Papers by Jerzy M Oleksiak
Thetis 28, 2024
The 2023 archaeological season of the Sikait Project in the Wadi el Gemal National Park has conti... more The 2023 archaeological season of the Sikait Project in the Wadi el Gemal National Park has continued to decipher the historical evolution of the ancient industry at Smaragdos, the only known source of beryl in the Roman Empire according to the classical literary sources. The work focused on the continuation of the excavations in the main site of Sikait, the documentation of the emerald mines, and conservation interventions. In addition to that, an intensive topographical survey of different areas of the Wadi el Gemal Park has been conducted. This paper offers an overview of the preliminary results of the season.
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Thetis. Mannheimer Beiträge zur Archäologie und Geschichte der antiken Mittelmeerkulturen Band 27, 2023
Excavations at Berenike (Red Sea coast of Egypt) in winter 2022 concentrated in the Hellenistic h... more Excavations at Berenike (Red Sea coast of Egypt) in winter 2022 concentrated in the Hellenistic hydraulic-bath area (one trench and extensions) and in and around the Roman-era Isis temple (six trenches/areas and extensions). Remains excavated in the Hellenistic hydraulic area were of a typical bath of that time including “tholos” hip bathtubs and remains of basins, lead piping, etc. After abandonment and robbing, early Roman burials appeared amid the ruins of the bath. Excavations in the Isis temple cleared the entirety of the courtyard down to the latest paved floor, continued a trench south of and abutting the temple and partially excavated another trench north of and adjacent to the temple. Excavations also continued at the temple entrance and in a trench inside the temple itself. Results from the temple were noteworthy. In addition to approximately 14 inscriptions in Greek, Latin and Hieroglyphs dating from the first to the fourth century AD, there were numerous large and small stone and metal sculptural remains. Excavations recorded marble fragments of a head of a statue of Buddha, which likely joined with portions of a statue torso excavated in 2018. The marble statue dated c. 90-140 AD. Next to the marble Buddha statue excavations also documented an inscription in Brahmi script/Sanskrit language and Greek of the mid third-century AD. It is evident that from at least the first through fourth or fifth centuries AD individuals and groups from throughout the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt, Africa, southern Arabia and the Indian Sub-Continent visited and made dedications in the Isis temple. The temple was
learly a focal point for those seeking protection from or thanking the goddess for good fortune in their commercial maritime endeavors.
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Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 2021
The article discusses the stratigraphy and chronological phasing of a late antique trash deposit ... more The article discusses the stratigraphy and chronological phasing of a late antique trash deposit discovered just outside the north wall of the Isis Temple courtyard. It appears to be consumption waste collected from a large-scale event taking place in the immediate vicinity over a short period of time. Several elements of architectural decoration were found among the rubble, including three fragments of ‘Ionic’ cornice blocks that are an indication of the presence of at least one building with a classical-style architecture in the urban landscape. The fragments are quite unusual in the southern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt and the first and somewhat unexpected attestation of this style recorded from Berenike.
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Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 2021
The army outpost on Biğān Island on the Euphrates (in Iraq) was excavated in the early 1980s, b... more The army outpost on Biğān Island on the Euphrates (in Iraq) was excavated in the early 1980s, but it is only now that a thorough examination of the material from the Roman layers has been completed, giving grounds for a revisiting of issues related to the site’s chronology, function and role in the frontier zone between Rome and the empires of the East. The archaeological sources, mainly pottery and coins, are discussed in light of the army post’s island location and its role in interregional and long-distance trade. Of greatest interest in the pottery category are the transport/storage vessels that belong to the same family as the so-called Torpedo Jars.
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Presentations by Jerzy M Oleksiak
Aim of this paper is to present the first-ever results of a study on common ware pottery produced... more Aim of this paper is to present the first-ever results of a study on common ware pottery produced during recent excavations in Late Antique structures in the Eastern Desert sites of Berenike and Sikait. Both sites, between the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 6th century AD, once again rose to great economic significance. Berenike-a Red Sea emporium for long-distance trade and an intermediary agent between the Indian Ocean and Eastern Mediterranean markets, and Senskis-a production and mining settlement located in the Wadi Sikait, were two major cities that contributed to the resurgence of spectacular exchange activity in this time. Precise petrographic, provenance, and quantification studies on key classes of kitchen and storage ceramic material allow for a deeper understanding of economic dependencies and supply strategies between the Nile Valley and the lands of the Blemmyes. The conclusions aim to address broader questions about the politics and relations between the Eastern Desert, the Byzantine Empire, and the Western Indian Ocean markets.
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The aim of this paper is to present the results of a comparative study of two prominent emporia d... more The aim of this paper is to present the results of a comparative study of two prominent emporia during the 4th to 6th centuries AD, using ceramic analysis as our primary tool. It allows us to explore a unique collection of transport ware pottery, derived from recent excavations at two major Late Antique harbors: Berenike, a port of long-distance trade located on the Red Sea coast, and Nea Paphos, the capital city and a pivotal trading hub in Byzantine Cyprus. This investigation offers a profound understanding of the interconnectedness between these two distinct markets. By getting the deeper insight into the trade relationships between the Eastern Desert and the Eastern Mediterranean coasts, we can draw decisive conclusions regarding the political dependencies of regions under the rule of the Blemmyes during the 4th to 6th centuries AD, as well as the integration of Berenike into the Byzantine sphere of economic influence. Lastly, our study aims to highlight the similarities and differences between these two sites and translate these characteristics into a broader discussion on the economic history of both regions during that time.
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6th International Association for Research on Pottery of the Hellenistic Period. New theories and methods for old pottery: innovating perspectives on Hellenistic ceramics, Catania, Italy, 10th October 2023,
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Kitchen Nightmares - Late Antique pottery assemblage from so-called ‘Advanced Building’ in Sikait (Eastern Desert, Egypt), 2023
Aim of this paper is to present the unique pottery assemblage from the 4th to 6th century AD, rec... more Aim of this paper is to present the unique pottery assemblage from the 4th to 6th century AD, recently excavated in the so-called 'Advanced Building' in Sikait: mining, dwelling, and production settlement located in Wadi Gemal in the Eastern Desert. The excavation uncovered numerous sealed Late Antique layers containing a remarkable collection of common wares, providing valuable insights into the daily life within the explored structure.
Given that Sikait did not have its own pottery production, another objective of this study is to investigate the supply patterns and connections with regional ceramic workshops, shedding light on Sikait's economic dependencies during this period. Furthermore, employing class-division and full-quantification methods, the author attempts to establish correlations between the characteristics of Sikait's pottery assemblage and the broader landscape of Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea pottery exchange. This analysis aims to provide a fresh perspective on the vectorization of long-distance trade in the Eastern Desert and the role of Sikait as an intermediary agent between the Red Sea coast and Nile Valley.
Presented study is a part of National Science Center project ‘Sail South to Reach the East - Berenike and Red Sea as a Lacking Puzzle of Late Antique Indian Ocean Trade (2022/45/N/HS3/01784)’.
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32nd Congress of Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores, 2022
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Red Sea X Conference (6-9.07.2022) Rethymno, Crete, 2022
From third century BCE to the mid-sixth century CE, the port of Berenike served as a vibrant cosm... more From third century BCE to the mid-sixth century CE, the port of Berenike served as a vibrant cosmopolitan hub of the central Red Sea. Ongoing archaeological investigations continue to reveal the widespread commercial networks and transcultural interactions at this edge of empire. The well-preserved remains of amphoras and other transport vessels at Berenike provide an especially detailed window into diachronic patterns of importation. This paper will present new results from the past three seasons of fieldwork across the site, with a focus on quantified analyses of the amphoras and transport vessels. Using this data, it will highlight the differing consumption patterns within the site as well as the changing role of Berenike in its broader Red Sea context. In these recently excavated areas, eastern Mediterranean imports are increasingly diverse and represent a greater percentage of the total transport assemblage in the late antique layers compared to their early Roman predecessors. Persian Gulf imports represent a relatively small, but steady presence in this material. The results of this contained case study suggest that the types of transport vessels arriving to Berenike dramatically shifted in the last centuries of its occupation and in general, the strength of the port’s relationships around the Arabian Peninsula may have been greater than previously understood. Even after almost thirty years of regular fieldwork, the maritime crossroads of Berenike continues to be an important reference point for the economic histories of the Red Sea and the greater western Indian Ocean.
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Poles in the Near East 2022, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, 10th June 2022
Transport amphorae of Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean origin appear sporadically in the Hellenis... more Transport amphorae of Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean origin appear sporadically in the Hellenistic period coastal sites of the Gulf. The last five years of excavations and surveys at Thaj (aš-Šarqiyya, Saudi Arabia) carried out by CNRS (UMR 8167 Orient et Méditerranée) and the Saudi Heritage Commission, with the support the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, produced a significant pottery assemblage of imported Mediterranean wares. Ceramic evidence from 4th to 2nd c. BC layers from Thaj, an inland site situated above 100 km from the coastline, shows a surprisingly broad spectrum of classes and types of transport amphorae. These finds suggest strong long-distance economic connections with the centre of the Hellenistic world and a significant influence of the Mediterranean culture on the city of Thaj in the Hellenistic era. The aim of this paper is to present this unique assemblage of imported wares and to raise a discussion over possible routes by which Mediterranean goods reached the site, taking into account other finds of transport amphorae at sites of the Gulf and South Arabia.
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Conference Presentations by Jerzy M Oleksiak
This study presents the first-ever analysis of a unique pottery assemblage discovered in the emer... more This study presents the first-ever analysis of a unique pottery assemblage discovered in the emerald mines and associated cult structures in Wādī Sikait. Located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, this region, referred to in ancient sources as Smaragdos, served as a source of precious gemstones destined for the Mediterranean and Western Indian Ocean markets. Although mining exploration began in the Ptolemaic period, it peaked during the Early Roman period (1st century BC to the early 2nd century AD) and continued into the Late Antique period (from the second half of the 4th century AD until at least the 7th century AD). Between 2020 and 2024, members of the Sikait Project have documented more than 500 underground mines, exploring inside them several kilometers of galleries. The aim of this paper is to examine the everyday equipment used by ancient miners both inside and outside the mines, and to consider their strategies for survival in the harsh environments of the Eastern Desert and the challenging conditions of mining corridors. Furthermore, authors aim to highlight the significance of shrines and temples associated with mining activities, and to showcase associated ceramic material imported from a wide range of Egyptian and Mediterranean production centers.
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Papers by Jerzy M Oleksiak
learly a focal point for those seeking protection from or thanking the goddess for good fortune in their commercial maritime endeavors.
Presentations by Jerzy M Oleksiak
Given that Sikait did not have its own pottery production, another objective of this study is to investigate the supply patterns and connections with regional ceramic workshops, shedding light on Sikait's economic dependencies during this period. Furthermore, employing class-division and full-quantification methods, the author attempts to establish correlations between the characteristics of Sikait's pottery assemblage and the broader landscape of Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea pottery exchange. This analysis aims to provide a fresh perspective on the vectorization of long-distance trade in the Eastern Desert and the role of Sikait as an intermediary agent between the Red Sea coast and Nile Valley.
Presented study is a part of National Science Center project ‘Sail South to Reach the East - Berenike and Red Sea as a Lacking Puzzle of Late Antique Indian Ocean Trade (2022/45/N/HS3/01784)’.
Conference Presentations by Jerzy M Oleksiak
learly a focal point for those seeking protection from or thanking the goddess for good fortune in their commercial maritime endeavors.
Given that Sikait did not have its own pottery production, another objective of this study is to investigate the supply patterns and connections with regional ceramic workshops, shedding light on Sikait's economic dependencies during this period. Furthermore, employing class-division and full-quantification methods, the author attempts to establish correlations between the characteristics of Sikait's pottery assemblage and the broader landscape of Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea pottery exchange. This analysis aims to provide a fresh perspective on the vectorization of long-distance trade in the Eastern Desert and the role of Sikait as an intermediary agent between the Red Sea coast and Nile Valley.
Presented study is a part of National Science Center project ‘Sail South to Reach the East - Berenike and Red Sea as a Lacking Puzzle of Late Antique Indian Ocean Trade (2022/45/N/HS3/01784)’.