Towards integrated management of Alexandria's coastal heritage

80 Pages·2003·1.18 MB·English

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M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
Arobcuk Bakar RPaalsa Ecel Tin Anfoushy Bay Qait Bey Fort
Pharos Island
Western Harbour
Eastern Harbour
Cape Lochias
El-Silsilah
Al Raml Station Bibliotheca
Alexandrina
Roman Theatre
at Kom El-Dekkah
Scale 1:800The Cornish haMmoudiaCanal A l e x a n d r i a renruT .M yb nward paM
Coastal region and small island papers 14
Towards integrated management of
Alexandria’s
coastal heritage
by
Selim Morcos,Nils Tongring,Youssef Halim,
Mostafa El-Abbadi and Hassan Awad
a joint endeavour of the
UNIVERSITY OF ALEXANDRIA,SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES (EGYPT)
GOVERNORATE OF ALEXANDRIA AND UNESCO
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNESCO Secretariat concerning the legal statusof
any country, territory, city or area or of their authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers
or boundaries.
Reproduction is authorized, providing that appropriate mention is made of the source, and copies
sent to the UNESCO (Paris) address below. This document should be cited as:
UNESCO, 2003. Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage.
Coastal region and small island papers 14, UNESCO, Paris, 79 pp.
The digital version of this publication can be viewed at: http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/papers2/alex.htm
Within the limits of stocks available, extra copies of this document can be obtained, free of charge, from:
UNESCO Cairo Office, UNESCO Venice Office,
8 Abdul-Rahman Fahmy Street, Palazzo Zorzi,
Garden City, 4930 Castello,
Cairo 11511, Egypt. 30122 Venice, Italy.
fax:[phone] fax:[phone]
e-mail:[email protected] e-mail:[email protected]
The Chairman,
Department of Oceanography (AUDO),
Faculty of Science,
Alexandria University,
Alexandria 21511, Egypt.
fax:[phone]
e-mail:[email protected]
The ‘Coastal region and small island papers’ series was launched by the Organization in 1997. Information
on CSI activities, as well as extra copies of this document, can be obtained at the following address:
Coastal Regions and Small Islands (CSI) platform
UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://www.unesco.org/csi
Cover: Colossal statue of Ptolemy (13 m long) salvaged between 1995 and 1996,
exhibited in front of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Photo: S. Morcos.
Title page: 18th century engraving of the Pharos of Alexandria by Fischer von Erlach.
© Historical Picture Archive/CORBIS
Photos and illustrations courtesy of: H. Frost, Hellenic Institute for Ancient and Mediaeval Alexandrian
Studies,Historical Picture Archive/Corbis, S. Morcos, D. Nakashima, G. Papatheodorou, Y. Pantzopulos
and H. Tzalas.
Design and layout: Micheline Turner
Printed in 2003 by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France
© UNESCO 2003
(SC-2003/WS/28)
Foreword
The world’s archaeological patrimony is vulner- initiative to preserve these sites and eventually
able to damage and decay and especially so at open them to the public and scholars as a
coastal and underwater sites. Natural forces such museum.
as storms, currents and wave-action may result in With this in mind, an international workshop
coastal erosion that undermines or buries struc- on Submarine Archaeology and Coastal Manage-
tures and artefacts. Global climate change and a ment was held in Alexandria in April 1997, bring-
rise in sea level are likely to exacerbate this. ing together a wide variety of specialists from
Increasing coastal populations threaten archaeo- Egypt, other Mediterranean countries and further
logical sites, directly by encroachment of housing afield. This publication describes the outcome of
and other buildings, and indirectly through pol- the workshop and the various follow-up activities
lution and poorly planned coastal protection in a context which broadens both literally and
measures. figuratively what is known of Alexandria’s past.
Alexandria has three important archaeological The activities are in the nature of a slowly grow-
sites in close proximity to one another, one on ing initiative, which as it gathers momentum,
land and two in shallow water. The 15th century will progress towards effective management and a
Qait Bey Citadel stands at the entrance to the balanced solution for Alexandria and its archaeo-
Eastern Harbour, the remains of Alexandria’s logical heritage.
ancient lighthouse, the Pharos, lies just offshore Special thanks are given to Selim Morcos, Nils
from the Citadel and the ruins of Ptolemaic Royal Tongring, Youssef Halim, Mostafa El-Abbadi,
Quarters are in the Eastern Harbour. Hassan Awad and Harry Tzalas who contributed
Preservation of all three sites requires an inte- to this publication, to Claire Blackburn and
grated and interdisciplinary approach. In 1997 Gillian Cambers for editing the text, and to the
the University of Alexandria, the Supreme Coun- many others who contributed to the activities.
cil of Antiquities, and other Egyptian institutions,
together with the United Nations Educational, Dirk G. Troost,
Scientific and Cultural Organization launched an Chief CSI
Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage 3
Profiles of the contributors
SELIM MORCOSis an oceanographer credited for from La Sorbonne in Paris in 1956. His broad spe-
his published works on the Suez Canal and the Red cialization is on the Ecology of the marine envi-
Sea. He was a member of the International Indian ronment, with a focus on the monitoring and
Ocean Expedition in 1962. Author of the first book management of the coastal and estuarine environ-
in Arabic on submarine archaeology ‘The Sunken ments. His scientific publications in this field and
Civilization, 1965’, he lectured and wrote widely to his broad school of M.Sc. and PhD. graduates, par-
promote the submarine archaeological discoveries ticularly while co-ordinating the UNESCO/UNDP/
off Alexandria pioneered by Kamel Abul-Saadat. Alexandria University Project on Aquatic Environ-
From Alexandria University, he moved to Paris to mental Pollution (1980–1986) won him UNEP’s
join UNESCO in 1973. Due to his efforts, UNESCO Global 500 Award in 1997.
supported the mission of Honor Frost to Alexandria
in 1968, as well as the international workshop on MOSTAFAEL-ABBADIis a historian known for his
Submarine Archaeology and Coastal Management scholarly works on the Greek and Roman times and
in 1997 and its follow-up. Prof. Morcos received the the interaction between the successive Pharaonic,
medal of the French Government for submarine Hellenistic and Arab cultures. He is credited for his
archaeology in 1997. An avid scholar of maritime contribution in promoting the revival of the
and oceanographic discoveries, he is currently ancient library of Alexandria, embraced by Alexan-
Chairman of the Editorial Panel of the Sixth Inter- dria University in 1974 and UNESCO in 1986. A
national Congress on the History of Oceanography. recipient of the Cavafy Award for classical Greek
studies (1997) and of the National Award of Merit
NILS TONGRING, a mathematician at the Gradu- in the Social Sciences (1998), Dr. El-Abbadi is Presi-
ate Center of the City University of New York, was dent of the Archaeological Society of Alexandria
associated with Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- (founded in 1893). He is a member of the Supreme
tution (WHOI) for over ten years. In 1994, in col- Council of Antiquities (SCA), and Chairman of the
laboration with American and Egyptian scientists, Consultative Committee on Preservation and
including Selim Morcos of UNESCO and the late Development of Submerged Archaeological Sites
James Broadus of WHOI, he began a comprehen- and the Qait Bey Citadel in Alexandria.
sive study of the coastal area of Alexandria, partic-
ularly the submerged ancient harbour of Pharos HASSAN EL-BANNA AWAD is a marine scientist
discovered by Jondet below the present Western who focused on the study of oil pollution in the
Harbour. The reliability of this early work is the Red Sea, in Saudi Arabia (1987) and in Egypt (1997).
most important archaeological issue in the study of His interest in submarine archaeology led him to
the Alexandrian littoral; this can be resolved by the study the water quality and pollution control over
advanced technology available today. the submerged sites in the Eastern Harbour. Prof.
Awad was the Rapporteur of the international
YOUSSEF HALIM is Professor of Biological workshop on submarine archaeology. He is cur-
Oceanography since 1973, and former Vice Dean rently Chairman of the Department of Oceanogra-
for Graduate Studies and Research (1976–1982) of phy, University of Alexandria and Rapporteur of
the Faculty of Science, Alexandria University. Pro- the Consultative Committee on submerged archae-
fessor Halim obtained a Dr ès sciences naturelles ological sites in Alexandria.
4 Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage
Table of contents
Profiles of the contributors 4
Executive summary 8
1. Introduction 9
2. Alexandria’s place in history 13
Ancient Alexandria 14
The Pharos and the Qait Bey Citadel 15
3. International Workshop on
Submarine Archaeology and Coastal Management 17
Background to the workshop 18
Objectives 19
Workshop organization 19
Highlights of the workshop discussions 21
Summaries of the workshop presentations 22
(For a list of the presentations, see Annex 3)
Session I – Speakers:L. Yehia; M. El-Abbadi; M. Zahran; I. El-Bastawissi 22
Session II – Speakers:N. Grimal; S. Morcos; H. Halim 23
Session III – Speakers:H. Tzalas; P. Gallo; A. Zarattini; M. Mineo 25
Session IV – Speakers:D. Nakashima; F. El-Baz; A. Fanos & O. Frihy 27
Session V – Speakers:H. Frost; J.-Y. Empereur; D. Aelbrecht, J.-M. Menon & E. Peltier 29
Session VI – Speakers:F.Goddio; I. Darwish & A. Abdel-Fattah 31
Session VII – Speakers:N. Tongring & N. Driscoll; I. Negueruela; N. Bonacasa 31
Session VIII – Speakers:M. El-Gindy; L. Prott; Y. Halim & F. Abou Shouk 32
Session IX – Speakers:A. El-Gindy; O. Aboul Dahab 33
Session X – Speakers:M. Fugazzola; E. Khalil & H. Wellmann; O. Frihy & A. Fanos 34
Session XI – Speakers:V.Sommella; E. Felici; V. Mastone 36
Workshop results and closure 37
Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage 5
4. Follow-up activities 39
Structural assessment of the Qait Bey Citadel 40
Feasibility study on the establishment of an underwater archaeological museum
and management of the Qait Bey Citadel site and the Eastern Harbour 43
Planning activities and formation of a Consultative Committee for
Planning and Follow-up 45
Marine pollution and urban water management in the Eastern Harbour 46
Workshop on sustainable development of submarine archaeological sites
at the Qait Bey Citadel and the Eastern Harbour 48
Bibliotheca Alexandrina and other developments 50
5. Concluding remarks 51
The need for integrated coastal management 52
The next stage 53
6. References and further reading 55
Annexes 59
Annex 1 Workshop organizing committee 60
Annex 2 List of participants in the international workshop 61
Annex 3 List of presentations in the international workshop 67
Annex 4 Working group composition during the international workshop 69
Annex 5 List of task team members formed by the Consultative Committee
for Planning and Follow-up 70
Annex 6 Summary of presentations – Workshop on the Status of the Pilot Project
for Sustainable Development of Submarine Archaeological Sites
at the Qait Bey Citadel and the Eastern Harbour, 20–21 November, 1999 71
Annex 7 Greco-Egyptian underwater archaeological survey near Alexandria
by Harry E. Tzalas 74
List of figures
Figure 1 Positions of harbour installations of ancient Alexandria,
superimposed on a chart of the present-day city. 14
Figure 2 Reconstruction of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse. 15
Figure 3 Ground floor plan of the Qait Bey Citadel superimposed on the
reconstruction of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse. 15
Figure 4 Cleopatra’s Needle facing the Eastern Harbour, in 19th century Alexandria,
before its transport to New York in 1879. 16
6 Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage
Figure 5 Honor Frost and Kamel Abul-Saadat on the Pharos site, during the field work
of a UNESCO mission in October 1968. 20
Figure 6 Colossal statue of Goddess Isis from the 3rd century BC (red granite,
7mlong, 25 tons), shown here beside a statue of a man (120 cm long). 21
Figure 7 Drawing by Kamel Abul-Saadat showing the positions of his discoveries
in the Eastern Harbour and around the Qait Bey Citadel. 24
Figure 8 Two interpretations of the Pharos Lighthouse: reconstruction by a scientist,
in the early 20th century, as a three-storey building (Thiersch, 1909);
and an 18th century engraving of a five-storey building as imagined by
artist J. B. Fischer von Erlach. 29
Figure 9 Schematic map of Alexandria showing important sites to be considered
within the context of coastal management. 40
Figure 10 Diagram, based on an underwater photograph, showing position
of concrete blocks resting on part of the Pharos site. 42
Figure 11 Qait Bey Fort before and after restoration in the 1930s. 43
Figure 12 The Qait Bey Fort and Citadel is presently a popular tourist attraction. 44
Figure 13 Colossal statue of Ptolemy (13 m long) salvaged in separate pieces,
the trunk in 1995, the head and arms in 1996; shown at an exhibition
‘La Gloire d’Alexandrie’ at the Petit Palais in Paris, in 1998. 45
Figure 14 Plan of the zone allocated to the Greco-Egyptian underwater archaeological
survey, showing the 5 sites of interest. 75
Figure 15 Side scan sonar mosaic showing elongated features which may represent
man-made structures. Two of these features cross at point A. (Vectors
indicate the elongated features.) 76
Figure 16 Stone anchor found on site 3 at Ibrahimieh; and artist’s impressionof
the use of this stone anchor. 77
Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage 7
Executive summary
Alexandria lies on the Mediterranean coast at tion. The workshop declaration included ways in
the western edge of the Nile Delta. It was which the Citadel might be stabilized without
founded in 331 BC and over the next three cen- endangering the nearby Pharos site, and how
turies became a centre of trade and scholarship. Alexandria’s archaeological sites might be made
Three major archaeological sites from different into an on-land and underwater museum.
eras remain: the 15th century Qait Bey Citadel, The ideas and recommendations resulting
the submerged remains of Ptolemaic Royal Quar- from the workshop have been followed-up by fur-
ters and underwater ruins of the ancient light- ther studies into the protection of the Qait Bey
house, the Pharos. Citadel, the feasibility of establishing an under-
An international workshop on Submarine water archaeological museum, and ways to con-
Archaeology and Coastal Management (known as trol the marine pollution and manage wastewater
‘SARCOM’) was held in Alexandria in April 1997, in the Eastern Harbour. A second workshop was
organized by the University of Alexandria, the held in 1999. The Supreme Council of Antiquities
Supreme Council of Antiquities and the United appointed a Consultative Committee for Plan-
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural ning and Follow-up, which in turn created a task
Organization. The workshop followed a series of team that led these activities.
recent archaeological discoveries in Alexandria’s Proposed future activities include the estab-
Eastern Harbour and a controversial project lishment of a university chair in submarine
designed to protect the Qait Bey Citadel, which archaeology and integrated coastal management,
had inadvertently placed large concrete blocks inscription of Alexandria’s archaeological sites on
over part of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse site. the World Heritage List, and the preparation of a
The aim of the workshop was to find a way of pre- comprehensive project document. The need for
serving Alexandria’s past while allowing the mod- an integrated coastal management programme
ern city to develop. Workshop sessions covered a which will provide for sustainable modern devel-
wide range of topics ranging from Alexandria’s opment as well as preserving the archaeological
historical background to remote sensing to pollu- patrimony is of utmost importance.
8 Towards integrated management of Alexandria’s coastal heritage