Syene, crosspoint for food and luxury goods from North Africa, Mesopotamia and Arabia (Johanna Sigl)

Syene, crosspoint for food and luxury goods from North Africa, Mesopotamia and Arabia (Johanna Sigl)

The ancient Egyptian town Syene (today Aswan) was in the centre of ethnic, cultural and religious change throughout its history. As southernmost town of Egypt it functioned as military outpost and trade centre. Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, pagans, Christians and Muslims brought their own beliefs and knowledge of food preparation and breeding. Still, an important role of Syene seems to have been the trade north to the Mediterranean and the Near East, south to Central Africa, east to the Red Sea and from there to Arabia and at a shorter limit also west into the oases. From fish-sauce made of Nile-fish – famous in the whole eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity – to molluscs from the Red Sea – which could have been brought to Aswan by pilgrim on the hagj to Mekka during the Middle Ages – and even wild animals from Central Africa: all kinds of goods passed through the town.

Thanks to the joined mission of the Swiss Institute in Cairo and the Egyptian Antiquities Service (SCA) rescue excavations have been established all over the Aswan. In their course I was and am still able to study its faunal remains coming from strata dating from around 750BC till the 15th century AD, first results of which I would like to present with this paper.

Johanna Sigl, Institute of Egyptology, LMU Munich

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