Book contents
- The Nile Delta
- The Nile Delta
- Copyright page
- For Mona Abaza
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Call Me by My Names
- 3 The Nile Delta before the Pharaohs
- 4 The Khetem-Border-Posts in the Delta during the New Kingdom
- 5 New Land amongst New Rivers?
- 6 The Mareotis Area
- 7 From Memphis to Alexandria
- 8 Growing with the Empire? From Village to Town
- 9 Mapping the Cult of Christian Saints in the Nile Delta from the Fifth to the Ninth Century CE
- 10 Alexandria
- 11 Imperial Power, Tribal Settlement and Fiscal Revolts in the Early Islamic Delta (Seventh to Ninth Century CE)
- 12 The Nile as Nexus
- 13 Water and Prices
- 14 Water Development in the Medieval Western Delta
- 15 The Nile Delta in European Cartography, 1200–1800
- 16 Just Passing Through?
- 17 Reclaiming the Archive
- 18 Short Commentary on Accounting Documents from a Vanishing Cotton Estate (ʿIzba) in the Nile Delta
- Index
- References
6 - The Mareotis Area
Integration of a Marginal Territory into Egypt through Wine Production
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2024
- The Nile Delta
- The Nile Delta
- Copyright page
- For Mona Abaza
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Call Me by My Names
- 3 The Nile Delta before the Pharaohs
- 4 The Khetem-Border-Posts in the Delta during the New Kingdom
- 5 New Land amongst New Rivers?
- 6 The Mareotis Area
- 7 From Memphis to Alexandria
- 8 Growing with the Empire? From Village to Town
- 9 Mapping the Cult of Christian Saints in the Nile Delta from the Fifth to the Ninth Century CE
- 10 Alexandria
- 11 Imperial Power, Tribal Settlement and Fiscal Revolts in the Early Islamic Delta (Seventh to Ninth Century CE)
- 12 The Nile as Nexus
- 13 Water and Prices
- 14 Water Development in the Medieval Western Delta
- 15 The Nile Delta in European Cartography, 1200–1800
- 16 Just Passing Through?
- 17 Reclaiming the Archive
- 18 Short Commentary on Accounting Documents from a Vanishing Cotton Estate (ʿIzba) in the Nile Delta
- Index
- References
Summary
In the 4th century BCE, the Mareotis region developed as a crucial connection between Egypt and the Mediterranean, supplying Alexandria with all sorts of agricultural or artisanal goods; it was renowned above all for its wine. Yet despite ideal geologic conditions for growing grapes, a remarkable concentration of Roman and Byzantine wineries in the area, and ample evidence for widespread wine cultivation by ancient Egyptians, up until now no Pharaonic installation of wine-making had been discovered in the region. However, for the first time, concrete examples of vine-growing remains, from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period, have been uncovered at the site of Plinthine/Kom el-Nugus. Relying on our archaeological and geomorphological research, this chapter concentrates on the early development of wine-making in Mareotis, showing how it developed alongside the growing interest of the state in these western margins. It shows how wine-making evolved from the New Kingdom to the Late Period, and assesses what kind of impact (if any) the coming of the Greeks had on local viticulture. It confirms that viticulture did not take off after the Macedonian conquest; rather, there exists strong continuity irrespective of political changes.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Nile DeltaHistories from Antiquity to the Modern Period, pp. 219 - 248Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024