Leuke Kome Port
Leuke Kome Port (Lukē Komē),is a historic port located in Aynunah Oasis in Duba Governorate, part of the Tabuk Province in the north-west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its history dates back to ancient times in the Arabian Peninsula and the pre-Christian era. Its activity began during the Kingdom of Midian, continued during the Kingdom of Lihyan, and flourished during Nabataean rule. It played a prominent commercial role with the Ptolemaic state and during the period of Roman presence in Egypt, and it is mentioned in a number of historical sources.
Historical significance of Leuke Kome Port
Leuke Kome is a Greek word meaning the white town or city,and Leuke Kome Port was the center of maritime contact in the Arabian Peninsula. Through it, goods were transported to Petra, the capital of the Nabataeans, to Phoenicia, and to the River Nile and then Alexandria.
Remains of Leuke Kome Port
The port reflects the commercial activity in the area at that time, as it includes diverse remains, among them a customs observation post belonging to the Nabataeans at the entrance to the port. Historical sources indicate that at the beginning of the Christian era the port was a site for commercial garrisons whose purpose was to assist and protect ships, and to collect taxes from ships and merchants.
Commercial activity also played a role in enriching the archaeological evidence relating to the area of Leuke Kome Port, namely the remains of the White City known as the Aynunah remains,as the neighboring island of Umm ‘Usayliyyah by the port anchorage contains remains of a small stone building with Nabataean pottery sherds, in addition to a Nabataean fort built on a mountain near the port site, a pile of debris from Nabataean graves around the site, the remains of a water channel, and pottery sherds discovered in a nearby archaeological mound by the port anchorage.
Sources
NEOM.
Encyclopaedia of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Akra Komē, Lukē Komē and Amblōnē: Historic ports on the Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (verifying their locations in light of the results of archaeological research). Ali Al-Ghabbān. 2017.