Closing Event of the “From Sand to Paper” exhibition

The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the University of Warsaw Museum thank everyone for joining the closing event of the exhibition “From Sand to Paper”

On 4 September 2026, the closing event of the exhibition “From Sand to Paper” took place. Organised by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, and the University of Warsaw Museum, the exhibition had been on display at the Old University Library since 10 August. It featured drawings by Arkadiusz Hapka and photographs by Raül Soteras created during archaeological fieldwork conducted as part of The Berenike Project.

The closing event included remarks by Prof. Artur Obłuski, Director of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Prof. Hubert Kowalski, Director of the University of Warsaw Museum and Dr. Emilia Smagur, head of the project “Living in an Egyptian port in the post-Roman period: households in Berenike.” The event provided an opportunity to reflect on the exhibition, discuss the research conducted at Berenike – an ancient port founded in the 3rd century BCE on the western coast of the Red Sea – and explore different ways of documenting archaeological work.

The exhibition “From Sand to Paper” offered two complementary perspectives on the work of archaeologists. Arkadiusz Hapka’s drawings, created directly during excavation seasons, document archaeological discoveries, the architecture of the site, and members of the research team. Raül Soteras’s photographs, in turn, show the broader context of the excavations – the landscape of Berenike, the course of fieldwork, the everyday life of the expedition, and details of the archaeological site.

The works presented in the exhibition were created in connection with research conducted, among others, as part of the aforementioned project headed by Emilia Smagur and the project “Cultural, demographic and biological profiles of the post-Roman inhabitants of the port of Berenike (Egypt),” headed by Dr. hab. Mariusz Gwiazda.

The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, and the University of Warsaw Museum would like to thank everyone who visited the exhibition and took part in its closing event. We are delighted that “From Sand to Paper” provided an opportunity to encounter the archaeology of Berenike beyond the archaeological site itself.