generate some commerce locally: The mines of Gebel Zabara and Wadi Sikait in the adjacent mountains, and the island of Ophiodes (now Zabargad Island) in the mouth of Berenice's harbor, were rich sources of gemstones (peridot?) at that time called “topaz” and “emerald”. Imperial Roman era From the 1st century BCE until the 2nd century CE, Berenice was one of the critical way-stations for trade between India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, and Upper Egypt. It was connected to Antinoöpolis on the River Nile in Lower Egypt by the Via Hadriana in 137 CE. The trade from Berenice along the Red Sea coast is described in the 1st century CE travelogue Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written by a Greek merchant based in Alexandria. The Periplus states that "on the right-hand coast next below Berenice is the country of the Berbers", thereby placing Berenice Troglodytica just north of ancient Barbara. In the 4th century Berenice again become an active port. Under the Roman administration, Berenice itself formed an entire district with its own prefect, who was called Praefectus Berenicidis, or P. montis Berenicidis. Despite its favorable location, after the 6th century the port was abandoned and the bay has since nearly filled with sediment; it has a sand-bar at its entrance that can only be crossed by shallow-draft boats. The gemsites on Zabargad Island are flooded. 19th century archaeology In 1818, the ruins of Berenice were identified by Giovanni Battista Belzoni, confirming an earlier opinion of d'Anville. Belzoni wrote that the city measured from north to south, and from east to west. He estimated the ancient population at 10,000. Since then, several excavations have been undertaken. The most important ruin is a temple; the remnants of its sculptures and inscriptions preserve the name of Tiberius and the head magistrate of the Jews in Alexandria under Ptolemaic and Roman rule. Excavations have also produced small figures of many deities, some obscure, including a (goddess?) Alabarch or Arabarch. The temple is Egyptian style, made of sandstone and a soft calcareous stone. It is long, and wide. A portion of its walls are sculptured with well-executed basso relieves, of Greek workmanship; occasionally the walls are decorated with hieroglyphics. Recent archaeology Excavations were launched at Berenike in 1994 by a team of archaeologists from the University of Delaware led by Prof. Steven E. Sidebotham, with partners from several other institutions and continued until 2001. Work was