ARCE

Site looking down from southeast

Description:
Site looking down from southeast
Photographer:
Image capture by Edwin Brock
Date Created:
June 25, 1998
Collection:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
Series:
Conservation work in progress
Subseries:
Late Roman Buildings
Location:
Alexandria, Egypt and Al Iskandarīyah
Time Period:
Byzantine Period
Topic:
Ruins, Extinct cities, and Domestic architecture
Genre:
black-and-white photographs and general views
Conservation Note:
The majority of the Early Roman walls had been destroyed in Antiquity, either ruined or dismantled in quest of building material once the structure had been abandoned. For more information on the architectural remains of Early Roman Villa alpha, refer to progress report 2 or the Final Report.
Creative Commons License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Local ID:
arce_ca_vob_images_0253.tif
Project History:
At the heart of modern Alexandria in Kom el-Dikka lies an exceptional demonstration of Domestic architecture during the Roman Imperial period. The Early Roman villa named “Villa of the Birds” houses exceptionally well preserved mosaic floors, made of tesserae. True to its name, it contains Mosaic a-5 which depicts different bird species within seven different panels. Under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), Dr. Wojciech Kolataj and his team conserved the mosaic floors, constructed a shelter, and landscaped the surrounding area. Some related supplemental work was carried out by the Polish-Egyptian Preservation Mission, and sponsored jointly by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (currently the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) and the Polish Center of Archaeology. Conservation work was made possible with the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities).
Funding Agency:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation project was made possible with funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. 263-G-00-93-00089-00 (formerly 263-0000-G-00-3089-00) and administered by the Egyptian Antiquities Project (EAP) of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).