Preliminary report on fieldwork at Euesperides (Benghazi) in October 1994

Abstract

AbstractIn October 1994, a small Anglo-Libyan team carried out a short field season on the site of Euesperides in the suburbs of Benghazi. The work was intended as the prelude to the renewal of excavation and more detailed investigation of this important Greco-Libyan town of the sixth to third century BC. Through selective recording of trenches dug recently by the Department of Antiquties on the north side of the site and of exposed sections in a redevelopment site close by, some important data on the nature of activity in this area has been gained. Palaeobotanical samples from these trenches have also yielded significant new information. In addition, surface collection of artefacts from the hill of Sidi Abeid and the northern part of the site will provide an opportunity to assess the phasing and zoning of Euesperides. Finally, a new theodolite survey of the site in its modern urban context demonstrates all too clearly the degradation of the ancient city in the face of intense modern development since the 1950s.