The Cretan presence in Marina el-Alamein

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to examine the surprisingly extensive and varied evidence of Cretan finds in the archaeological record of the PCMA UW excavations at the site of the ancient Graeco-Roman harbor in Marina el-Alamein on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt and to propose an interpretation going beyond the usual and obvious, for this period and place, trade exchange. The evidence includes pottery, mainly amphorae, a numerous group of so-called Cretan or Ivy-leaf terracotta oil lamps, a tentative Cretan-sourced custom of using gold plaques with Orphic symbolism placed into the mouths of initiates in preparation for burial, as well as a female name in Doric Greek carved on one of the pillar tombs, which could have belonged to a woman of Cretan origin. The distribution of the Cretan amphora in Egypt, as reviewed by Majcherek, merits attention in the light of what it says about consumers and their individual and collective preferences. In turn, the Cretan lamps, which are otherwise not found in Egypt and the bulk of which were found as grave goods in burials, were most probably valued possessions of a specific group, a mark of cultural belonging, a memento of home, perhaps even a religious attribute. The finds from Marina el-Alamein must be considered in the context of Crete's bilateral relations with Egypt—political, cultural and commercial—and the integration of Crete in the pan-Mediterranean economic system of Roman times. The conclusion is that the assemblage in question rests well within the frame of this overall picture of mutual contacts, but one could go further and propose to view the finds as proof of tentative Cretan colony, whether mercenaries/veterans with their families or merchants and their agents.