Brief overview of two seasons of archaeological survey and excavation carried out in 2012 and 2013 at the site of Berenike on the Red Sea coast and in two sub-projects in the Eastern Desert: the prehistoric cattle cemetery at Wadi Khashab and the Roman-era emerald mines at Sikait and Nugrus. Highpoints of the work at Berenike included discovery of the Hellenistic fort and fortifications that mark the original settlement of the site in the third quarter of the 3rd century BC, continued clearance of harbor-related structures in the southwestern bay interpreted as the early Roman harbor of Berenike and the uncovering of an earlier phase of the late Roman harbor temple (so-called Lotus Temple) of the 5th–6th century AD in the harbor.

The purpose of the article is to examine the surprisingly extensive and varied evidence of Cretan finds in the archaeological record of the PCMA UW excavations at the site of the ancient Graeco-Roman harbor in Marina el-Alamein on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt and to propose an interpretation going beyond the usual and obvious, for this period and place, trade exchange. The evidence includes pottery, mainly amphorae, a numerous group of so-called Cretan or Ivy-leaf terracotta oil lamps, a tentative Cretan-sourced custom of using gold plaques with Orphic symbolism placed into the mouths of initiates in preparation for burial, as well as a female name in Doric Greek carved on one of the pillar tombs, which could have belonged to a woman of Cretan origin. The distribution of the Cretan amphora in Egypt, as reviewed by Majcherek, merits attention in the light of what it says about consumers and their individual and collective preferences. In turn, the Cretan lamps, which are otherwise not found in Egypt and the bulk of which were found as grave goods in burials, were most probably valued possessions of a specific group, a mark of cultural belonging, a memento of home, perhaps even a religious attribute. The finds from Marina el-Alamein must be considered in the context of Crete's bilateral relations with Egypt—political, cultural and commercial—and the integration of Crete in the pan-Mediterranean economic system of Roman times. The conclusion is that the assemblage in question rests well within the frame of this overall picture of mutual contacts, but one could go further and propose to view the finds as proof of tentative Cretan colony, whether mercenaries/veterans with their families or merchants and their agents.

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Robin SeignobosLa liste des conquêtes nubiennes de Baybars selon Ibn Šaddād (1217-1285). . . . . 553 Joanna Then-ObłuskaThe 'bead-side� story of medieval and post-medieval Nubia: Tentative approach to the bead collection of the

A review article collecting obscure publications and mentions of finds of lamps (made of clay and glass, some of stone and metal as well) and lighting accessories, like wicks, wick holders and lamp stands and holders (polycandela) scattered in reports and papers of the archaeological excavations carried out or under the auspices of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, published in the past 60 years since the Centre’s founding in 1959. The article draws upon finds presented conjointly with reports from excavations, often including significant contextual information about the discoveries, which are still to see their final publication. This data is summarized in relevant cases, the author contributing, wherever possible, new insight and interpretations, citing new parallels and introducing occasional corrigenda.