’s name was Melitene, a vital crossing point over the Tigris River not unlike the role played by Zeugma (see: Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) and Dura Europos (see: Dura Europos, last stop on the Euphrates). It was also the end of the highway coming from Caesarea, modern Kayseri. The Romans fortified Melitene in the 2nd century AD to control access to the upper Tigris and southern Armenia and to defend themselves against the invading Parthians. Procopius of Caesarea, living in the 6th century AD, described Melitene’s theaters, agoras, and temples, of which nothing has been discovered until now. 

[Picture from Malatya GoTurkiye Destinations]

Scholars have established that this Mausoleum has the shape of a Greek temple built in Hellenistic style, not unlike the well-known Nereid’s Monument in Xanthos (see: Xanthos, the greatest city of Lycia), now at the British Museum in London. Based on its appearance and decorative features, the Mausoleum of Darende has been dated to the 2nd century AD. 

This building is meant to honor the deceased, although no inscription of any kind has been found to reveal his name. The monument shows four Ionian columns attached to the brick wall on each side. Between the columns and approximately four meters above ground are closed window niches, except for one on the west and one on the east side, which are open. All niches are framed between two small columns and crowned with an arch. Underneath each niche are thick wrought garlands like those often carved on Roman sarcophagi. 

The Mausoleum is about 6.5 meters high and is built in a perfect square of 6.65x6.65 meters outside. The entrance door was on the west side. The inside shape is rectangular, measuring 3.48x4.5 meters. This difference is because the interior chamber has a barrel vault supported by a thicker north and south wall. 

Presently, a restoration project has been started to support the damaged parts of the Mausoleum to preserve it in the best way possible for the future. The dirt covering the original stone floor will be removed, and the roof will also be cleared. 

Today, the Mausoleum lies hidden among the vast apricot orchards for which Malatya is famous, as the region provides 80% of Turkey’s production.

About the preservation of mosaics

Mosaics from whatever time period or location always have a lot to tell about customs, religion, and simple daily life, and as such are very valuable testimonies of our past. 

Yet, as soon as the precious tesserae are exposed, the question arises about what to do with the mosaic and about the best way to preserve it. 

The problem was first confronted during the 18^th century when sites like Pompeii and Herculaneum were excavated. In those days, archaeology was not established as a proper science and most of the finds were carried away to be displayed in the mansions of the rich and famous. As a result, the mosaics were taken apart and the most pleasing pictures were framed in simple or elaborate frames. 

As the number of excavations steadily grew in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, archaeology matured equally and it became clear that not all mosaics – and certainly not the larger ones – could be moved for conservation inside a museum. 

Another option was to rebury the mosaics. To this purpose and probably by trial and error, different materials such as soil, gravel, or sand were used to cover the mosaics. The most obvious material was the soil, which was readily available at the excavation site. Besides, it made sense to rebury the mosaics using the same material that had contributed to their survival for many centuries. Nowadays, sand and gravel with or without plastic netting are often implemented all over antique sites. 

I often regret that I cannot actually have a look at those hidden treasures although I totally understand the logic behind this decision. However, standing at the entrance of the Royal Palace in Aegae and not being able to see the large round mosaic of the Tholos or Sanctuary is rather frustrating. In other places, like in Dion, Greece, (see: Dion, the Macedonian Sanctuary), strolling among the remains of Roman houses is not as rewarding as it could be if the many floors were exposed. 

At times, in order to help the visitor visualize the wealth of the mosaics in situ, shelters have been built to protect the precious stones under all circumstances. There are many such cases, such as Pella, Greece, or Nea Paphos in Cyprus. 

In the end, it all depends on the circumstances and the locations where the mosaics are discovered. In Zeugma, Turkey, (see: Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) even larger floors were removed from the site because the old city was to be flooded after the construction of a dam on the Euphrates. The only way to save what could be saved was to remove the mosaics and shelter them in a newly constructed museum in Gaziantep. 

Mosaic floors that belong to extensive villas are nowadays generally kept intact. A good example is the huge Villa of Piazza Armerina in Sicily (best known for the pictures of the bikini-girls) which has been largely roofed. On other occasions, the entire basement of the villa is cleared and made accessible underground as is the case in Ravenna, Italy. This site, called Tapeti di Pietra (carpets of stone) had been discovered during the construction of a parking lot underneath a modern building. Another similar situation occurred in Antakya, Turkey (see: Antakya’s rich collection of mosaics) where the heavily undulating mosaic floor will be incorporated into the hotel that is under construction. 

It appears that there are many options to safeguard a mosaic floor, all depending on the location and the circumstances in which they are found. Overall, the best and safest conservation choice is the reburial technique. However, this has to be done very carefully and the site must be kept under surveillance. It is sad to find mosaics disintegrating because the layer of sand and gravel is not thick enough and curious or malicious visitors scratch the protection away to expose the mosaics underneath. Many archaeological sites in the Middle East and North Africa are being damaged beyond repair like in Ptolemais, Libya (see: Ptolemais, heritage of the Ptolemies in the Cyrenaica).

About Greek/Roman columns and capitals

Well, this is not so much about columns which are the apparent eye-catcher generally drawing our attention toward the remains of a temple, an agora, or a stoa. Capitals are more challenging to pinpoint as they often toppled down after warfare, earthquakes, or other destruction. Although the casual visitor will inevitably notice the columns, he seldom pays attention to the capitals. These, however, tell a story of their own.

We are most familiar with the Doric and Ionic columns and capitals. The Doric order is the oldest one and is found in archaic architecture. It was, in fact, a logical evolution when stone replaced the original wooden beams in the construction of sanctuaries. The stones were cut into drums that could be handled readily and piled one atop the other to the desired height.

We have many temples built in the Doric style, and the highest concentration may be found in places such as Agrigento, Segesta, and Selinunte in Sicily.

Remains of this stone-cutting process are clearly visible at the ancient quarry of Cava di Cusa in Sicily. Since the site was abruptly abandoned, the quarried and half-quarried drums have been left unfinished. Seeing them from so close up and realizing how big such a drum truly was was pretty amazing.

The slim Ionic columns and capitals are generally tied to the Hellenistic period. They are higher and carry their typical elegant curly capital. Once again, it pays off to carefully look at a capital lying on the ground, as is the case in Didyma, Turkey, for instance. Spotting such capital on top of a 20-meter-high column is one thing, but quite another experience to match it to your stature.

Once the drums were stacked, the columns were usually fluted, but not always. In some cases, we find monolithic columns made of more noble materials like marble. They always seem to make a statement.

The Romans favored the Corinthian order, whose capitals were more elaborate. They came in endless variations of acanthus leaves, sometimes mingled with flowers to turn into delicate high-reliefs, almost like lace. It is remarkable to learn that in Gerasa (modern Jerash), Jordan, the Romans removed all the Ionic capitals from the columns on the Cardo and replaced them with Corinthian ones.

By the second century AD, we start seeing the heads of gods and goddesses emerging from among the foliage of the Corinthian acanthus. The first such elaborate examples that struck me were those from the Palazzo delle Colonne in Ptolemais, Libya, with the heads of Jupiter and Mars. There must be many more such examples, of course.

The Greeks and Romans' primary architectural orders are the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian capitals. Other countries and other civilizations had their own versions. The Egyptians loved their papyrus capitals, and the Persians the double bull or lion heads.

Yet, I was very much surprised to see the Pergamene capital as I was strolling through the widespread ruins of Leptis Magna in Libya. Why had I not seen any in Pergamon, Turkey? Did I miss them altogether? I returned to my pictures of Pergamon but found mainly Ionic capitals, besides some Doric and Corinthian. Even the famous Altar of Zeus displayed only Ionic columns. However, the temple of Athena has used Pergamene capitals. 

Otherwise, even after searching the internet, I found only rare examples of this capital inspired by the Egyptian palm columns. Yet, they were all over Leptis Magna, and I feel privileged to have seen them in such large numbers with my own eyes!

In the end, looking at the top of the many columns that still fill our archaeological sites clearly pays off. We may be in for more surprises than expected. 

Price list established by Emperor Diocletian

One would not expect to find rules defining the maximum price for goods and services in the year 301 AD, but this is exactly what happened.

On the 1^st of September 301, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict to this purpose containing as many as 1,400 items for raw materials and manufacturing goods as well as for services in order to curb the high inflation. It was posted all over his empire, and so far, it is known that, for instance, in Anatolia, parts of the decree have been found in Pergamon, Aizanoi, Aphrodias, Stratonikeia, and Halicarnassus.

The entire edict consists of 37 parts, and the Museum of Halicarnassus proudly exhibits part 9 and a bit of part 10. Today, Aphrodisias claims to have unearthed the complete list that was inscribed on the façade of the Civil Basilica. With restoration works in progress, archaeologists hope to reassemble the entire decree inside the building, where future visitors will be able to see it. It is written in Greek, but authorities plan to make the text available in Latin, English, and Turkish translations.

This will certainly shed extra light on the social and economic life of Diocletian’s days. The list mentions such a range of items as the travel fee from Alexandria to Rome, the ostrich fee, or the price for a rabbit’s belly fur.

Moreover, I remember having seen this edict of Diocletian in Ptolemais (modern Libya). It was found on the Via Porticata, the Monument Street, which corresponded to the Decumanus. The panel that was retrieved here is slightly damaged and is now exhibited at the local Museum of Ptolemais. There must be many other such places, but it is not easy to track them down.

Finding such legislation all over the Roman Empire clearly shows their widespread organizational skills. It makes me wonder whether such a law existed before, maybe already in Hellenistic times.

Cyrene and other Libyan sites defaced and left for grabs

The great city of Cyrene that rose from its ashes in the last one hundred years or so is sadly being defaced by graffiti. It is left at the mercy of vandals and looters. The local population, for whatever reason, confiscates the land illegally, and only Zeus may know what will become of this precious gem on the coast of North Africa.

Cyrene is on the UNESCO World Heritage list with the archaeological sites of Leptis Magna, Sabratha, and Ghadames (pre-Saharian city), all tagged as “in danger.” Other smaller but no less precious sites have been plundered and looted at the same rate or maybe more, because they are not so well known or documented. Cities belonging to the Cyrenaica, like Ptolemais and Apollonia, and the rich Roman villas strung along the western seaside, roughly between Leptis Magna and Sabratha, are easy targets.

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the Department of Antiquities has been virtually powerless and has no means to stop vandalism or theft. Many artifacts have been smuggled outside the country, and it seems to be everyone’s guess which objects are gone and who has acquired them.

The people of Libya, unfortunately, do not appreciate their cultural heritage, and obviously, they have other priorities.

What is the use of having laws against looting and illegal operations if there is no central power to enforce and apply these laws, I wonder. With the best intentions, a “world heritage” in this context is meaningless.

Two more cities of Libya’s Pentapolis: Taucheira and Euesperides

The Libyan Pentapolis included Cyrene, Apollonia, Ptolemais (or Barca), Arsinoe (or Taucheira), and Euesperides (or Berenice), all situated in Cyrenaica in eastern Libya. The region was very fertile and produced wheat and barley, as well as olive oil and wine; the orchards, in turn, were filled with fig and apple trees; sheep and cattle roamed widely; and above all, this was the only place in the world where silphium grew, a natural medicine, a contraceptive, and aphrodisiac.

[Picture from Livius]

I previously developed the history and roles of major cities like Cyrene, Apollonia, and Ptolemais, so this time, I’ll concentrate on Arsinoe or Taucheira (modern Tocra) and Euesperides or Berenice (near modern Benghazi) to make the story complete, although I have not personally visited these sites.

Ancient Taucheira lies 70 km to the east of Benghazi and was probably the smallest city of the Pentapolis. It was founded by colonists from Cyrene, not too long after Cyrene’s own foundation. It was Ptolemy II Philadelphus who changed the city’s name to Arsinoe after his sister and wife. Unfortunately, Justinian gave orders to build a new wall around the city, for which stones from earlier constructions were used, in accordance with the typical Byzantine fashion. As a result, not many ruins are left to see, although the general layout is still recognizable in spite of the overgrowth. A good viewpoint is the tower erected by the Italians who occupied Libya early in the last century.

Euesperides, on the other hand, was founded around 525 BC, probably by people from Cyrene or from Barca, on the edge of the lagoon opening towards the sea. The name Euesperides is thought to refer to the mythological gardens of Hesperides. After Ptolemy III married Berenice, the daughter of the governor of Cyrene in 246 BC, the city was named Berenice after his wife. But that was not enough in Ptolemy’s eyes, for he moved the entire city to the present location of Benghazi, although the move may have been triggered by the silting up of the lagoon.

The oldest coins minted in Euesperides are from 480 BC and carry an engraving of Delphi, with on the reverse a picture of the now-disappeared silphium plant. This is a sign that the city enjoyed a certain independence from Cyrene at the time. The constitution of Euesperides was similar to that of Cyrene, meaning that it was ruled by a board of chief magistrates and a council of elders.

After the death of Alexander the Great, the city knew uncertain times, and even the Ptolemaic dynasty was not able to keep a true hold on the Pentapolis. It later became a bishopric and was taken by the Ottomans in 1540. Modern Benghazi is built right on top of Ptolemy’s city, meaning that there is only a slim chance of finding any tangible remains from antiquity.

Ptolemais, heritage of the Ptolemies in the Cyrenaica (eastern Libya)

The origin of Ptolemais (or Barca) of the Libyan Pentapolis (see: Apollonia in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) after Alexander) goes back to the middle of the 6th century BC. Still, the name Ptolemais was probably given by Ptolemy III Euergetes, the grandson of Ptolemy I, who, in 322 BC, added the city to his realm after becoming the ruler of Egypt as successor to Alexander the Great. When the Romans annexed Egypt in the first century BC, they granted Ptolemais the status of a separate province. Since the city had no local water supply, the Roman architects managed to bring in water from the surrounding hills and store it in seventeen huge cisterns under the Forum. It was a flourishing city until it was struck by the destructive earthquake of 365 AD, which caused the entire North African coast to drop by about 4 meters. The invasion of the Vandals in 428 probably gave the final blow. The Byzantines moved their military governor to Apollonia, and the Arabs ensured the city was abandoned.

It still looks abandoned today, a mere flat site thrown with stones and rocks, with a sporadic tree to bring in some color. The access road to ancient Ptolemais is not inviting either, as it runs through a solid row of abandoned houses that the Italians built last century – a proper ghost town known as Tolmeitha. It is an eerie feeling to drive over this straight road flanked by colorful facades with cast-iron decorations, which, for some reason, made me think of the Via Appia in Rome, where the tombs are replaced by empty houses.

The city of Ptolemais is no more than a field on a gentle slope from the Mediterranean up to the mountains, where even the Hippodamian plan is hard to figure out. I am happy to be pointed to the familiar Decumanus and Cardo once I’ve reached the crossroad where a piece of wall and a lonely column are all that remains of the Arch of Constantine from 312 AD. The Decumanus has been promoted to Monument Street or Via Porticata, with on one side the Roman Baths and on the other side the remains of a private house. It was on this road that the Edict of Diocletian from 301 AD was found, setting the prices for the trade goods now in the local museum.

At the next crossroad, marked with Four Columns, I turn right to visit the imposing remains of the so-called Palazzo delle Colonne, meaning the “Villa with the Columns.” Since this is about the only reconstructed building, it can hardly be missed. The Villa lies here in all its splendor, and it is generally accepted that it was built according to the then-prevailing fashion in Alexandria (Egypt). This theory is hard to verify since old Alexandria is still buried deep under the modern city, and an excellent example of such a villa has never been found, but I like the idea. In any case, the owner was not a poor man.

We owe the qualification of Palazzo to the Italian archaeologists of the last century, who found that it covered an entire street block (600 sqm) and counted two levels. The rear of the building, the living quarters, is resting on a plateau from where the owner had a panoramic view over the city, and I can see all the way to the seafront. This part had an upper level, probably the sleeping quarters. In front of these quarters below me, there is space for eight shops opening into the street, with, in the back, their own storage rooms. This storage lies next to a large patio and a complete bathing complex, including a Caldarium, Tepidarium, and Frigidarium, probably for the master of the house and his family. A separate staircase leads from the house directly to the patio below.

The re-erected columns are not well restored, with big blobs of cement in between, but they give an excellent idea of the past glory. The leaves at the bottom of the columns are quite exceptional, a subtle hint to Egypt – hence the name oecus aegyptius used to name this room. It takes some imagination to crown these columns with the capitals (now at the local museum) of the Corinthian order, with the heads of Jupiter and Mars staring down from between the acanthus leaves.

Behind this room and in the center of this complex lies the Atrium, including the earthen pipes that led the water to the bubbling fountain in the center of the pool. The Atrium was surrounded by a covered gallery resting on Ionic columns and paved with black and white mosaics, now carefully covered with plastic and soil. However, the edges are still exposed here and there. Central in this Atrium is the summer dining room that offers a view over the inside garden, and the water basin, once paved with magnificent mosaics. More protected from the elements lies, on the right-hand side, the winter dining room adjacent to the so-called Medusa room, after the mosaic found here, which has also been moved to the museum.

I am quite impressed by this Palazzo delle Colonne, not only because of its location, which is striking by itself, but also by the entire combination of these unique columns with their decoration and paintings, the many mosaic floors in color as well as black and white, and the many statues that enhanced these rooms because the Venus and Bacchus from the museum certainly were not the only ones found here. This Villa, in my opinion, goes beyond what has been found in Pompeii or Herculaneum, although they have other characteristics.

The next house block is entirely occupied by the Forum, paved with small slabs of marble and surrounded by columns, a few of which have (not too well) been restored. Under this Forum from the second century AD (in Greek times, this was a Gymnasium), the true treasure of Ptolemais lies buried: its water cisterns. Eight such huge galleries run north-south over a total length of 50 meters, and nine run east-west over 20 meters. I have seen such cisterns in cities like Termessos and Sillyum in Turkey, but not of this size. The oldest cisterns are from Hellenistic times, and when I climb down the stairs in the center of the Forum, I can clearly see the marks where supporting beams held the flat wooden roof of that period. The Romans later covered the entire system with vaulted ceilings and, in the process, more than doubled the storage capacity to reach as much as six million liters! It is a unique experience to walk through these vaulted galleries!

Right behind the Forum lies the Odeon – a somewhat controversial building. Originally built as a Bouleuterion, this Odeon dates from the 4th-5th century AD but might as well be a small theatre since the half-circular orchestra could be filled with water. However, the water supply is too far away from the theatre to be used as such, and even if this space could be filled with water, to what purpose was it used? Some archaeologists opt for miniature sea battles, while others think the water would be used to improve the acoustics. For the time being, this remains a mystery.

At the far end to the left, on the west side, one can discern the contours of the Teucheira city gate from the 5th century AD, but the entire extent in between seems still in dire need of excavation. Ptolemais definitely was an important city.

On my way back, walking over the westerly Cardo to the exit, I stopped at the Roman Villa where the mosaic of the Four Seasons was found (now at the local museum). Not much to see except that this building deserves to be called a villa. Noteworthy is that the colonnade around the Atrium ends in a horseshoe shape – an exception to the standard square pattern. Simple, smooth columns surround the central area, neatly restored without the blobs of cement the Italians used elsewhere.

The local museum is nothing more than a large storage room, but it is nice to have it so close to the excavation site (Now, a few years after the fall of Gaddafi, I wonder what has become of this place). I marvel at the fine mosaics apparently imported from Alexandria, framed with rougher mosaics laid by local craftsmen. The Medusa-mosaic from the Palazzo delle Colonne steals the show, next to two fragments with hens and fishes, and another large mosaic carpet showing the Four Seasons with two panthers underneath. True gems!

Next to a beheaded Bacchus and an elegant Venus with the head of Demeter (a strange combination), both from the 2nd century AD and found at the above-mentioned Villa, there are several painted and artistically carved Corinthian capitals revealing the heads of Jupiter and Mars. Interesting also are the aerial views of the villas I just visited. In a corner, I find the remains of a sarcophagus with an image of Achilles and, standing behind him, his mother, Thetis. An intriguing discovery, although I need help understanding what they are doing here.

One of the masterpieces is the slightly damaged panel from the Via Porticata, which shows several goods and their respective prices according to the Edict of Diocletian from 301 AD. That such legislation existed at all is quite impressive! Next to it stands a particularly graceful relief with six dancing Maenads found on the same avenue. The Maenads were a favorite subject in antiquity, and this relief has enhanced the base supporting a statue of the dramatist Euripides. The original statue was sculpted in Athens in 405 BC, but this is the best (Roman) copy. The ecstatic Maenads, followers of Dionysus, are particularly elegant in their floating robes, waving the thyrsus staff and shaking their tambourines. Such a pity that in later years, the piece was used around a well, for otherwise, it is relatively well-preserved.

Once more, this is a city that owes its glory to Alexander and his successors, as it lived on for another 700 years. Ptolemais definitely deserves to be added to the list of Alexander’s achievements.

If we pay more attention than usual, we find much more than the sites and buildings we are pointed towards. It happened to me while driving out of Ptolemais, as I noticed the remains of a Hellenistic tomb, clearly inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. It is no more than a lonely square in the middle of an abandoned field used as a garbage dump, although fenced off with barbed wire, planks, and corrugated roofing. The original tomb must have been much higher than the remaining 11 meters, but the floor plan of 12 x 12 meters is still intact. This tomb belongs to the 2nd century BC, Ptolemaic times, and still carries the alternating motives of triglyphs and metopes along the top edge, although the friezes have long since disappeared, just like the steps at the base. As elsewhere, it was common practice to dismantle old buildings to reuse the recuperated stone blocks in new constructions (spolia).