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ALEXANDRIA
EGYPT
blocks,butsimplyfilledwithrubbleand
plasteredover.
Ofthetwoparallellinesofauditorium
seats,theeasternonewasalmostentirely
preserved(closeto7minlength),the
westernonebeingshorterby1.20m,
whereagraveoftheLowerNecropolis
(M363)hadcutintoit.Thebenchimpres-
sionpreservedonthewallleavesnodoubt,
however,thatthestructuremusthavebeen
originallyofthesamelength.
Asmall,almostsquarebrick-madebasin
(c.1.25by1.20m,c.1mdeep)wasbuilt
attheendoftheeasternrowofbenches,its
innersurfacelinedwithhydraulicmortar.
Theauditoriumwasaccessiblefromthe
porticothroughlargedoorsplacedinthe
portico'sbackwall.Insimilaritytoother
auditoriapreviouslyuncoveredatthesite,
thespaceimmediatelybehindthedoorwas
separatedfromtherestbyathinbrick-made
curtainwallandservedasavestibule.
Acompletestratigraphicprofilewas
obtainedinaprobedugnexttothewestern
wallofauditoriumM.Availablepottery
evidencesuggeststhatthebencheswere
introducedmostlikelyinthelate5th-early
6thcenturyAD,i.e.,roughlyinthesame
periodwhenthetheatrewassubstantially
remodeledandturnedintoalargeaudito-
rium,too.Theexactchronology,however,
hasyettobeestablished.
Theresultsofthisseason'sworkhave
shedanentirelynewlightonthecharacter
ofthepubliccomplexofLateRomandate
previouslyuncoveredwithinthelimitsof
thesite,notablythePorticoandthe
Theatre.Thenumberofauditoriahitherto
identifiedattheKomel-Dikkasitehas
reachednine.7)Itisalmostcertainnow
thatalineofsimilarhallsshouldbe
expectedallalongtheportico.
Thefunctionofallsuchhallsis
apparentlydeterminedbytheirinternal
arrangementandthereislittledoubtthat
theymusthavebeenusedaslecturehalls.
Akeyissue,however,remainsunsolved:
Whatwastheexactnatureofthe
gatheringsheldinthesehalls?Sincethese
roomswereinvariablylocatedwithinthe
urbanpublicspaceofwhatseemstohave
beenalargesquaresurroundedwith
porticoes,anagorapresumably,theymay
havebeenusedforschoolingoracademic
purposes.TheintellectuallifeofLate
AntiqueAlexandriaisrelativelywell
documentedinvarioushistoricalsources.8)
Thereisalsolittledoubtthatitsurvived
wellintothe6thcentury,pastthe
infamousJustinianedictclosingthe
AthenianAcademy.Inshort,itisquite
probablethatthebuildingsdiscoveredat
Komel-Dikkaaretheonlyphysical
remainsoftheeducationalinstitutionsfor
whichAlexandriawasrenowninantiquity.
AREAAW
Limitedarchaeologicalinvestigationswere
carriedoutattheextremenorthernendof
thePorticowithintheconfinesofthesite,
nexttoauditoriumno.2.Severalgravesof
theUpperNecropolis(AW100-AW107)
wereexploredinatrenchmeasuring
approximately9by10m.Theyall
representstructurestypicalofthisphaseof
thecemeteryandareparalleledbygraves
fromsectorE.
Theentireareaappearedtohavebeen
seriouslydisturbedbyrobbinginmedieval
times,whenboththePorticostylobateand
7)
M.Rodziewicz,“ExcavationsatKomel-DikkainAlexandria1980-81”,ASAE70(1984),236-240;seealsothesetof
auditorialocatedclosetothesouthernpassageoftheBaths,cf.Z.Kissetal.,FouillespolonaisesàKomel-Dikka1986-
1987,AlexandrieVII(Warsaw2000),9-33.
8)
Ch.Haas,AlexandriainLateAntiquity,TopographyandSocialConflict(London1997).
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