Reconstructing the Past: the Graeco-Roman Museum, Alexandria, Egypt.

Dive & Dig

Professor Lucy Blue speaks to Dr Mohamed Mustapha Abd El-Maguid, from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt. An expert in ancient ship construction, he has installed a reconstruction of a late Roman-early Byzantine ship in the recently re-opened Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, Egypt. The pearl of the Mediterranean, Alexandria was the centre of trade and commerce. To illustrate the city’s importance in trade during ancient times, Mohamed was asked to use amphora from the museum store dating from the Roman period and place them in a reconstructed section of the cargo hold of a ship. Hear how together with the craftsmen at the shipyard he has beautifully reconstructed a boat based on the Saint Gervais 3 wreck of a similar period found in southern France. Allowing students to see the ship take shape using the shell-first method of construction with mortise-and-tenon joints, gave them a chance to truly appreciate the craftsmanship and creativity of a Roman ship builder.