Marea: the Basilica Project
Dates of work: 14 October–23 November 2015
Team:
Director: Krzysztof Babraj, archaeologist (Archaeological Museum in Krakow)
SCA representative: Eslam Tailon
Archaeologists: Anna Drzymuchowska, ceramologist (Archaeological Museum in Krakow), Anna Mędrala, student (Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University), Dominika Majchrzak (Archaeological Museum in Krakow)
Architect: Daria Tarara, chief architect (freelance)
(Joint description of seasons 2014 and 2015)
The southern aisle of the basilica and the southern entrance to the church was explored in 2014. A bone-crafting workshop was located by the outside wall, yielding 230 semi-finished products for the making of beads, appliqués, buttons etc. A courtyard paved with marble led onto a street with a sewage system that received water directly from the baptistery located in this part. A room directly next to the baptistery was paved with marble tiles in the opus sectile technique, including ones in the shape of human hands. A semicircular niche in its east wall may have housed the bishop’s throne. A later installation in the southern aisle, associated with thick layers of burning in the fill, consisted of a brick-built vaulted structure which may have been a bread-baking oven.
Text: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 25