A Falcon Shrine at the Port of Berenike (Red Sea Coast, Egypt) (original) (raw)

American Journal of Archaeology

During excavations at the Hellenistic-Roman port of Berenike (on the Red Sea coast of Egypt) in the winter of 2019, work in the so-called Northern Complex documented a religious space from the Late Roman period. The excavation of a portion of this space recorded material that, together with the architecture, suggests a ritual function associated with a falcon cult. This study examines the features of this edifice and the interpretation of the religious materials found in it and proposes a possible relationship with the Blemmyan population who lived in Berenike between the fourth and sixth centuries CE. 1 introduction Founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the second quarter of the third century BCE on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the Ptolemaic-Roman harbor of Berenike (fig. 1) owed its existence to international trade, and its archaeological remains reflect the wide connectivity of its inhabitants. 2 Prior to its abandonment sometime before the mid sixth century CE, the port was inhabited in part by the semi-nomadic Blemmyes, whose origins lay in the Nubian region. This is supported by a growing body of evidence associated with the Blemmyes that has emerged through recent archaeological work at the site, particularly in the area denoted the Northern Complex. The present paper offers an interpretation of a late ritual space documented within this complex. religious spaces in the northern complex of berenike One of the main areas excavated during the past few archaeological seasons at Berenike is the Northern Complex, 3 which lies in the northeastern 1 The Berenike Project is a joint mission between the University of Delaware and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology. We want to thank the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities for granting the corresponding 2019 permits for excavation at the site. The Fundación PALARQ provided financial support for this work. Archaeozoological research was financed by the National Science Center, Poland, grant no. 2021/43/B/ HS3/02749. Editions of papyri and ostraca are cited according to Papyri.info, "Checklist of Editions of Greek, Latin, Demotic, and Coptic Papyri, Ostraca, and Tablets," www.papy ri.info/docs/checklist. Greek inscriptions are in accordance with AIEGL, "GrEpiAbbr: Liste des abréviations des éditions et ouvrages de référence pour l'épigraphie grecque alphabétique," www.aiegl.org/grepiabbr.html, and are accompanied by their respective Trismegistos (TM; www.trismegistos.org) numeric identifiers. 2 For background on Berenike and the excavations, see, e.g.,