Climate change: Berenike, Egypt

[guy]

I have written before about the Egyptian city of Berenike and the suspected early Roman pet cemetery from the first century AD:

There is some evidence that a volcano temporarily caused the city's failure during the Ptolemaic era.

Coin and pottery from Ptolemaic Egypt.

 

 

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Previous research found that a volcanic eruption in 209 BC from an unidentified volcano ejected a significant amount of gas and ash into the atmosphere, shifting North-Eastern Africa’s climate and causing a weakening of the annual Nile flood.

The failure of the Nile flood drove the Egyptian people to rise up against the Hellenistic rulers of Egypt in a period known as the ‘Great Theban Revolt’ of 207–186 BC.

This climatic event most likely disrupted the fragile climate of the Red Sea region driving the drought at Berenike, causing the well to dry up and be buried with windblown sand.

Archaeologists methodically removed the thick layers of sand filling the well, where they found coins, amphora, and other datable material that suggest the event happened at the very end of the third century BC.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/03/volcanic-eruption-attributed-to-abandonment-of-ancient-egyptian-city/138089

 

 

It took many years for the city to become revitalized under Roman rule. It's further use by the Romans was not surprising given the city's location as an important seaport.

Here's some important background information:

 

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Berenice (Berenike) or Berenice Troglodytica (Greek: Βερενίκη), also known as Baranis, is an ancient seaport of Egypt on the west coast of the Red Sea. It was founded in 275 BCE by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE), who named it after his mother, Berenice I of Egypt.

Berenice was prosperous and quite famous in antiquity. The city is noted by most ancient geographers, including Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Stephanus of Byzantium.^[11] Its prosperity after the third century was mostly due to three reasons:

1.    patronage by the Ptolemaic kings

2.    safe anchorage

3.    being at the eastern terminus of the main road from Upper Egypt.

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From the 1st century BCE until the 2nd century CE, Berenice was one of the critical way-stations for trade between India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, and Upper Egypt. It was connected to Antinoöpolis on the River Nile in Lower Egypt by the Via Hadriana in 137 CE.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_Troglodytica

 

Summary: The impact of climate change was dealt with well in Kyle Harper's: The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, & The End of an Empire." 

 

guy also known as gaius

 

An excellent video about study at the Berenike, discussing finds at an ancient Roman trash site. There is even some evidence of trade with Indian subcontinent (Tamil Brahmi graffito and Indian-made pottery, and possible plant evidence such as coconuts and seeds, Indian coins, etc.).

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by guy

[caldrail]

There's been a lot of 'Climate change caused the fall of..." proclamations recently, some a little outlandish, such as one claiming that the 'Fall of the Republic' was due to volcanic eruptions (The republic did not 'fall', it merely changed form - that's why we discuss the Roman Imperial era). There was a geologist on television some years back who claimed that silted up harbours caused these 'falls'. Never mind that the industrious Romans were capable of finding anchorages for themselves, or as in the case of Ostia, building entire ports to order.

The thing is, people are attracted to the idea of dramatic collapses even if they didn't actually happen, and seek their favourite single cause. It's the sort of myth making that has people searching for a genuine 'Holy Grail' when the original was a fictional prop in a medieval romance that wasn't even holy to begin with. I don't doubt climate change has had far reaching effects in Roman history but let's keep it in perspective. The eruption of Vesuvius in 79ad did not cause anything except the loss of the local area and those near to the site.

Edited March 22, 2021 by caldrail