Sidi Khrebish Research Articles

Libyan landscapes in history and prehistory

AbstractAs a contribution to the Society for Libyan Studies’ 50th anniversary, the paper discusses three projects in which the author has been involved, with a focus on their different contributions to our understanding of Libya's landscape prehistory and history. The deep stratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave in three projects are described in chronological order, but they contribute in reverse order to our understanding of how Libyans have changed and been changed by their landscapes. The deep stratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave in Cyrenaica represents an intermittent history of landscape use, and the way people dealt with climate change impacts, from some 150,000 years ago to the Graeco-Roman period. The faunal assemblage from Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi, provides insights into how Graeco-Roman city-dwellers interacted with the people of the countryside. The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey changes the perspective, showing how tribal people in the pre-desert were drawn into the ambit of the coastal cities and the economy of imperial Rome, before returning to semi-mobile pastoral/arable lifeways not so dissimilar to the lives of many Libyans before the oil revolution. The principal linking finding is that there are no simple stories from the past in terms of people's relations to their landscape: the mix of structure and agency embodied in the archaeological record can be a record of failures, misguided decisions, bad luck etc. as much as of successful responses and adaptations to opportunities and challenges.

The epigraphy of Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice): an update

AbstractThe excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi, within the Hellenistic and Roman city of Berenice, yielded a considerable variety of inscriptions on portable objects in addition to monumental epigraphy. An account of the latter was published in the first volume of the final reports in 1977, together with a very short and preliminary list of the former. Following the detailed studies of various classes of material, it seemed opportune to bring together an updated account of the inscriptions on ‘minor objects’, which range from missiles to transport amphorae, table wares, kitchen wares, and lamps.

Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi, 1971–75: the small finds

AbstractThe ‘small finds’ (miscellaneous objects of bone, metal and stone; ceramic objects other than vessels, lamps or sculpture) from the excavations carried out at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (1971–75), constitute a neglected category which was ready for publication ten years ago, in the projected final volume of the excavation reports. Since other reports which should have accompanied it in that volume are still far from being submitted, it has been decided to present the small finds in the form of a journal article instead.The conclusions which may be drawn from the 462 catalogued items in terms of trade connections, or of patterns of activity in the places where they were found, are generally limited, but have been noted where possible.

The mosaics of Berenice in Cyrenaica - D. MICHAELIDES, EXCAVATIONS AT SIDI KHREBISH BENGHAZI (BERENICE) IV.1 THE MOSAIC AND MARBLE FLOORS (Supplements to Libya Antiqua V; Dept, of Antiquities, Tripoli, in collaboration with the Society for Libyan Studies, London; Tripoli 1998). Pp. 212,16 colour pls., 110 figs.

The mosaics of Berenice in Cyrenaica - D. MICHAELIDES, EXCAVATIONS AT SIDI KHREBISH BENGHAZI (BERENICE) IV.1 THE MOSAIC AND MARBLE FLOORS (Supplements to Libya Antiqua V; Dept, of Antiquities, Tripoli, in collaboration with the Society for Libyan Studies, London; Tripoli 1998). Pp. 212,16 colour pls., 110 figs. - Volume 13

Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice) III.1: The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick.

<i>Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice) III.1: The Fine Pottery</i>. By P. M. Kenrick.

Urban Archaeology in Cyrenaica 1969-1989: the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods

During the past two decades all the major cities of Cyrenaica have seen new fieldwork, and much has been achieved. The Department of Antiquities has been active, particularly in the increasingly important area of rescue archaeology. Its resolute and skilful efforts have included very important work at Shahat (Cyrene) (Walker (in Walda and Walker), this volume) and at Benghazi (Berenice). At the latter city, one of the least known in Cyrenaica, the Department's excavations at Sidi Khrebish demonstrated the rich archaeological potential of the site and led to the large-scale campaigns of 1971-5, in which the Society for Libyan Studies was deeply involved.Generous support has also been extended to British teams at Euesperides (Berenice's predecessor), Driana (Hadrianopolis), Tocra (Tauchira) and Tolmeita (Ptolemais); to the Italian Mission, whose work at Cyrene has proceeded throughout the period; to the major American investigation of the extra-mural Demeter sanctuary at the same site; and to the French Mission, which has conducted annual campaigns at Susa (Apollonia) since 1976. There has also been productive research into the minor towns.Perhaps the outstanding feature of the period under review, however, has been publication. No less than thirteen major site reports (see bibliography under Apollonia, Berenice, Cirene, Cyrene and Tocra), several works of synthesis (Goodchild 1971; Huskinson 1975; Rosenbaum and Ward-Perkins 1980; Stucchi 1975), collected papers (Goodchild 1976) and a profusion of shorter studies in journals, conference proceedings (Barker, Lloyd and Reynolds 1985; Gadallah 1971; Stucchi and Luni 1987) and exhibition publications (Missione Italiana 1987) have appeared — a very rich harvest. Many of course, had their genesis in earlier research, particularly during the fecund years of Richard Goodchild's controllership. Amongst much else, this saw Boardman and Hayes' exemplary Tocra project, which in its use of quantification, scientific analysis and other techniques anticipated later British and American work; the University of Michigan's extensive research at Apollonia; and the inauguration of the Italian Mission, under S. Stucchi, to Cyrene (Stucchi 1967), whose work on the architectural development, art and anastylosis of the city continues to make an outstanding contribution to our appreciation of Libya's archaeology and cultural heritage.

Sidi Khrebish. Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice) (Libya Antiqua, supp. v). III, 1. The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick. in, 2. The Lamps. By D. M. Bailey. Tripoli: Department of Antiquities, and London: Society for Libyan Studies, 1985. Pp. xviii + 516, 24 pls, 77 text figs, 1 plan; pp. ix + 200, 39 pls, 19 text figs,

Sidi Khrebish. Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice) (Libya Antiqua, supp. v). III, 1. The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick. in, 2. The Lamps. By D. M. Bailey. Tripoli: Department of Antiquities, and London: Society for Libyan Studies, 1985. Pp. xviii + 516, 24 pls, 77 text figs, 1 plan; pp. ix + 200, 39 pls, 19 text figs, 1 plan. - Volume 77

Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice) (=Supplements to Libya Antiqua, V). Vol. III Part 1. The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick. Part 2. The Lamps. By D. M. Bailey. 31 × 21·5 cm. Pp. xviii + 516, 77 figs., 1 plan + 24 pls.; pp. ix + 200 + 19 figs. + 39 pls. (Arabic summaries.) Tripoli: Department of

Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice) (=Supplements to Libya Antiqua, V). Vol. III Part 1. The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick. Part 2. The Lamps. By D. M. Bailey. 31 × 21·5 cm. Pp. xviii + 516, 77 figs., 1 plan + 24 pls.; pp. ix + 200 + 19 figs. + 39 pls. (Arabic summaries.) Tripoli: Department of Antiquities, in collaboration with the Society for Libyan Studies, London, 1985. £40·00; £20·00. - Volume 66 Issue 2

Fineware from Sidi Khrebish - Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice) Volume III Part I The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick. 516 pages, 24 plates, 77 figures. Department of Antiquities, Tripoli, 1985.

Fineware from Sidi Khrebish - Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice) Volume III Part I The Fine Pottery. By P. M. Kenrick. 516 pages, 24 plates, 77 figures. Department of Antiquities, Tripoli, 1985.

Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice) 2. By Graeme Barker, A. Bonanno, J. A. Riley, and J. A. Lloyd.

<i>Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice) 2</i>. By Graeme Barker, A. Bonanno, J. A. Riley, and J. A. Lloyd.

Industrial Exploitation of Murex Shells: Purple-dye and Lime Production at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice)

Since time immemorial attractive colours have held man's attention. Occasionally he has assigned to them symbolic significance, often as religious or status insignia. The various shades of reds and purples have been especially chosen; some see in them the colour of blood, the sun or fire. The presence of ochre and haematite in Palaeolithic burials may be the first instance of the high regard for these colours.Probably the most famous red–purple colour associated with religion, status and general elitism is the shell-based purple-dye of the ancient Mediterranean, known variously as Royal purple, Tyrian purple or Imperial purple. The recent discovery of crushed purple-dye producing shells at Berenice provided a welcome addition to this field, a study which Alexander Dedekind, in the 1890s, termed “Pourprologie”.Before examining the Berenice shells and their context a brief survey will be made of the world-wide usage of shell purple-dye, its Mediterranean origin and distribution, the basic method of production and the contemporary Mediterranean history of the Berenice finds.Purple-dye is obtained from the hypobranchial gland found in the mantle cavity of living Murex and Thais (or related Purpura and Nucella) marine snails. The purpose of this gland is unclear, though it may be the reason such shells are avoided as food by marine life (and are thus not a useful fish bait). The dye might also be ejected by the mollusc as a defence mechanism, much like the black ink of the octopus or squid.

J. A. Lloyd (Ed.), Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice) Vol. 1: Buildings, coins, inscriptions, architectural decoration, by J. A. Lloyd, R. Reece, J. M. Reynolds and F. B. Sear, with a summary of dated deposits (edited by P. M. Kenrick). Supplements to Libya Antiqua – V. Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Teaching and Education, People's Socialist

J. A. Lloyd (Ed.), Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice) Vol. 1: Buildings, coins, inscriptions, architectural decoration, by J. A. Lloyd, R. Reece, J. M. Reynolds and F. B. Sear, with a summary of dated deposits (edited by P. M. Kenrick). Supplements to Libya Antiqua – V. Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Teaching and Education, People's Socialist Libyan Arab Jamahiryia. Pp. 311, 71 figures, XXXII plates, with Arabic text. Available from Director General of Archaeological Research, As-Saray al Hamra (Castle)Tripoli. 1978. Price 8 Libyan dinars. - Volume 9

Sidi Khrebish Excavations, Benghazi, 1974 and 1975

Two six week programmes of excavation took place in July and August 1974 and 1975 at Sidi Khrebish on the site of part of the Hellenistic and Roman city of Berenice. Large scale excavation ceased in September 1973 and the work of the last two years was directed towards the completion of areas unfinished in 1973 together with a certain amount of new excavation.The major discovery of the last two seasons has been a section of a two-period circuit of defensive walls, including a tower (Figs 1 and 2). The walls are Hellenistic in construction and from the associated dating material appear to post-date Queen Berenice's initial fortification of the city which was founded in the middle of the third century B.C. They are possibly as late as the first century B.C.

The Painted Wallplaster from House H, Sidi Khrebish

During the emergency excavations of 1971, a large quantity of painted wall plaster was recovered from the peristyled house ‘H’.It is thought that this house was built in the late first century A.D. and destroyed in the third century A.D. The plaster was found in the destruction levels and lay in a dump or spread to the south of the courtyard area of the house. It was mixed with, and probably to some extent sealed by, mud-brick debris. This may account for its good state of preservation.From its context, it appears that the plaster decorated two or three of the main rooms of the house, probably including the room on the south-west which has a fine mosaic floor. Traces of red painted plaster can still be seen near floor-level in the room on the south-east corner. The plaster was probably in situ at the time of destruction.Unfortunately, much of the plaster was lost during the necessarily hurried emergency excavations, and what remains is often broken into small fragments. However, on the whole, both the plaster backing and the painted surface are in good condition. Work on the reconstruction was begun in 1971; it has continued during the season of 1972, 1974, 1975.Preliminary examination of the plaster itself shows that it is of good quality. The colours appear to have been applied using both the fresco and tempera methods; the main pigments are haematite (dark red), yellow ochre, green earth, lime white and Egyptian frit (bright-blue). A full technical study of the plaster and pigments is still to be undertaken.Fragments of a number of different painted motifs remain, including figures, foliage, inhabited scroll and varied border designs. In one room at least, the decorative scheme appears to consist of a number of panels outlined with multiple borders. Designs within the panels show architectural perspective and figures. It has been possible to reassemble the fragments of four similar architectural panels and these appear to be linked (by multiple borders) to the panels containing figures.

Sidi Khrebish - A Note on the Coarse Pottery

The quantity of stratified coarse pottery from Sidi Khrebish has been considerable and preliminary study has of necessity been concentrated on important groups from sealed contexts which span the period from the second century B.C. to the seventh century A.D.The earliest group is from a cistern of second century B.C. date; the next is from excavation underneath Roman period concrete floors which produced mid-first century A.D. material, while the largest group is from the infill of Roman period cisterns and destruction levels and can be dated to the mid-third century A.D. Information is somewhat scanty for the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. but groups of pottery representing the Byzantine period were recovered in some quantity from the destruction levels of the church and its cistern. A good group of Islamic glazed fine ware and coarse ware was associated with late occupation within the church.Space does not permit more than a brief survey of the most common and distinctive coarse ware forms from the excavation.In general, throughout the period of Berenice, the locally made coarse ware form shapes seem to have been influenced from the Eastern Mediterranean, especially in the second and third centuries A.D.The commonest form of second century B.C. cooking pot is rounded, having a short neck with two vertical ‘strap’ handles from the shoulder merging with the rim (fig. 1). Another distinguishing feature of pottery from this period is a semicircular handle from the body with an indentation at the top where it has been pressed to the rim (fig. 2). Both types are of the distinctive local ‘fossil gritted ware’, the fabric of which ranges from orange brown to dark pink. The clay contains fairly large roughly circular flat flakes of bluish-grey grit, which, when split open, reveal segmented spiral fossil remains. This fabric is very common in all periods.

Sidi Khrebish Excavations, Benghazi, 1972-73

A full account of the Society's involvement with the emergency excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi, is contained in the Annual Reports for 1970–1 and 1971–2. In November 1972, at the invitation of the Libyan Department of Antiquities, the Society sent out a fresh team of archaeologists to begin the new season's excavations. Work has since continued uninterrupted until the time of writing (1 July 1973) and is due to finish at the end of September.The preservation of the site from redevelopment for another year owes a great deal to the keen and active interest of the late Director-General of Antiquities, Mr Awad Sadawya, and the success of the expedition is greatly indebted to his efforts. We owe our thanks also to the officials of the Department of Antiquities whose sustained good will and co-operation has helped us greatly over this long period. In particular Mr Mohammed Nemri, Acting Director-General of Antiquities, Mr Abdulhamid Abdussaid, Controller of Antiquities for the Benghazi area, and Mr Ali Salem Letrik, Deputy Controller of Antiquities for Benghazi have taken full part in what has always been a team operation.The disused Turkish cemetery of Sidi Khrebish lies close to the sea, a short distance to the north of the bustling commercial heart of modern Benghazi (see Fig. 1). It covers part of the north-western outskirts of the city of Berenice, founded in 247 B.C., the Hellenistic and Roman successor to the Hellenic city of Euesperides. The major part of the city lies to the south and to the east of the cemetery, under the mixture of Turkish, Italian and more recent buildings which form the modern town.

A Civic Decree from Benghazi

Among the more striking finds made during the Society's excavations at Sidi Khrebish is the upper part of an inscribed marble stele which had been re-used, unfortunately with the inscribed face upwards, as a paving stone in the basilica. It is of white marble, probably from the Greek islands, slightly tapered towards the top, measuring 0·46 - 0·47 m. in width × 0·97 in height and 0·19 in depth. A very simple moulding runs round all four sides some 15 cms. from the top. It is chipped along all edges, badly worn on the face, especially in the central area, and pitted and cracked as well, especially in the lower part, probably by an attempt to break it up. A section of unknown size has in fact been hacked off at the bottom.The text is often hard to read and I am sure that more could be extracted from the worn areas with time and patience; but it seems desirable to offer a provisional publication as quickly as possible.

Sidi Khrebish 1971–2: The Pottery

The pottery so far examined is of great interest, and a full publication of the many sealed groups will undoubtedly form a valuable addition to our knowledge of the Hellenistic and Roman wares of the whole Mediterranean basin. Though little material classifiable as fine wares has yet been recovered belonging to the fourth century A.D. and later, in all other periods the most marked characteristic of the fine wares is their tremendous variety, and the fact that both eastern and western products are represented in comparable quantities. In the Hellenistic period, both Italian and Greek black-glazed wares are found, the latter slightly predominating, as well as a flourishing local industry producing similar shapes in a rather coarser fabric; Megarian bowls are present in limited quantity, principally in an orange micaceous fabric with a glossy slip of varying colour, but at least four other fabrics have been identified, one of them Athenian. The Eastern Sigillata wares A and B both occur in equal quantity, and Çandarli ware is also found; Arretine and its related Italian wares were imported in great quantities, and a certain amount of south and central Gaulish samian regularly occurs, but it is never common. Another red-gloss ware that is notable for its regular presence on this site and for the variety of its forms is that tentatively identified by Dr J. W. Hayes as Cypriot Sigillata: the type series for this ware at Sidi Khrebish will extend considerably that published by Hayes (Report of the Dept. of Antiquities of Cyprus, 1967), and will add many forms that are common to the repertoire of the early Roman Sigillata wares as a whole.

Sidi Khrebish Excavations, Benghazi, 1971–2

Since the events briefly recorded in last year's Report, continuous excavation has taken place in the Turkish cemetery of Sidi Khrebish in Benghazi. During this period much important information has been gained concerning the Hellenistic and Roman city of Berenice. The excavations were supervised by staff sent out from England by the Society, while workmen and facilities were provided by the Department of Antiquities, which had already begun rescue work ahead of the bull-dozers. The Society's excavations started in September 1971 as an emergency operation, because at that time the site was thought to be available for only about three months in advance of the redevelopment mentioned in the last Report. In fact, the municipal authorities have held up their plans, so that by September 1972 an area of over three acres (1·36 hectares) had been systematically excavated. It is hoped that a further stay of execution of the redevelopment plan will make another four or five acres in the eastern part of the cemetery available for the resumption of excavations in November.