Professor Lucy Blue is in Egypt with a team of specialists co-directing a project with the Universities of Southampton and Ulster as part of the MarEA (Endangered Maritime Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa) project.  Together with experts from the Universities of Alexandria and Mersa Matruh, Egypt they are utilizing satellite imagery and other technologies to explore the western section of the north African coastline of Egypt.  This approach has revealed an extraordinary number of ancient sites, many dating back over 2,000 years. The findings shed new light on the rich maritime history of the region, including trade, settlement, and cultural interactions along the Mediterranean coast. This large-scale survey is crucial for documenting and preserving vulnerable archaeological sites, many of which are under threat from modern development and environmental changes. 

Speaking with members of the team, including Dr Nicholas Ray, MarEA, Ulster University and Dr Ziad Morsy and Hagar Wafik from the Centre of Maritime Archaeology and Underwater Cultural Heritage, University of Alexandria, and Dr. Basma Khalili, a ceramic expert from the University of Mersa Matruh, we learn that the project has uncovered remarkable archaeological finds from pottery production sites to rock-cut tombs. Some of the discovered sites span several kilometres, highlighting the scale of these ancient settlements and hinting at the vibrant trade networks of the time. 

MarEA is a research project based in the University of Southampton and partners in University of Ulster, funded by Arcadia and the NW Egypt coastal survey is largely funded by the Honor Frost Foundation.