Topography of the ancient town in Marina el-Alamein : recent data

The Hellenistic-Roman port town in Egypt is a testimony to the impact of civilization changes on urban layouts, their modification in some solutions and the continuity of others. The topography of the town and the necropolis was first studied along with discovery and then in the nineties of the 20th century. The main street layout, irregular, but with a tendency to line up in the north-south and east-west directions was then reconstructed. The preserved remains of the urban buildings mostly come from the times of Roman domination, and more numerous older monuments have survived only on the necropolis. Thus, the main findings to date regarding topography apply to the Roman city. However, the presence of the Hellenistic funereal monuments reminds us of the city from earlier times. Recent studies and discoveries of the remains from the Hellenistic era provide more information about the topography of that city. The few discovered residues of Hellenistic residential houses confirm the later continuation of the former positioning of the buildings. Public Hellenistic buildings in the city centre are better represented: there are well-preserved relics of the baths and remains of agora. They confirm the continuation of the location with a slight change in the orientation of the square and buildings. The topography of the centre of the ancient city, its transformations also in Roman times are the most important results of recent research.