Metelis from Late Dynastic to Early Islamic Periods: the discovery of an ancient town

The Italian project, directed by C. Mondin, M. Asolati, and M. Kenawi, focuses on the investigation of two inter-connected archaeological sites in the Beheira region. Excavations at the two sites in the Western Nile Delta have indicated that this area would have once been well-connected and suitable for significant levels of commerce and trade.

The project aims to study and preserve the two sites of Kom al-Ahmer and Kom Wasit in Beheira Province. Since 2012, the international team is working side by side with Egyptian colleagues in order to have better understanding of the region. The investigation focused on the mudbrick enclosure wall of the Late Dynastic temple, where several amulets of different gods, 7th century BC Greek pottery and bronze cobras statutes were recovered. Two early Hellenistic houses have been fully excavated and the material culture recovered provides insight on the statue and religious beliefs of its occupiers. a tholos bath complex and later re-usage as a necropolis were uncovered. Finds and structures are belonging to the remains of a large scale size town that was probably a hub for different other sites around.

DR MOHAMED KENAWI was Head Researcher (2011–16), followed by Acting Director (2016–17), of the Hellenistic Centre of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria. He taught at the American University in Cairo and at Catania University. He has participated in various archaeological missions in Libya, Italy, and Egypt, among them those at Kom al-Ahmer/Kom Wasit, Athribis, and Dionysias. He currently collaborates on projects with Padua University, the City University of New York, and Tübingen University. At present, he is a Researcher and Training Manager at the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, for the Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa project. He has published many articles about his research in the Delta and Fayoum, in addition to his monograph, Alexandria’s Hinterland: Archaeology of the Western Nile Delta, Egypt (2014). His most recent publication (with Giorgia Marchiori) is 'Unearthing Alexandria's Archaeology: The Italian Contribution' (2018).