Abstract:Two brief reconnaissance visits to archaeological sites in Cyrenaica in November 2010 and April 2012, for the purpose of a new archaeological guidebook, led to a variety of observations concerning rural sites which have been little discussed since the 1950s. The predominant theme was a need for a wide-ranging and detailed reassessment of the chronology and nature of rural settlement. This was carried out in Tripolitania in the 1980s by the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey, but nothing comparable has… Show more
“… 51 For Cyrenaican examples, see e.g. Kenrick 2013, 163–6, for the House of Jason Magnus at Cyrene. For Ptolemais, see Rekowska 2012 and Zelazowski et al 2012.…”
The excavated part of the building known as the Villa Dionysos consists of a peristyle court with rooms on three sides. The rooms have fine mosaic floors, found in a remarkable state of preservation. The excavator, Michael Gough, believed that the building was an isolated structure intended for the practice of Dionysiac cult, and he interpreted his finds in the light of this conviction. After his last season of work in 1971, his views were expressed in a short report (Catling 1972, 21–2). Gough died in 1973 having published no further details of his four seasons of work on the site and, except for some diaries and photographs, many of the records are lost. The pottery from his excavations was, however, fully published in 1983 by John Hayes, and the mosaics were published by Rebecca Sweetman in 2013. Further study of the site, together with the pottery evidence, indicates that the peristyle and its associated rooms were the public reception area of an elaborately decorated Roman domus of the second century AD, and that adjacent buildings to the south may have been the private quarters of this house. A large cistern, connected to the aqueduct, provided a copious water supply. The Dionysiac imagery of the mosaics, together with the extraordinary range of imported wine amphorae found on the premises, suggest that the owner may have prospered through the wine trade.
“… 51 For Cyrenaican examples, see e.g. Kenrick 2013, 163–6, for the House of Jason Magnus at Cyrene. For Ptolemais, see Rekowska 2012 and Zelazowski et al 2012.…”
The excavated part of the building known as the Villa Dionysos consists of a peristyle court with rooms on three sides. The rooms have fine mosaic floors, found in a remarkable state of preservation. The excavator, Michael Gough, believed that the building was an isolated structure intended for the practice of Dionysiac cult, and he interpreted his finds in the light of this conviction. After his last season of work in 1971, his views were expressed in a short report (Catling 1972, 21–2). Gough died in 1973 having published no further details of his four seasons of work on the site and, except for some diaries and photographs, many of the records are lost. The pottery from his excavations was, however, fully published in 1983 by John Hayes, and the mosaics were published by Rebecca Sweetman in 2013. Further study of the site, together with the pottery evidence, indicates that the peristyle and its associated rooms were the public reception area of an elaborately decorated Roman domus of the second century AD, and that adjacent buildings to the south may have been the private quarters of this house. A large cistern, connected to the aqueduct, provided a copious water supply. The Dionysiac imagery of the mosaics, together with the extraordinary range of imported wine amphorae found on the premises, suggest that the owner may have prospered through the wine trade.
“…These are now less than a kilometre from an asphalt road. (Photograph: Sue Kenrick)Figure 4.Mqayrnis (Mghernes: Kenrick 2013, 303–6), a little-known settlement site close to Cyrene and easily accessible. This is a bath-building, provisionally attributed to the sixth or seventh century AD, the vaulted and domed roofs of which are still in place.…”
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confidence: 99%
“…This is a bath-building, provisionally attributed to the sixth or seventh century AD, the vaulted and domed roofs of which are still in place. (Photograph: Philip Kenrick)Figure 5.Qasr ar-Rimthayat (Gasr er-Remteiat: Kenrick 2013,312–4). Previous information gave a tantalising but brief description and ‘35 km due south of Cyrene’ as a location (Goodchild 1976, 200).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Qasr ar-Rimthayat (Gasr er-Remteiat: Kenrick 2013,312–4). Previous information gave a tantalising but brief description and ‘35 km due south of Cyrene’ as a location (Goodchild 1976, 200).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Indeed, I had myself devised a new tour of Tripolitania and Fazzan which was due to take place in the spring of 2011, but which was of course cancelled at short notice. The Cyrenaica guide in due course also found its way into print (Kenrick 2013: see Figure 7). Figure 7.Cover of the Cyrenaica archaeological guide.…”
Tourists come to Libya for two reasons: to admire the antiquities and/or to experience the natural wonders of the desert. The flow of tourists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries has been very variable, depending on political circumstances. As a result, the availability of authoritative guidebooks to the antiquities has also been variable. During the years immediately prior to the 2011 revolution, the Society for Libyan Studies has promoted the publication of new Libya Archaeological Guides, both in English for foreign visitors and (progressively) in Arabic for the benefit of the Libyan population.
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