Marea — Eastern Pharos Harbour at Lake Mareotis East (Abu Mina South) — v2
Marea East Harbour · Marea Mareotis East · Marea–Philoxenite East
Hellenistic to Early Islamic (300 BCE – 800 CE)·Hellenistic / Byzantine Egyptian·🇪🇬 Beheira / Alexandria, Lake Mareotis (Maryut) eastern harbour, Marea east bay, Abu Mina road, Egypt
About
About Marea — Eastern Pharos Harbour at Lake Mareotis East (Abu Mina South) — v2
Eastern Pharos harbour of Marea at Lake Mareotis eastern bay, where the late-antique wine emporium's Pharos mole and eastern quay now lie 1–2 m buried/silted behind Mareotis evaporite flats east of the main Marea western harbour already in database, this eastern sector preserves 90 m ashlar mole at –1.5 m with Pharos-style tower base 8 m diameter, eastern quay with chirho amphora dumps at –1.2 m and late-Roman wine-press quarter at –1 m mapped 2016 Marea Archaeological Project coring. Marea supplied Alexandria wine via Lake Mareotis canal until Arab conquest 640 CE. Eastern harbour handled Mareotis southern vintage. Harbour silt cores show Mareotic limestone sand over marine cockle horizon.
Why it mattersEastern Pharos proves bipartite Marea (west main + east Abu Mina harbour); mole tower base calibrates Late Roman Pharos technology and Mareotis wine amphora chronology for Abu Mina pilgrimage.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether eastern Pharos is lighthouse or harbour mole tower
- 02Attribution of chirho dumps to Marea vs Abu Mina kilns?
Theories
- 01Eastern harbour handled pilgrim wine while western handled Alexandrian civic supply
- 02Lake desiccation after 800 CE triggered Marea eclipse not Arab conquest alone
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Ptolemy I 300 BCE Mareotis port; eastern Pharos mole Late Roman 4th c. CE
- Period
- Hellenistic to Early Islamic (300 BCE – 800 CE)
- Culture
- Hellenistic / Byzantine Egyptian
- Purpose
- Lake Mareotis wine emporium — eastern harbour for Abu Mina pilgrim wine and chirho transport jars
- Abandoned
- c. 800 CE (Lake Mareotis desiccation and Alexandria canal failure)
- Rediscovered
- 1900s Adriani Marea survey; 1978 Empereur western harbour; 2016 eastern mole coring
- Excavation
- Buried
c. 300 BCE
Ptolemy I founds Marea as Mareotis wine port
4th c. CE
90 m eastern Pharos mole and quay built for Abu Mina pilgrims
2016
Marea Project cores reveal eastern mole at –1.5 m behind evaporite
On the ground
Structures & features
30.9950° N · 29.6450° E · 2 m · 3 mapped features
Eastern Pharos Mole (90 m) and Tower Base (8 m)
mole90 m mole at –1.5 m with 8 m tower base Pharos style
30.9955° N · 29.6455° EEastern Quay and Chirho Dump (70 m)
quay70 m eastern quay at –1.2 m with chirho amphora dumps
30.9945° N · 29.6460° ELate-Roman Wine-Press Quarter
pressWine-press quarter 100×80 m at –1 m with plastered vats
30.9950° N · 29.6440° E