PCMA Seminar: "Overview of small finds from the Berenike necropolis" // Iwona Zych

Abstract: „During the 2023 and 2024 excavation seasons in Berenike, extensive archaeological work continued on the Blemmyan necropolis. During these investigations, seven new chamber tombs dating to the 4th-5th centuries AD were uncovered. The interior of each of these tombs had a designated area for burials and a separate space where ritual practices were conducted. This evidence indicates the complexity of the burial customs of the indigenous population of the Eastern Desert, which inhabited Berenike at that time. Detailed results of the work in individual excavations will be presented during the workshop. For the first time, studies on selected groups of artifacts from the excavations on the necropolis will also be presented. The final part of the program includes the presentation of the results of spatial analyses on both micro and macro scales, including the analysis of object distribution and the visibility of tomb structures in the landscape.”
The workshop was organized in connection with Dr. Mariusz Gwiazda’s project: “Cultural, demographic and biological profiles of post-Roman (4th-6th century CE) inhabitants of the port of Berenike (Egypt), based on non-invasive, excavation and bioarchaeological studies of two urban necropolises” funded by a National Science Centre National Science Centre Poland, Sonata 17 grant 2021/43/D/HS3/00248