17/02/2020
Quseir al-Qadim is the site of a small port on the Egyptian coast of
the Red Sea, east of Luxor in Upper Egypt. The site was occupied
during the Roman period (first and second centuries of our era, when it
was known as Leukos Limen) and again during Islamic times (thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods). This port
served as one small link in the international trade network of both these
periods, stretching from the Mediterranean through the Indian Ocean.
This volume presents the results of the second season of excavations,
during which a Roman merchant's "villa" and part of the central
administrative buildings were excavated. A large section of the Islamic
town was also cleared, within which were artifacts ranging from China
to west Africa. This report presents the excavations and the artifacts
recovered; these latter include the pottery, glass, lamps, Roman ostraca
and Arabic letters, fauna, flora, shells, and organic materials, the latter
including textiles, wood, leather, and basketry. Also included are brief
reports on the survey of Bir Kareim, the site of a Roman gold mining
settlement and shrine about 20 km. from the port, and a discussion of
the old mosques in the modern town of Quseir.
