Libya - The Archaeological Site of Ptolemais

Ptolemais was one of the five major cities (the Pentapolis) in the Cyrenaica – Cyrene, Apollonia, Ptolemais, Taucheira, and Berenice/Euesperides. While closely linked to the cultural trends of the Graeco-Roman world, the five cities of the Pentapolis exemplify the distinctive regional cultural traditions created by the diverse ethnicities that made up the region’s social fabric, notably Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Libyan, Byzantine/Christian, and Islamic. Ptolemais also served a strategic importance in the early 20th century during Italian occupation. The site contains well preserved public and private buildings of great architectural importance. Excavations have produced a wealth of material evidence that testify to its long prosperity as an urban centre, including exceptional mosaics, stone sculptures (statuary, reliefs, sarcophagi), inscriptions, coins, and ceramics. The archaeological site of Ptolemais as it stands today is a unique example of the latest trends in Greek urban planning, from its inception, Ptolemais was planned to be a grand and influential city under the royal patronage of the Ptolemies.