Odd hexagonal Dacian mold

It is heartwarming to read that archaeological excavations are still ongoing at the site of Sarmizegetusa Regia in Romania. 

The old capital was a stronghold situated at an elevation of 1200 meters and built over five terraces. It contained a separate ceremonial zone, a residential area, and a fortress serving state and civic matters. 

The largest Dacian sanctuaries occupied the ceremonial quarter with several temples and a circular sanctuary delimited by a set of wooden posts in the shape of the letter D. This was, in turn, surrounded by a circle of wooden posts, which sat inside a line of curb stone used for astronomical observations or perhaps even as a solar calendar. 

In my earlier blog about Dacia (see: Dacia before Alexander), I mentioned the artistry of this country’s artisans. My praise was undoubtedly not exaggerated, considering the highly complex bronze mold unearthed in 2013. When a tree on the site collapsed after a storm, the mold was discovered entangled in its roots. 

It has been established that a Dacian jeweler created this octagonal matrix during the 1st century BC to produce decorative mythological figures made from precious metals. As such, it is the only one of its kind in Europe. 

What makes it so unique is that it contains a whole series of molds of real animals, including a lion, tiger, leopard, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, bear, boar, bull, wolf, antelope, and rabbit. There are also mythological animals, such as a vulture-griffin, a lion-griffin, and a wolf-griffin. 

This eight-kilogram matrix is 5 cm thick and has been described as having eight facets, two of which are hexagonal. Expert analysis has revealed that the images confirm Dacia’s close links with the Mediterranean and Pontic regions. 

Given the importance of this mold, authorities have decided to exhibit it in a separate secured room at the Dacian and Roman Civilization Museum in Deva. Here, visitors can look closely at the animals depicted on the matrix. Deva is some 400 km northwest of Bucharest and roughly 60 km north of Sarmizegetuza. 

Before this find, a sophisticated, more than 2000-year-old calendar was discovered. The Dacian calendar counted 365.242197 days in a year, which beats the ancient Mayan calendar by 12 seconds. Our modern Gregorian calendar counts 365.2425 days in a year. 

Well, so much for the knowledge of people in antiquity!

[Pictures from eutimes.net]

Preparations to sail down the Indus

The history of Alexander’s conquests in India usually relates the facts in a succession of events without paying much attention to the king’s thorough planning and preparation ahead. To sail down the Indus was an expedition by itself, which is generally ignored.

Alexander withdrew in style from the Hyphasis. After building twelve altars to thank the gods for having led him so far as conqueror and leaving an impressive memorial to his own accomplishments, he turned around to cross the Hyphasis, Hydraotes, and Acesines once again (see: Alexander erected twelve altars on the banks of the Hyphasis). 

Hence, the army marched to the Hydaspes, where Alexander had founded the cities of Alexandria Nicaea and Alexandria Bucephala (see: The edge of the world was not reached). According to his instructions, many ships had already been assembled, but he needed to build many more before sailing south. Within two months, the entire fleet was ready. It consisted of eighty thirty-oared galleys, troop carriers, flat-bottomed boats for horse transport, circular tubs, local river boats, and enormous grain-lighters for supplies. The latter is a forerunner of the modern LASH ship or Lighter Aboard Ship that loads and unloads barges, as still used on the Indus.  Known locally as zobruks, they have a shallow draught and huge sail, perfectly suitable in strong currents. Each vessel could hold more than two hundred tons of grain to feed the army on their voyage to the Ocean.

This was a massive operation that Alexander had planned meticulously. He selected the Phoenicians, Carians, Cyprians, and Egyptians who served in his army. From them, he chose men with nautical skills for crews and rowers. Other experts were selected from among the islanders (from the Aegean), Ionians from Asia Minor, and people from the Hellespont.

Imagine this armada of up to 2,000 vessels (half the flotilla that crossed the Channel on D-Day!), moving at the shouts of the coxswain (steersman) as his rhythmic call was echoed by the high riverbanks mingled with the noise of splashing oars. 

Another factor worth considering is the number of troops needed to be moved. Back on the Hydaspes, 35,000 fresh soldiers had swollen Alexander’s total manpower to a massive 120,000! His cavalry, at this point, has been estimated to be some 15,000. However, not all the men and horses boarded the ships; neither did the impressive baggage train.

Alexander organized the army in three divisions as he would personally lead the fleet from his Royal galley with the support of his shield-bearers guards, all the archers, and the Companion cavalry – totaling 8,000 men. Hephaistion would march along the east bank of the Hydaspes while Craterus would lead the west bank with part of the infantry and the cavalry. Hephaistion took with him the bulk of the fighting troops and 200 elephants. Their instructions were to march together in advance and wait for the fleet.

The king took command after having performed extensive sacrifices to his ancestral gods and the deities of the river and Ocean. With a golden goblet, he poured a libation into the river from the prow of his ship – entirely in style with the solemn occasion. 

As soon as the trumpets signaled the departure, the voyage started in regular order. It was a hazardous enterprise, but the king had instructed how many baggage vessels were to sail abreast and the place for the boats carrying the horses and the ships of war. All vessels were to keep their distance and stay in formation, adapting their speed accordingly. Given the different sizes of boats ranging from warships and baggage vessels to horse transports, they individually required accurate steering and high alertness of their pilots. The purpose was that the ships would not fall out of each other or sail down randomly. Nearchus of Crete was appointed admiral of the fleet, with Onesicritus of Cos as his second and helmsman of the Royal flagship. 

Even after the monsoon rains had stopped, the annual flow of the Hydaspes was two times faster than that of the Nile or three times that of the Euphrates and the Tigris combined. The current would increase notably as the river narrows, particularly at the confluence with the Acesines. The roaring of the water could be heard miles ahead as the surface roughened.  

At last, the fleet made it across the narrows where the two rivers met, and the banks receded. The stream slackened, and Alexander found a protected spot on the right bank to moor his ships safely. Here, the men could take a break and make the necessary repairs before moving onward. 

Alexander was about to enter the land of the warlike Malians, who had been preparing for the confrontation.

Dacia before Alexander

Dacia is a Roman name. When Emperor Trajan conquered the territory of what is now Romania in 106 AD, he called it the province of Dacia Felix. The new capital was Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetusa, i.e.,  today’s Sarmizegetusa Regia.

The Dacians, however, were known to the Greeks as Getae, the very people Alexander chased across the Danube in 335 BC (see: Crossing the Danube River and The King is dead, long live the King). After the king’s death, Lysimachos, who became king of neighboring Thrace, waged repeated wars against the Getae without success. He was even captured by their king, who forced him to withdraw from the Lower Danube in 292 BC. 

Interestingly, Strabo states that although the language of the Dacians is the same as the Getae's, the name applies to their location. The Getae lived close to the Pontus Euxinus, the Black Sea, and the Dacians, closer to Germany and the sources of the Ister, the Danube River. They somehow managed to co-exist if they did not mingle with earlier settlers. 

In the second half of the 7th century BC, Ionian Greeks had already emigrated to the shores of the Black Sea to escape the expansion of the Persian Empire. The most prominent group of colonies came from Miletus, who, in 630 BC, founded their first town Histria, at the mouth of the Danube (see: The many colonies of Miletus). The Greek colonists remained in Dacia until 46 AD. 

Before them, the nomadic Scythians driving their cattle ever further west from the steppes of Central Asia were in regular contact with the Getae/Dacians from c. 550 to 250 BC. The Scythians left us no writing, but the artifacts found in and around their occasional settlements testify of highly skilled artists. 

Three years ago, in 2020, the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren, Belgium, organized a wonderful exhibition Dacia Felix taking us back in time. The selected objects came from various Romanian museums, particularly the National Museum of Romanian History in Bucharest, which most of us will not readily visit. It offered a unique opportunity to see these unique artifacts brought together. 

Particularly striking are the Getae’s parade helmets with eyes to ward off the evil spirits. One such helmet is made of gold and is decorated with mythological figures. It has been dated to 425-375 BC. Another example from 400-300 BC is made of gilded silver. Although these were ritual helmets, it is easy to imagine how piercing eyes would scare off the enemy if worn in close combat! A silver gilded greave with a tattooed face, dated 340-330 BC, is another example of Getaen art influenced by the Scythians and the Greeks. 

The smaller gold and silver artifacts also call for attention. There are appliques, otherwise known from Scythian art, used to decorate the horses’ bridles and harnesses. Some specimens even show Persian influences (400-300 BC). 

The Getaen men of power, such as high priests and kings, wore finely crafted bracelets. A solid gold spiral specimen with ram heads (500-400 BC) weighs no less than one kilogram! Another eye-catcher is a gold diadem with panthers and flowers (400-200 BC). 

To illustrate that the Getae were not limited to today’s Romania, there are two very similar goblets on display, one silver gilded from neighboring Bulgaria, 400-300 BC, and the other found in Romania, made in silver and dated to 340-330 BC. 

The Celts, in turn, occupied the fertile lands of Dacia roughly from 320 until 175 BC, i.e., after one group of warriors had sacked Rome in 387 BC. These tribes never intended to settle but were constantly hunting for precious goods. Although the Celts shared the same language and religion, they roamed in separate bands along the northern borders of Thracia, Macedonia, and Italy. 

As expected, the Celts left us weapons, helmets, and decorations for horse harnesses, mainly from their grave sites. The most remarkable legacy is an iron helmet holding a falcon on top dated from 250-175 BC. The chief who wore it must have impressed his opponents with his stature, as the bird made him look much taller. Besides, the realistic falcon acted as a symbol of power.

Dacia sometimes stretched beyond Romania, including northern Bulgaria, southwestern Ukraine, and Hungary east of the Danube. The rich testimonies of Scythians, Getae, and Celts are left undocumented, as these peoples did not have any writing. Their heritage is solely based on archaeological excavations, which yielded a wide array of artifacts, including precious jewelry and decorative items.

It should be noted that the battle depicted in Trajan’s Column in Rome reflects the emperor’s sacking of Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetusa in 106 AD after the Dacians failed to respect the peace conditions of their surrender. Something worth remembering during our next visit to the eternal city!

Origin of the tin ingots from Uluburun

It largely remains an open question of how much Alexander knew about the lands he set out to conquer. The answer or answers keep amazing me. 

Imagine that Alexander was familiar with the trade routes of the precious minerals like copper and tin that existed nearly one thousand years before he was born. Today, we would say it is rather obvious, but is it? 

Merchants were always very innovative and perseverant in exploring and finding new markets for their goods to be sold at the highest prices. The shipwreck of Uluburun was a true eye-opener, exposing the variety of wares from distant countries that were traded mainly around the Mediterranean. 

In my earlier blog, The flooded remains of Kekova Island and Uluburun, I mentioned that the ship was on its way from Egypt to the Black Sea when it sank off the coast of Uluburun in modern Turkey. It carried, among others, 10 tons of copper ingots from Cyprus and an unspecified number of tin ingots from Persia. 

It was lengthy to bring the cargo from the Uluburun ship to the surface, as it took 22,430 dives. The precious finds are now safely exhibited inside the Museum of Bodrum Castle, surrounded by lively reconstructions of the ship’s haul. I somehow missed spotting the tin ingots as I focused on the copper and glass ingots instead. 

It is common knowledge that copper and tin are needed to make bronze. Since the second millennium BC, bronze has been in high demand to create tools and objects of prestige, but most of all for weapons. It is noteworthy that the Uluburun ship held enough metal to supply swords to 5,000 soldiers! 

A recent study published in The Past established that two-thirds of the 105 tin ingots originated from the Taurus Mountains in Turkey, and one-third were traced back to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. These two countries are roughly 3000 kilometers east of Uluburun! 

[Map: provided by Michael Frachetti/Washington University in St. Louis]

During the Bronze Age, the mines of Central Asia were local operations led by small mobile villagers. Tin from the Musiston mine traveled over rugged and rough terrain to Haifa - a distance of more than 3,000 km – before it was shipped across the Mediterranean.

Dating Kampyr-Tepe, Alexandria-on-the-Oxus

Kampyr-Tepe, ancient Alexandria-on-the-Oxus, whose foundations go back to the 4th and 3rd century BC, has been continuously excavated by Edvard V. Rtveladze and Alexei N. Gorin. They have concentrated on the citadel and the city proper with its striking Hellenistic entrance gate (see: Alexandria on the Oxus is at Kampyr-Tepe).

Alexander copper coins

By now, the citadel has yielded several Hellenistic coins that shed light on daily life in the city. Altogether, 30 coins of interest have been retrieved, mostly small-denomination copper coins. Two of them belong to King Antiochus I and 28 to the Graeco-Bactrian kings. Among them were rulers like: 

Antiochus I (281-261 BC)

Only two Seleucid coins were found in Kampyr-Tepe, and both were chalki (χαλκι, meaning copper) of Antiochus I, one minted in Babylonia (Seleucia-on-the-Tigris) and another one in Bactria.

Other examples came to light north of the Oxus River in places such as Afrasiab/Maracanda (see: Afrasiab, ancient Samarkand), Termez, and Bukhara.
 
Diodotus (c. 250-230 BC)
Scholars cannot agree whether Diodotus I or Diodotus II issued the coins. There are four copper coins: two dichalki, one chalkous, and one hemichalkous (half a chalkous). The chalkous was the smallest fraction of a Greek coin; in Athens, one needed eight χαλκι to make one obol. Based on their graphic design, these coins could have been issued by the mint of Bactra or Ai-Khanoum.

Tetradrachm of Euthydemus I

Euthydemus I (c. 230-200 BC)
Ten copper coins of Euthydemus I were found in Kampyr-Tepe, among which seven dichalki and one chalkous. Some of these coins have been extremely useful for dating the city’s buildings. Euthydemus I coins are the most common type found in northern Bactria, and six χαλκι are known from the Oxus Treasure (see: The Oxus Treasure, pieces Alexander must have known).
 
Euthydemus II (c. 190-185 BC)
Coins with the effigy of Euthydemus II are scarce. Some χαλκι, dichalki, and trichalki cuprum-nickel coins were found in Kampyr-Tepe, together with copper dichalki and trichalki.

Demetrius I (c. 200-185 BC)
Kampyr-Tepe has yielded one Demetrius obol and several copper χαλκι, dichalki, hemichalki, and trichalki.
 
Eucratides I (c.171-150 BC)
Eucratides is very much present in Kampyr-Tepe with seven coins, i.e., one drachm, one octuplus (a copper obol), and five obols. The obols belonged to the beginning of Eucratides’ reign when he started using his new title Megas, Great. One of these obols has been important to date when the fortified walls of the acropolis were last used as it was found in its top layer. It is noteworthy that Eucratides’ obols have also been recovered from Afrasiab/Maracanda, Bukhara (see: Alexander in Bactria and Sogdiana), and Ai-Khanoum.

Tetradrachm of Eucratides I

A bonus from Kampyr-Tepe was the find of two hitherto unknown coins of Heliocles and imitations of Demetrius I and Eucratides. Counterfeit is of all times!
 
Heliocles I (c. 139-129 BC) drachm imitation
The exact dates of Heliocles’ reign are not known. This drachm raises questions because of the mistakes in the inscriptions and the sloppy engraving of the letters. It may well be one of the first imitations.
Another drachm of Heliocles has surfaced in Takhti-Sangin, which may have been the source of the Oxus Treasure (see: The Oxus Treasure, pieces Alexander must have known).
 
Heliocles III (1st century BC) imitation
This king is so far unknown among the Seleucid or Graeco-Bactrian coins. Two coins with his bust were made according to Hellenistic traditions, but the shape of the letters on the coin’s inscription is problematic, especially the square omicron. The square version of the omicron first appears on Indo-Greek coins circulating at the end of the 2nd /beginning of the 1st century BC. The tradition continued until the last Indo-Greek King Hippostratus, who ruled over western Punjab.
It is quite possible that these coins were issued locally for Heliocles III, who shortly ruled over (northern) Bactria.
 
Demetrius drachms - imitation
Besides the abovementioned copper coins, two rare imitations of a Demetrius drachm have been unearthed. They were minted using a different die and showed distortion of the prototype. It has been possible to establish that they were issued in Bactria.
 
Eucratides obol - imitation
Among the Eucratides’ coins found at Kampyr-Tepe, one obol is an obvious imitation. The inscription on the obol is distorted and illegible, and the depiction of the ruler’s head is stylized compared to the real thing.
 
It is noteworthy that all the above finds and considerations treat coins from surface finds in Kampyr-Tepe, not from archaeological diggings. As in other Bactrian and Sogdian cities, the problem is that their remains are buried under thick layers of deposits hampering excavations.
 
Hellenistic coins unearthed from the banks of the Oxus River may suggest that the river played a significant role in the transportation and exchange of goods.

[For the above illustrations, I used my own pictures taken at the Numismatic Museum of Athens, because I lost the link to the reference photographs. We always stare at gold and silver coins, and I had no idea that copper Alexander coins ever existed. My pictures of Euthydemus and Eucratides are both tetradrachms, i.e., made of silver in Bactria].

Getting around in the Nile Delta

Speaking of the Nile Delta, we obviously mean the embouchure of the river Nile where its waters mingle with those of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The problem, however, is to picture the ancient cities and harbors along that coastline. There are several elements to be taken into account. 

Historically, we best know the role played by Alexandria and Pelusium, situated on opposite sides of the Delta, roughly 250 kilometers apart. 

[From Pinterest]

Pelusium, about 30 kilometers south of modern Port Said, was looking to the East. This city was the entrance gate for conquerors coming from the east. Alexander entered Egypt through Pelusium, as did the Hittites and Persians before him. For the Egyptian pharaohs, it was their gateway to the lands on the eastern Mediterranean. The city played an essential role as a transit station for the goods coming from and going to the lands around the Red Sea (see: The fame of elusive Pelusium). 

Alexander founded Alexandria after he returned from visiting the oracle in Siwah. It arose on the most westerly end of the Delta, on the Canopic Branch of the Nile. The city was intentionally oriented towards Crete and Greece, creating a close trading route with its homeland.

The Greeks had already established thriving trade emporiums in the area. Best known is Naucratis, settled as early as the 7th century BC (see: Egypt, land of the free for ancient Greeks?) As mighty Egypt allowed them to operate a lucrative business, even granting them special privileges, Naucratis eventually became a melting pot of Greek and Egyptian art and culture where they lived in harmony with each other. In its heyday, it was home to at least 16,000 people who appear to have lived in high-rise buildings three to six floors high, not unlike the mud-brick houses we encounter today in Yemen. 

Archaeological research has found proof that the Canopic Branch of the Nile was navigable all the way down to the heart of the city. However, Herodotus gave us the impression that the freight from the ships arriving from the Mediterranean was to be transshipped into barges which would sail to reach Naucratis (see: An update about Naucratis). 

A look at the above map illustrates that vessels heading for the harbor of Naucratis had to sail an extra distance from the Mediterranean. Alexandria was obviously more accessible. 

[Mosaic from Madaba, Jordan, showing the Nile with Pelusium]

Another major port was Heracleion, which the ancient Egyptians called Thonis, founded back in the 8th century BC. Known more commonly as Thonis-Heracleion, the site has been discovered under ten meters of mud near modern Abukir Bay (see: Heracleion, an ancient Greek port in Egypt, and Underwater excavation at Heracleion still ongoing). The above map shows Thonis/Thanis on a more easterly branch of the Nile, closer to Pelusium. Recent excavations have exposed 64 ancient, beautifully preserved shipwrecks and more than 700 anchors. Heracleion reached its peak between the 6th and the 4th century BC. 

Halfway between Alexandria and El-Alamein, Ptolemy II Philadelphus founded Taposiris Magna around 280-270 BC. The harbor played a significant role in the trading route for the goods from the east arriving over Lake Mareotis and overland from the Cyrenaica (see: Cyrene, founded by the Greeks). Alexandria, built on the headland between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis, claimed taxes on the goods that transited through the city until the 7th century AD at least (see: Taposiris Magna in Egypt). 

The Egyptians founded the city of Marea, as highlighted on the map, in the 7^th century BC. It actually lies on the southern shore of Lake Mareotis, modern Lake Maryut, and 45 kilometers southwest of Alexandria. Speaking of strategic locations! 

The last major city in the Nile Delta is Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, which Alexander saw in full glory with its countless temples and at least 30 towering obelisks. The sunrise over Heliopolis must have been a sight for sore eyes when the first sunrays hit the golden pyramidal point on the obelisks (see: Buried secrets of Heliopolis)! 

This religious center was a meeting place where the priests studied philosophy, astronomy, and theology. Many Greeks, like Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, and Solon, consulted the available library that contained the entire history of Egypt. This seat of learning was eventually moved to Alexandria once the city was completed. 

For centuries, every single Pharaoh made it to the sacred city of Heliopolis, where the gods would confer their power. When Alexander, who fully understood the importance of this ritual, followed suit, he was accepted by the Egyptians as their new Pharaoh.

How thermal water preserves bronze statues

The little-known town of San Casciano dei Bagni, some 160 kilometers north of Rome, made headlines after archaeologists discovered more than two dozen statues and several statuettes from Roman times.

Thanks to the local thermal water quality, the statues were in a remarkable state of preservation. They depicted Greek and Roman gods and goddesses such as Hygieia and Apollo that stood in a sanctuary before they were plunged into these thermal waters. Scholars assume this happened as a ritual that occurred around the 1st century AD. The idea behind this ritual was simple: you give to the water hoping the water gives something in return. 

Archaeologists remarked that it was pretty unusual that statues for this kind of offering were created in expensive bronze. They generally were made in terracotta. This practice may indicate that powerful local families ruled this elite settlement, as documented in the Etruscan and Latin inscriptions they left behind. 

The precious bronzes were found underneath a hoard of nearly 6,000 coins – a mixture of gold, silver, and bronze specimen. 

The statues have been dated to the period between the 2nd and the 1st century BC when the region underwent the transition from Etruscan to Roman rule. It is thought that in these days of conflict, the sanctuary of the Baths became a multicultural and multilingual haven of peace. 

These precious artifacts are said to be the most important find since the Riace bronzes. After being restored, they will make their way to a new museum in San Casciano for all to see.

Alexandria: Past Futures

Bozar in Brussels is presently hosting an exhibition about Alexandria that will run until January 8, 2023. 

The event covers the period from the foundation of the city by Alexander the Great in 333 BC to the 4^th century AD. After that date, Alexandria lived as a small fishing port, slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, the proud remains of the city disappeared under layers of sand and dust. 

Occasional Byzantine and Arabic travelers left us sketchy descriptions of the scant remains and the monuments built on top of the antique ruins. 

When Napoleon landed here in 1798, only a few columns hinted at earlier streets, and obelisks stood as reminiscent city markers. During this campaign, the Stone of Rosetta was discovered, a three-lingual decree issued in 196 BC, i.e., during Ptolemaic rule. The first two texts were written in ancient Egyptian, using hieroglyphs and Demotic script; the bottom section repeated the text in ancient Greek. We have to thank the Frenchman Champollion for deciphering the hitherto secret hieroglyphic signs, disclosing the history of a world that had been hidden for almost 13 centuries. 

The exhibition opens with a lovely bronze statuette of Alexander the Great, initially on horseback. I know the piece from many photographs, but this is the first time I have seen it on display. It is on loan from the Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva, and has been dated to Ptolemaic times between the 3^rd and the 1^st century BC. In my eyes, it is worth the visit by itself! 

Central to this exhibition is the Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. There is an interesting cardboard model made in the 19^th or 20^th century, but also two color drawings presented in a manuscript from the 16^th century by Muhammad Ibn-Abdal-Rahim kept at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. The famous lighthouse is evidently pictured on several coins, like the beautiful example of Hadrian. On the reverse, Isis is holding a sail in front of the lighthouse (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, départment des Monnaies). 

A separate showcase is occupied by a delegation of the Ptolemaic dynasty. We recognize Berenice II, 246-222 BC, from Hermopolis Magna (Musée de Mariemont); a limestone Ptolemy III, 3^rd century BC (Antikensammlung in Kassel); and a well-polished basalt head of a Roman Emperor, 30 BC-68 AD (Louvre). 

Close by, there is the marble head of a charming Berenice II from the 3^rd century BC that displays traces of paint (Kassel Antikensammlung). She is set next to a Colossal limestone Royal with his typical Egyptian headdress, but with a face executed in pure Hellenistic style. A proof, if necessary, of the blending of both cultures. The Royal has been dated 305-222 BC (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum). 

Nothing is left of Alexandria’s Museum or its precious Library, meant to be a university and research center where great minds met and exchanged their knowledge. The list of philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, astronomers, geographers, physicians, botanists, and zoologists seems endless. 

For example, the exhibition highlights Ctesibius of Alexandria, who invented all kinds of complicated machines, including a water clock and a fire engine. 

Alexandria was famous for its high-standard craftsmen whose art showed in everyday objects such as those exhibited here and dating from the 1^st and 4^th century AD: a glass aryballos, a beaker, a fial, a few drinking glasses, and a finely polished onyx skyphos. Most remarkable, however, were the fascinating mosaics using tiny tesserae, making the scene look like a painting! The originals were apparently too delicate to be moved, but the visitor is treated to an excellent photograph instead. It is worthwhile to take a very close look! 

The Egyptian goddess Isis clearly lives on into Roman times, often assimilated to Aphrodite. Two remarkable original frescos from the 1^st century AD found in Pompeii illustrate her importance (National Archaeological Museum of Naples). 

The exhibition ends with a huge photograph called The Flood of the Nile, found in Palestrina, north of Rome. It is one of the largest Hellenistic mosaics from the 1^st century BC that once adorned the floor of a building on the Forum. It is a bird's-eye view of Egypt with illustrations of its natural history. The top of the picture corresponds to the sources of the Nile in Ethiopia and Nubia, populated by wild animals with their names written in Greek. At the center, we see a succession of temples in Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman traditions. The bottom covers the busy Nile delta and harbor. The original mosaic is home to the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina. It perfectly illustrates the excellent craftsmanship of Alexandrian artists working in Italy. 

Alexandria: Past Futures presents some 200 artifacts, which for the greater part come from lesser-known museums like that of Mariemont in Belgium, the Kassel Antikensammlung in Germany, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Fondation Gandur pour l'Art of Geneva in Switzerland, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina in Italy, and several others.