Naukratis

The ancient Greek city of Naukratis was established somewhere in the mid to late 7th century B.C. in the Egyptian western delta. The city became a prominent trading port during the Greco-Roman period before eventually being replaced by Alexandria after the conquest of Alexander the Great.

This is an article on the city, its founding, its history, purpose, and excavation, first by the father of archaeology, Flinders Petrie, in the 1880s. It has been many years since I have read Professor Petrie's report on his excavations there, but I remember it as well worth a read.

This is a link to Digital Egypt on the finds from those excavations.

Photo Credit: British Museum