The Rescue Excavations of the Necropolis (Gabbari Bridge excavations), Alexandria, Excavated by the Centre d’Études Alexandrines from 1997 to 2000

The last stage of the construction of an elevated highway connecting the main road to Cairo with the western harbour of Alexandria in 1996 in Gabbari district led to the discovery of a series of collective underground tombs. The extent and interest of this ensemble put a provisory stop to the building work, and the CEAlex was invited by the Egyptian Antiquities Service to undertake a rescue excavation of the site. Twenty years after, two monographs and a large number of articles have been published on this site of primordial importance for our knowledge on the funerary customs and practices of the Alexandrians from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD, but study and publications remain to be accomplished.
 
Necropolis 3 will be dedicated to the study of 49 cremation burials composed of one or two cinerary urns or vases related to the same person, unearthed in the Gabbari Bridge necropolis as well as in the other necropoleis of the city. The publication is planned as a book for the synthetic results and as a database online for the excavations reports of the 49 cremation burials, with the full photographic and statistical details.
 
Necropolis 4 will be dedicated to the northern part of the land which was offered for excavation, the different sectors sharing the presence of surface cemeteries, as well as hypogea. Our ambition is to retrace the global evolution of this zone, from the early Hellenistic period to the 7th century AD, with two important surface cemeteries (more than 230 burials from Late Hellenistic to Late Roman period) and nine hypogea of various forms. The publication is planned as a book for the synthetic results and as a GIS online.
 
The publication project is directed by Dr. Marie-Dominique Nenna.