Berenike (Baranis)

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Berenike
Berenike (Baranis) (Egypt)
Red pog.svg
Coordinates 23 ° 55 '  N , 35 ° 29'  E Coordinates: 23 ° 55 '  N , 35 ° 29'  E
Basic data
Country Egypt

Governorate

al-Bahr al-ahmar
ISO 3166-2 EG-BA
Residents 602 (2006-11-11)
founding 275 BC Chr.Template: Infobox location / maintenance / date
Satellite image
Satellite image

Berenike ( Arabic برانيس ​​،), latinized as Berenice or Berenice Troglodytica, today Baranis or Medinet al-Haras , is an ancient Egyptian port on the west coast of the Red Sea in Egypt in the governorate of al-Bahr al-ahmar .

geography

The city is located in the coastal plain between Wadi Mandit and Wadi Umm el-Mandit. Berenike lies on a small gulf, Sinus Immundus, and is protected to the north by the Ras Benas (Lept Extrema). Today the port is almost silted up and the sandstrip at its entrance can only be reached by small vehicles.

According to the census of November 11, 2006, Berenike had 602 inhabitants. It was detected in the Marsa Alam district ( markaz ) of the al-Bahr al-ahmar governorate. According to a current district map of the governorate, the place is already in the neighboring district of Asch-Schalatin to the south .

history

The city was founded around 275 BC. Chr. By Ptolemy II. (285-247 v. Chr.) In the field of troglodytes founded by his mother Berenice I. named. The Ptolemaic city was probably located south of the Roman settlement in the vicinity of the Sarapis temple. The city flourished in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, after which it began to decline. In the middle of the 4th century, however, a certain construction boom can be observed. The settlement served as a port until at least 524. In the late Roman settlement, abandoned buildings were often used as temporary accommodation, perhaps signs of an increased Blemmy presence. After 640 the settlement was abandoned and the port silted up.

Construction of the settlement

Plan of the ancient ruins of Berenice (near Wellsted, 1838)
Berenice site in 1838

The excavations uncovered an early Roman quay, among other things (section BE95 / 97-7). The coastline seems to have receded continuously during the settlement, some of the late Roman buildings are built on marine sediments, or on a layer of waste that may have been brought in to stabilize the building site. Apparently horrea (granaries) lay west of the port . They were built from coral blocks that were bonded with a gypsum-based mortar and had a domed roof. After the port was abandoned because of the receding coastline, the buildings were used as sanctuaries in the 4th and 5th centuries, as demonstrated by stone altars and water basins with spouts.

The city was laid out according to the classical Roman pattern, with cardo and decumanus . The buildings were mostly built from coral blocks, often reinforced with teak boards. Floors consisted of slabs of gypsum stone. A bath house is suspected because of burned bricks, but was not included in the excavation. How the water supply was organized is unclear, no pipes have been found so far.

cult

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Among the ruins of Berenike, a Serapis temple on the highest point of the city on a limestone cliff is the most important; the remains of his sculptures and inscriptions preserve the name of Tiberius as well as the images of many deities, including (a goddess? Which probably represents Pharaoh Berenike II. After whom the port and the constellation Haar der Berenike was named.) Alabarch or Arabarch, whichever was the name of the highest Jewish magistrate in Alexandria under the Ptolemaic and Roman governments.

A sanctuary for Palmyrenian gods that was used by an auxiliary unit ( ala Herculiana ) from Palmyra ( schola ) was found in section BE97 / 98-16. It was used from the second half of the 2nd century until the 3rd century. It was also used as a sanctuary afterwards, but it is not certain which gods were worshiped here. Together with a second sanctuary in section BE98-23, it proves that the worship of ancient gods lasted here until the 5th century. An inscription proves the veneration of the "greatest god" Hierobol (probably Ba'al ), a statue was donated by Aemilius Celer, the prefect of the Ala Herculiana, who had been stationed in Koptos since 185 AD, and Valerius Germanion. In the temple remains of a female bronze statue were found, which served the cult of Caracalla and Julia Domna , as well as a head of the Egyptian god Harpokrates made of gypsum rock. The schola contained an altar on which sacrifices of dates, wheat and barley were found. Wooden bowls were filled with sand and contained charcoal as the top layer, presumably they were used to offer incense offerings. In the fourth century the temple was given up for a short time, but then rebuilt and used.

A Bes statuette comes from the Ptolemaic layers. A red glass cameo depicts a stylized Zoroastrian fire altar.

Evidence of Horus and Isis - Serapis cults came to light. An Isis temple was uncovered. At the Temple of Isis, fragments of a statue of the Meroitic god Sebiumeker were found, the inscriptions of which name a king of the Blemmyes .

population

Greek, Latin, Hebrew, late Aramaic (presumably Palmyrenian ), South Arabic and Tamil inscriptions and ostracas have been found in Berenike . Especially in the late period also appear here Blemmyes to have settled, as can especially the wicker suspect.

Finds

Textiles were made from goat hair, sheep wool, flax and cotton. Cotton remains of sails were also found. According to archaeobotanical remains, the main foodstuffs were wheat, barley, millet (sorghum bicolor), lentils and white lupins . There were also olives, dates, plums, capers and grapes. Garlic and beets have also been identified.

trade

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For four to five centuries, Berenike was the hub for trade between Upper Egypt and India , Arabia and Ethiopia . From here a road equipped with water stations ( Greek hydreumata , cf. Hadramaut on the Arabian Peninsula) led to the northwest to the Nile at Koptos and Contra Apollinopolis ( Edfu ).

In the Hellenistic period, Berenike was an intermediate point for the transport of war elephants from Ethiopia and thus of great military importance. The animals were loaded onto special transport ships, Elephantagoi , and brought to Berenike, from where they were driven overland to Edfu to be transported on the Nile. In Roman times, ivory was mainly traded. According to Pliny (Historia naturalis 6.29.103) the journey from Berenike to Koptos (Qift ) lasted twelve days, with the camel caravans only traveling at night. The caravans spent the day at fortified water points (hydreumata), which were guarded by archers. These rectangular structures had four round corner towers and a gate on one narrow side, protected by two towers. Camel drivers ( kamelites ) are also known from the ostraka. Grain was brought to Berenike from Koptos. Indian ceramics mainly originate from the early Roman layers and were probably made in Arikamedu . West Indian ceramics are missing so far. Hand-made heavy pottery was also found in the later layers. Impressions on the outside show that they were made using the blowing technique . Wine containers were numerous. The wine trade and the supply of wine to ships is also documented by ostraca. Amphorae containing garum were also found. The ostraka are predominantly customs documents. Rations for ship's crews are also mentioned. They received onions, unleavened bread and Egyptian or Greek wine. Some of the pearls from Berenike come from Arikamedu and Mantai on Ceylon (so-called Indo-Pacific pearls). Carnelian (sard) pearls come from South or West India, garnet and onyx pearls from South India ( Roman-Indian relations ). Processed corals (Corralium rubrum) were intended for the Indian trade , as were gold glass beads. Faience beads are particularly common in the Ptolemaic strata, they are a native Egyptian product. Teak wood (Tectona grandis) is very common and obviously often used secondary, it probably comes from broken ships. Sometimes the pieces still had pitch residue. Also, bamboo is found, it is also from India, like sandalwood.

Finds such as Italian sigillata , bones from Nile fish, rice and pepper finds and a Dressel amphora with a Tamil inscription attest to the extensive trade contacts of that time.

Surrounding sites

In the vicinity of Berenike were the beryl mines of Zabara and Saket ( Mons Smaragdus ) and the gold mines of Umm Howeitat .

Research history

Identified in 1818 by Belzoni who had some superficial excavations carried out. Wilkinson made the first plans of the ruins in 1826. The city covered an area of ​​about 2 km 2 .

The settlement was explored between 1994 and 2001 by a team from the Universities of Delaware and Leiden under the direction of Steven E. Sidebotham and Willemina Z. Wendrich . Since 2007, excavations have been carried out again as part of the Polish-American Mission to Berenike and the Eastern Desert under the direction of Sidebotham and Iwona Zych from the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archeology .

literature

Excavation reports

  • Steven E. Sidebotham, Willemina Z. Wendrich (eds.): Berenike: Report of the 1994 Excavations at Berenike (Egyptian Red Sea Coast) and the Survey of the Eastern Desert (= CNWS Publications, Special Series 1). Rijksuniversiteit Leiden Center for Niet-Westerse Studies, Leiden 1995. ISBN 90-73782-41-4 .
  • Steven E. Sidebotham, Willemina Z. Wendrich, FG Aldsworth (eds.): Berenike: Report of the 1995 Excavations at Berenike (Egyptian Red Sea Coast) and the Survey of the Eastern Desert (= CNWS Publications, Special Series 2). Rijksuniversiteit Leiden Center for Niet-Westerse Studies, Leiden 1996. ISBN 90-73782-70-8 .
  • Steven E. Sidebotham, Willemina Z. Wendrich, FG Aldsworth (eds.): Berenike: Report of the 1996 Excavations at Berenike (Egyptian Red Sea Coast) and the Survey of the Eastern Desert (= CNWS Publications, Special Series 3). Rijksuniversiteit Leiden Center for Niet-Westerse Studies, Leiden 1998. ISBN 90-5789-001-1 .
  • Steven E. Sidebotham (Ed.): Berenike 1997: Report of the 1997 Excavations at Berenike and the Survey of the Egytian Eastern Desert, including Excavations at Shenshef (= CNWS Publications, Special Series 4). Rijksuniversiteit Leiden Center for Niet-Westerse Studies, Leiden 1999. ISBN 90-5789-025-9 .
  • Steven E. Sidebotham, Willemina Z. Wendrich (eds.): Berenike 1998: Report of the 1998 Excavations at Berenike and the Survey of the Egyptian Eastern Desert, including Excavations at Wadi Kalalat (= CNWS Publications, Special Series 5). Research School of Asian, African, and American Studies (CNWS), Leiden 2000. ISBN 90-5789-052-6 .
  • René TJ Cappers: Roman foodprints at Berenike. Archaeobotanical Evidence of Subsistence and Trade in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (= Berenike Report 6; Cotsen Institute of Archeology at University of California Los Angeles, Monograph 55). Cotsen Institute of Archeology, Los Angeles 2006. ISBN 1-931745-26-9 .
  • Steven E. Sidebotham, Willeke Wendrich (ed.): Berenike 1999/2000: Report on the Excavations at Berenike, including Excavations in Wadi Kalalat and Siket, and the Survey of the Mons Smaragdus Region (= Berenike Report 7; Cotsen Institute of Archeology , University of California, Los Angeles, Monograph 56). Cotsen Institute of Archeology, Los Angeles 2007. ISBN 978-1-931745-29-1
  • Roger S. Bagnall, Christina Helms, Arthur MFW Verhoogt: Documents from Berenike 1: Greek Ostraka from the 1996-1998 Seasons (= Papyrologica Bruxellensia 31). Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth, Brussels 2000.
  • Roger S. Bagnall, Christina Helms, Arthur MFW Verhoogt: Documents from Berenike 2: Texts from the 1999-2001 Seasons (= Papyrologica Bruxellensia 33). Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth, Brussels 2005.

Individual representations

  • Steven E. Sidebotham: Berenike. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 170-172.
  • Steven Sidebotham, Willemina Wendrich: Rome's gateway to Arabia and India on the Red Sea. In: Ancient World . Vol. 32, No. 3, 2001, pp. 251-263.
  • Willemina Z. Wendrich, RS Tomber, Steven E. Sidebotham, JA Harrell, René TJ Cappers, Roger S. Bagnall: Bereneike crossroads: The integration of information. In: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. Vol. 46, No. 1, 2003, ISSN  0449-3222 , pp. 46-87.
  • Steven E. Sidebotham: Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route (= The California World History Library 18). University of California Press, Berkeley et al. a. 2011. ISBN 978-0-520-24430-6

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ al-Baḥr al-Aḥmar: The population data for the cities and villages 2006 ( Memento from August 15, 2012 on WebCite )
  2. ↑ State Information Service: Your Gateway to Egypt: Red Sea Governorate ( Arabic  )
  3. ^ EGYPT: Administrative Division - population statistics and maps . On: citypopulation.de ; Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  4. ↑ S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1998. P. 146
  5. ↑ S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1998. S. 21
  6. ↑ S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1998. S. 44
  7. ↑ S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1998. P. 72
  8. ↑ S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1998. P. 223
  9. ↑ Jan Geisburch: Digging Diary 2019 , in Egyptian Archeology 55 (Autumn 2019) , p. 27
  10. ↑ S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1998. P. 27
  11. ↑ Vermeeren: Wood and charcoal. In: S. Sidebotham, W. Wendrich (Ed.): Berenike 1997. 1999, p. 319
  12. ^ Mission website

Web links