Rome lost total control of Egypt earlier than believed

[guy]

Is it possible that Roman control over Egypt weakened earlier than previously thought? A previous post addressed exactly that subject (see below). The research of this article supports the possibility by suggesting that the commercially important Egyptian Eastern desert “experienced a dramatic decline in activity between the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD, much earlier than previously believed.”

 

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McDonald conducts an exhaustive survey of the main archaeological sites in the area, from the quarries of Mons Claudianus and Mons Porphyrites in the north to the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenike on the Red Sea coast. At each location, the pattern is similar: a boom in activity in the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd, followed by a marked decline towards the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries.

In the quarries of Mons Porphyrites, famous for its valuable purple porphyry, ceramic and numismatic evidence suggests that most of the associated settlements were abandoned in the second half of the 2nd century. The fort that served as the administrative center of the complex shows signs of reduced activity starting from the second quarter of the 3rd century.

 

https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2024/09/the-romans-began-to-abandon-egypt-at-the-end-of-the-2nd-century-ad/
 

 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03075133241273454

 

 

 

Edited September 12 by guy