Polish team resumes dig at Libya's Ptolemais

(2 Jul 2023)

LIBYA ANCIENT CITY

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

LENGTH: 5:00

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tolmeita, Libya - 20 June 2023

++PART MUTE++

1. Drone footage of ruins of ancient city of Tolmeita (Ptolemais) ++MUTE++
2. Various of ruins
3. Various drone footage of holes and entrances to water cistern ++MUTE++
4. Man walking into entrance to cave of water cistern
5. Various of tunnels of water cistern
6. Men exiting tunnel
7. Drone footage of entrance of tunnels ++MUTE++
8. Various of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts at Tolmeita Museum
9. Various of Polish archaeologist Piotr Jaworski examining collection of ancient coins
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Piotr Jaworski, assistant professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw:
"We decided to return to Libya to start again our excavations, archeological excavations in this beautiful place. These excavations are very important for Polish archeologists, for Polish scholars because Ptolemais, Tolmeita, is one of the biggest and most important port cities in the African shore during the Greek and Roman period."

11. Various of collection of ancient coins
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Piotr Jaworski, assistant professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw:
"We made some conservational and restorational work on mosaics and wall paintings we found some 20 years ago. In other field of our activity is numismatics. I am a numismatist, and I am working now on almost 300 new finds of ancient coins."

13. Various of ancient Greek and Roman statues in Tolmeita Museum
14. Various of ancient Greek mosaic in museum
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ashraf Suleiman, director of Tolmeita Museum:
"The Polish mission is here. They came because they had work here that had started in 2001, then their work stopped when the revolution broke out in 2010 (2011). They had stored their excavation equipment, pottery and antique coins here."

16. Various of Suleiman looking at collection of ancient coins in museum
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ashraf Suleiman, director of Tolmeita Museum:
"They (Polish mission) returned this year and signed a renewable contract with the Antiquities Authority for five years. They studied the artifacts and what they need to restore them. Next year, when they come again to the excavation site and complete their work, a book on Ptolemais will be published."

18. Suleiman and other men looking at artifacts
19. Various of ruins of Tolmeita (Ptolemais)
STORYLINE:
A Polish archaeological mission has resumed its work on the ancient Libyan city of Ptolemais (Tolmeita), after a 12-year hiatus.

Polish archaeologist Piotr Jaworski said that his team had managed to conduct some preservation and restoration work on mosaics and wall paints, discovered approximately 20 years ago during their prior work at the site.

"These excavations are very important for Polish archeologists, for Polish scholars because Ptolemais, Tolmeita, is one of the biggest and most important port cities in the African shore during the Greek and Roman period," said Jaworski, an assistant professor of archaeology at the University of Warsaw.

He added that he's currently examining a collection of over 300 ancient coins, all freshly excavated from the site.

Ashraf Suleiman, the director of Tolmeita Museum, said that the Polish mission has signed a renewable contract to resume the excavation works in the ancient city for the next five years.


Ptolemais was a prominent settlement for more than 1000 years, from the third century BC to the seventh century AD.





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