Naucratis

• Naucratis was an ancient Greek Colony in Egypt, described in detail by Herodotus, and located on the Canopic arm of the Nile, 45 miles (72 km) inland from the coast.
• Archeology dates its founding to c. 625 BCE. It was officially given to the Greeks c. 570 BCE by the Pharoah Amasis II (570-526 BCE).

Trade

• Amasis II developed Naucratis as the major trading port with the West.
  • Imports from Greece: Silver, Wine, Olive Oil and Timber.
  • Exports from Egypt: Grain, Linen and Papyrus.

Archaeology

• Naucratis was discovered in 1884 by the Egyptologist Flinders Petrie.
• The Finds have produced Pottery with the oldest known Greek inscriptions showing the evolution from the Phoenician Alphabet.
• In 2000 CE, the site of Thonis or Heracleion, the Port on the Nile, was discovered.