v59_0152 - CIRENAICA - BARCE Hemidrachme

CYRENAICA - BARCA

(5th - 4th century BC)

The town of Barcé was founded around 560 BC by settlers from Cyrene. Located at the foot of the mountains, on the edge of a torrent and far from the sea, it was also far from its metropolis. The vast majority of its population was indigenous of Libyan origin. It was supplanted in the Lagide period by Ptolemais, located by the sea which became the most important city of western Cyrenaica.