Assess the contribution archaeological or written evidence have made to our understanding of the Harbour's significance in Alexandrian life and society.

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Assess the contribution archaeological or written evidence have made to our understanding of the Harbour’s significance in Alexandrian life and society.

   Archaeological excavations and written sources have provided a significant contribution to the understanding of the Harbour’s impact within Alexandrian society. The ancient city of Alexandria quickly became a booming metropolis equal in size to such great cities as Rome and Athens. Perhaps the main stimulant of this intense and rapid growth was the Great Harbour that serviced the city. Archaeological excavations and written commentaries have indeed, aided in confirming the existence of Alexandria. The cosmopolitan seaport of Alexandria has accommodated two primary harbours since the 4th century AD, the Great Harbour (Megas Limin) and the Eunostos, of which the Western one was the chief commercial centre and the site of the customs house and numerous warehouses for cotton, grain, sugar and wool. ‘The ports of Alexandria flourished during the Hellenistic, and the Roman periods up to the last decade of the 4th century AD.’  Indeed, the harbour established an enclosure as described by Strabo, but was essential in ensuring Alexandria’s control over Mediterranean trade (therefore rivalling Rome and Athens) and establishing a significant transhipment centre. The harbour could indeed create ‘a direct Hellenistic challenge to the Phoenician maritime and commercial supremacy in the Mediterranean.’ Ultimately, Alexandria’s ‘monopoly of the seas was assured.’ Alexandria’s harbour’s essential purpose was to provide a spacious enclosure ensuring continual commercial trade.

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   Written evidence has suggested modifications and previous uses for the harbour complex. Strabo reveals ‘the Pharaohs had utilized it as a guard-post… (and) there are indeed signs that site (the harbour)…was not virgin when Alexander looked upon it.’ It seems likely that the purpose of the harbour was more military than economic. However, archaeology ‘neither confirms nor refutes this notion as a whole.’ Strabo attests the Great Harbour was divided into numerous quays. He further describes the vast dynamics of the harbour complex:

In the Great Harbour at the entrance, on the right hand, are the island and the ...

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