Outside the Walls: Cyrene’s Suburban Zone between the Greek and Roman Eras

This thesis highlights the nature of the suburbs of the ancient Greco-Roman cities of Cyrenaica by studying the suburban activity and functions of the various buildings andother structures outside the limits of the urban core. Furthermore, it examines and interprets the physical remains of ancient buildings or complexes in order to identify their economic, religious, political and social purposes, their relationships to one another and the surrounding environment, and their relationship with the urban core. The thesis also sheds light on the modern developments and other factors that threaten to destroy the archaeological sites located in these suburbs. To achieve the study’s aims, I carried out a combination of extensive and intensive archaeological, topographical and landscape surveys in the suburban zone of the ancient city of Cyrene. The purpose of these was to uncover evidence of a range of activities and to record as many of the ancient sites outside the city walls as possible, in particular any recently-discovered or uncovered sites. In addition, I assessed the density of pottery sherds and any other materials observed on the surface of selected areas of Cyrene’s suburbs. This was done in order to create an overview of the different economic activities and monument types situated in the city’s urban periphery. This study thus adopted a mixed-methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data related to the location and general character of the sites located in Cyrene’s suburban zone. My doctoral research revealed that various types of archaeological sites are scattered around ancient Cyrene and can be dated between the Classical Greek and late Roman eras. The research has shown the limitation of the current limits assigned to the UNESCO WHS of Cyrene based on major monuments and the area enclosed within Hellenistic walls. Site management and protection would be more effective if the extent and nature of the suburban archaeology are more fully engaged with.