Ptolemais, Cyrenaica

Acre is an ancient city in Libya. The city is situated on the seafront, next to the modern Tolmeitha.

Ptolemais may have been founded in the 7th or 6th century BC and was probably not far away as the port for the meeting needs in the domestic Barqa, has been completely built over but then in the Hellenistic period and was named probably after Ptolemy III. Euergetes. The 1.4 x 1.5 km ² large city was in 36.5 x 182.5 m (100 x 500 Ptolemaic feet) breaks up large blocks and was surrounded by a city wall. From this time the agora and a theater come.

In the first century BC, Ptolemais was Roman ( province of Creta et Cyrene ). At the end of the third century AD it became the provincial capital of Libya superior. The city was then provided with other public buildings, such as a triumphal arch. 365 she was devastated by an earthquake.

With the advent of Christianity many basilicas were built, some of which are well preserved today. 428 the city was destroyed by vandals and experienced in the Byzantine period a brief second flowering. After the Islamic conquest of the city, completely losing in importance.

The city is been explored very little. There were only a few digs. The most important day -to-see building is the Palace of the colonnade, which was probably built around 80 BC, but most of which today remains dating to Late Antiquity. Since 2002, Polish excavations here.