Other Egypt : the power and people of the Nile Delta
Reconsidering Ancient Metelis
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FREE | General admission
About the Event
The interdisciplinary project investigating the two connected settlements of Kom al-Ahmer and Kom Wasit (ancient Metelis) began in 2012 with the aim of exploring the role of the Western Delta in Egyptian history and addressing unanswered questions about ancient societies, human adaptation, religious practices, and daily life. This lecture will focus on life at Kom al-Ahmer and Kom Wasit from the Late Dynastic to the Late Roman period.
Key aspects of the Ptolemaic residential district and a public tholoi (bathhouse) will be discussed, along with an overview of the material culture, including Greek pottery and numismatic finds. The Western Nile Delta (chora of Alexandria) was a hub of commerce and trade, actively engaging with Mediterranean ports and facilitating cultural and economic exchanges.
Hungry?
Ticketed attendees who would like to stay for drinks and dinner should make dining reservations in advance via our Reservations page with the message “ARCE dinner”.
About the Speaker
Mohamed Kenawi is a Research Associate at the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester. Previously, he worked as a Researcher and Training Manager at the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, for the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) Project. From 2011 to 2016, he served as Head Researcher at the Hellenistic Centre of Bibliotheca Alexandrina before becoming Acting Director from 2016 to 2017.
He has taught at the American University in Cairo, Catania University, the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Additionally, he has contributed to various archaeological and heritage projects in Libya, Italy, and Egypt for over 20 years. He has worked extensively in the Western Nile Delta, particularly at Schedia, Beheira Survey, and co-directs the Kom al-Ahmer/Kom Wasit Archaeological Project.
Since 2018, Kenawi has been working in Rosetta to uncover its history beyond the Rosetta Stone. In Middle Egypt and the Western Desert Oases, he serves as the Principal Investigator for a heritage documentation project. His main research interests focus on the Late Dynastic to Early Arab periods of Egypt.