THE SITE ENVIRONMENT AND
LOCAL DYNAMICS
It is known that, since the melting of the glaciers some
10,000 years BC, the sea level of the Mediterranean
has been rising steadily by an average of one meter
for every thousand years. Of course, there cannot be
a uniform pattern because other natural phenomena (such
as tectonics, sliding of the continental sea shelf,
subsidence of land due to the weight of sedimentary
formations) can drastically modify the pattern. The
shores of Alexandria, as well as those of all the Nile
Delta, are the result of sedimentary deposition and
although we know that the ancient littoral is submerged,
there is no uniformity and no continuity in its submergence.
Underwater surveys carried out recently in Alexandria
by French missions at the Pharos site as well as in
the Eastern Port indicate that the subsidence of the
land could reach five meters in certain areas. It will
be the task of geologists, specialised in the study
of the rise of the Mediterranean and the subsidence
of the Alexandrian shores, to study the morphology
of the submerged ancient coast.
The mission also focuses attention on
understanding the local environment and the dynamics
that influence the various points of interest. The Alexandria
coast is exposed to weather from all directions with
the exception of the southerly winds. The combination
of wind exposure and the influence of the open waters
of the Mediterranean, which impact directly on the coast,
are therefore primary factors in the understanding of
any site of interest. Depending on the depth of individual
locations, the marine environment can affect the topography
and distribution of material on the seabed. This is more
pronounced on the immediate coastal zone where wave action
and erosion have serious impacts. There are numerous
examples, but suffice to say that the stone-anchors located
on the Ibrahimieh reef, according to the map produced
by the dive team during earlier campaigns, could not
be re-located later on, as they had been removed by the
action of swells and currents. The artificial rock cuttings
at the Ibrahimieh quarry represent another indicator
of the local marine dynamics which affect not only this
location but any other unprotected coastal site along
the Alexandria littoral. The rock cuttings were covered
and uncovered several times by sand. With regard to the
deeper rock cuttings lying approximately 40 m - 50 m
from the shore, the depth when checked in 2001 was 2
m, but by 2003 the depth of the same cuttings was ogets
of possible shipwrecks. Because in some areas the marine
dynamics had shifted large quantities of sand and material,
some points where covered and are invisibnly one meter.
The marine dynamics of the area may, however, also be
assessed from the side scan surveys carried out by the
marine geologist who re-scanned several tarle to re-scanning,
while at the same time new materials were exposed in
other areas.
