The Cyrenaica Coastal Survey Project: Documenting Endangered Maritime Heritage in Libya

Abstract

This paper introduces the Cyrenaica Coastal Survey (CCS), a collaborative project between the Maritime Endangered Archaeology project and the Department of Antiquities (DoA) Cyrenaica in partnership with the Universities of Al Bayda and Benghazi in Libya. Since the Arab Spring in 2011 and the subsequent civil unrest in Libya, heritage professionals, the DoA, and various individuals interested in heritage have struggled to safeguard heritage sites across the country, as policies and laws that protected archaeological sites were no longer reinforced and adhered to in the wake of the revolution. This lack of finances, capacity, and governmental support led to an unprecedented loss of archaeological sites since 2011. The CCS survey records the current condition of maritime sites along the Cyrenaican coast. The project focuses on the smaller, lesser known, coastal heritage sites that are not as well studied as the much larger classical period port towns of Apollonia, Tocra, or Ptolemais. This article will focus on the results of the first phase of the project between ancient Phycus (modern Zawiet el-Hamama) and Kainopolis (modern Al-Ogla). The results of the first stage of the Cyrenaica Coastal Survey provides a snapshot of the damages and threats that coastal heritage faces in Libya, most notably (often unregulated) building activities, clearance, sand mining, and coastal erosion. Furthermore, this article highlights the importance of remote collaboration between UK institutions, in-country partners, and heritage authorities, especially in countries where the discipline of maritime archaeology has been established more recently.

The impact of coastal erosion on the archaeology of the Cyrenaican coast of Eastern Libya

“…Consequently, the location and significance of archaeological features on the coastal edge are poorly documented. This is now changing with the initiation of the CCS [ 5 ]. Analysis is still in progress, but preliminary results indicate the presence of vulnerable archaeological material on, or close to, the eroding backshore.…”

“…Submergence is also evident from other, less well-studied sites. Phycus, Al-Oqla and Al Haniya all have rock-cut features possibly related to fish salting/processing or quarrying which now lie underwater or within the intertidal zone [ 5 , 10 ]. Calculation of functional elevations for, and precise measurement of, these features has yet to be done, but rough estimates suggest that Phycus was submerged by 1–1.5 m, Brak Nota by 2 m and Al-Oqla by 1–2 m [ 4 ].…”

“…Unfortunately, many are at risk from a range of threats. These include unregulated building activities, clearance, sand mining and coastal erosion [ 5 ]. The latter has been documented on the Cyrenaican coast since the early 19 th century [ 6 ] and recent reports highlight its destructive impact on archaeological sites at the water’s edge, notably at Tocra and Apollonia [ 4 , 7 – 9 ].…”

“…In addition to the best-studied large sites of Apollonia, Tocra and Ptolemais, there are many smaller sites along the Cyrenaican shore. Many of these are presently unstudied but they are also at risk from erosion [ 5 , 10 , 11 ]. This is all the more worrying considering that coastal erosion and flooding are projected to increase through the 21 st century because of climate change and sea-level rise (SLR) [ 12 – 16 ].…”

“…On the other hand, although eyewitness observations of erosion exist for this area (e.g. [ 8 ]), these have historically been intermittent, albeit increasing, thanks to the work of the Cyrenaica Coastal Survey (CCS) [ 5 ]. Consequently, there is a need to set these observed snapshots of impact within the overall context of longer-term and regional-scale patterns of change.…”