CartAlex

CartAlex

 

CartAlex is the CEAlex maps platform designed to become the central portal for cartographic resources related to Alexandria and its region. It will soon include the catalogue of the CEAlex Map Collection, as well as all research projects based on spatial representation and modelling.

For its launch, the portal presents the Archaeological Map of Alexandria. This scientific project constitutes a first version, but it already includes a significant body of archaeological discoveries made within the city, drawing extensively upon the seminal work carried out by Barbara Tkaczow in the 1990s. This Geographic Information System (GIS) integrates several georeferenced map layers, including the reference reconstruction of ancient Alexandria by Mahmud Bey el-Falaki (1866), the archaeological map produced by Achille Adriani (1934), the plan published by Barbara Tkaczow (1993), and the Alexandrian cadastre by the Survey of Egypt (1933–1948). In due course, the platform will incorporate additional georeferenced maps and archaeological discoveries, particularly those relating to the necropoleis of Alexandria or recorded in more recent publications.

The creation of this digital infrastructure is the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration within the CEAlex. The initial modeling work was established by Mathias Cunault (internship - Université François Rabelais, Tours) in 2011, while the implementation of a first Web-GIS was led by Aubin Bettiol (internship - ENSG). The project subsequently benefited from in-depth work conducted by Filippo Mi on the expansion and correction of archaeological data. Cécile Shaalan (Head of the Cartography and Topography Department) and Vincent Razanajao (Head of Digital Humanities) collaborated on the supervision of this project. The development of the tool was carried out by the CEAlex IT department, with the commitment of Kamal Mohsen (Head of the IT Department), Mustafa Morsi, and Ezz El-Din Ahmed, and more generally, the entire institutional team.

This new tool constitutes an essential resource for archaeological research and for the promotion and preservation of Alexandria’s cultural heritage.