Bay of Salum

Salum faces the Libyan Sea, the part of the Mediterranean north of the old African coast of Libya. In its historical sense, that coast runs through Cyrenaica and Marmarica, reaching from Tobruk toward Alexandria. The name does not refer to the borders of the later state. Ancient Libya covered much of North Africa west of the Nile, including the lands and peoples associated with the Libu and Meshwesh. Ancient geographers accordingly placed the Libyan Sea between Cyrene and Alexandria, south of Crete.

This broad frame makes the sea a corridor between North Africa and the island world to the north. On Crete, the southern coast rises below the Asterousia Mountains and borders the Mesara Plain. Kommos, Hagia Triada and Phaistos belong to the area’s extensive Bronze Age settlement record. Other islands in the sea include Gavdos, Gavdopoula, Koufonisi and Chrysi.

The name Salum therefore opens onto a maritime geography much larger than one landing place. North African shores connect with Crete, and small islands provide intermediate points across open water. The sea links the memories of ancient Libya with the routes and settlements of the southern Mediterranean.