Aynuna (Arab. عينونة, ''ʿAjnūna'') – a village in northwestern
Saudi Arabia, in the
Tabuk Region, located about 5 km from the
Red Sea coast, at the mouth of the
Gulf of Aqaba. Archaeological remains discovered here are identified by most researchers with the
Nabataean port of
Leuke Kome, mentioned by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, among others. It lay on a trade route; it is estimated that about 8-9 days were needed for a camel caravan to travel from Aqaba to
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
.
[Karol Juchniewicz]
''The port of Aynuna in the pre-Islamic period: nautical and topographical considerations on the location of Leuke Kome'', „Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean”, 26 (2), 2017, DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0012.1819
/ref> The 300-km-long track led through the mountains but was fairly easy and safe.[Michał Gawlikowski, Karol Juchniewicz]
Aynuna on the Red Sea, poster (PDF); Seminar for Arabian Studies 2016, London
/ref>
Archaeological research
Saudi–Polish Archaeological Project in Aynuna
The archaeological expedition from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw (PCMA UW) and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTA) has conducted research in Aynuna since 2014, under the direction of Prof. Michał Gawlikowski (PCMA UW) and Dr. Abdullah al-Zahrani.Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
(1st century AD) to the early Islamic times (8th century). A survey carried out on the plateau cut by Wadi Aynuna also revealed the remains of a fortified settlement. A modern fishing village of Khoraiba covers the site of the ancient port.
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Karol Juchniewicz
''The port of Aynuna in the pre-Islamic period: nautical and topographical considerations on the location of Leuke Kome'', „Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean”, 26 (2), 2017, DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0012.1819
* Michał Gawlikowski, Karol Juchniewicz
Aynuna on the Red Sea, poster; Seminar for Arabian Studies 2016, London
External links
Saudi–Polish Archaeological Project in Aynuna
Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia