Discoveries

May 10, 2023

Ancient Globalization

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Archaeologists recently discovered a two-foot tall Buddha at the site of an ancient Egyptian port city, the first such artifact found west of Afghanistan, and one that underscores the international links of ancient civilizations, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

An excavation team of Polish and American researchers said the statue was located at the site of Berenike, a port city on the Red Sea that became an important trading hub when Egypt was under Roman control.

Analysis of the artifact showed that it was made from Mediterranean marble and, judging by its stylistic details, it was created in Alexandria around the second century CE.

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement that the find and other recent discoveries provide new evidence of trade links between ancient Rome and India, and how interconnected the Roman Empire was to its ancient Indian counterpart.

These include an inscription in Sanskrit dating to the reign of Roman emperor Marcus Julius Philippus – also known as Philip the Arab – who ruled from 244 to 249 CE.

The ministry noted that the discoveries also shed light on the unique role played by Egypt, which was “centrally located on the trade route that connected the Roman Empire to many parts of the ancient world.”

Meanwhile, the American team’s leader Steven Sidebotham, a historian at the University of Delaware, said the find underscores how globalization isn’t a modern phenomenon.

“You hear a lot about globalization today but there was a ‘global economy’ linking Europe, Africa, and Asia during the first century of the Christian era, and the city of Berenike is a perfect example of that,” he told University of Delaware Research. “In the Roman era, Berenike became a very international emporium, trading as far west as Spain and as far east as Indonesia, and it was an extremely cosmopolitan place.”

This story originally appeared in the May 10, 2023 newsletter, A Pyrrhic Victory.