An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered a complete bathing complex at the Tell Nasser site in Port Said, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) said Thursday, in a discovery expected to shed light on settlement and public architecture in the eastern Nile Delta.
The complex was found during the first excavation season at the site, located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Port Said and 35 kilometres north of Qantara West.
It includes private and public bathing areas, as well as an integrated water-supply and drainage system, the SCA said.
The private section contains a circular basin measuring around 2.5 metres (8 feet) in diameter, built of red brick and coated with moisture-resistant pink mortar. It also includes two oval foot baths and drainage channels. A low structure is believed to have been used to heat water.
The public baths consist of two circular rooms, each about five metres in diameter. One of the rooms contains five foot-bath units, three of which remain well preserved, along with three rectangular basins and a quarter-circular basin for collecting and distributing water.
A nearly six-metre-long red-brick supply channel was also discovered. It was elevated above ground level and partially covered by a vaulted brick roof. Archaeologists found a second, older channel beneath it, as well as traces of residential walls, indicating earlier phases of occupation at the site.
The bathing complex was probably built in the late first century BC and remained in use during the Roman period, with architectural modifications made while retaining its original function until the second century AD, according to the SCA.
Parts of the complex were later reused for storage during the late Roman period, as indicated by the discovery of Gaza amphorae.
Initial studies suggest that settlement at Tell Nasser began before the Ptolemaic period, during the late fourth or early third century BC. Evidence includes Cypriot pottery and Greek amphorae.
Later layers contain Rhodian amphora stamps bearing Greek names, as well as locally made and imported pottery dating to the second and first centuries BC.
The discovery is the first scientifically documented complete bathing complex identified at Tell Nasser and offers evidence of the development of hydraulic engineering and public services in the eastern Delta during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, the authorities said.
The finds include amphora stamps, locally produced and imported amphorae, cups, jugs, pottery lamps, plates and tableware, which helped researchers date the site’s layers and establish its successive phases of occupation.
