FOSSAE MARIANAE Project : New results of the 2017 campaigns Helded on the Areas of the Harbour and of the Assumed Marius Channel. / British School at Rome / Portuslimen: Rome’s Mediterranean Ports (RoMP) Workshop 4 - 25th and 26th January 2018 (original) (raw)
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Ports, Harbours and Anchorages in the Ancient Mediterranean: New Discoveries and New Approaches
2017
The aim of this joint paper is to present and assess the results of the Salamis Harbour Project, initiated in 2016 and supported with a substantial grant from the Honor Frost Foundation. This is a three-year (2016-2018) project of systematic underwater survey and documentation by the Hellenic Institute of Marine Archaeology in collaboration with the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, with the involvement of the Laboratory of Marine Geology and Physical Oceanography of the University of Patras under Prof. G. Papatheodorou, and having, for the first time, as main focus the Bay of Ambelaki and adjacent areas on the eastern coast of the island of Salamis in the Saronic Gulf (Greece), opposite Piraeus. This historic bay, with many submerged ancient installations in very polluted waters, is the commercial and military harbour of the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman town of Salamis (forming an unofficial Athenian deme), certainly one of the most important harbours, next to those of Piraeus, of the city-state of Athens in the Classical period, and the plausible point of assembly of the united Greek fleet on the eve of the naval battle of 480 BC; and also found in close proximity with some famous monuments to the great sea-battle, on the long promontory of Kynosoura and on the islet of Psyttaleia (that is, the tumulus/polyandreion and the trophies). This new underwater reconnaissance, in a seascape loaded with both traditional and modern harbour, shipbuilding and other industrial activities, was carried out in successive stages, in November-December 2016. Apart from traditional methods in underwater archaeological survey, current technologies in mapping, surveying, geophysical prospection and aerial photographic documentation and other fields were employed in collaboration with the team from the University of Patras. One of the main results of the 2016 campaign (to be supplemented with new data from the 2017 survey) has been the production of a detailed topographical plan of the survey-area showing all submerged antiquities (breakwaters, piers/moles, fortification works, buildings and other constructions) visible in the innermost part of the Bay of Ambelaki, in very shallow waters (with an ever-changing water-table). These remains have been identified on the north, west and south sides of the inner harbour of the ancient town of Salamis and surveyed with the use of aerial photography, photogrammetric documentation and architectural drawing. Of major interest is an 'enclosed' (fortified) area (of special function), with various remains, on the northwestern side of the inner bay. It is limited, on the south, by an impressive long wall (or jetty), 160m long by ca. 4m wide, ending in a strong well-built circular tower, with a diameter of ca. 7m, closely comparable to defensive towers in well-known fortified harbour-sites; and, on the east, by a modern mole (on ancient foundation?), 47m long, built with blocks originating from ancient structures. Immediately west of the latter, part of a unit of port architecture (or a segment of the
Portus was Rome’s maritime port during the Roman Empire. In AD 42, the harbour location was selected about 3 km north of Ostia, along the Tyrrhenian coast, on the margin of the Tiber River. Portus and its maritime façade are well known, however the fluvial aspects of Portus are poorly documented. How did Roman engineers preserve a continuous waterway from the basins of Portus to the Tiber River without accelerating siltation inside the harbour? Were their choices efficient? The present Canale di Comunicazione Traverso is the only canal attested to link the Tiber River and the harbour basins. The objective of this work is to analyse the Canale Traverso sediments infill in order to establish the role of this canal in relation to the infill deposits of the harbour basins and to define the functions of the canal. This study is based primarily on a reinterpretation of the available archaeological data, as well as mainly on sedimentological analysis and the interpretation of the Passega diagram. A Passega diagram is presented for understanding the deposit processes for the harbour environments at the entrance to the Trajanic basin (TR-XIV). This diagram is compared to the Passega diagram of the Canale Traverso (CT-1) which is characterised by a stronger influence of the Tiber River. This study concludes that the Canale Traverso was a canal that was well protected from the influence of the Tiber River, with the exception of occasional flooding. Also, this paper presents the patterns of sedimentation at Portus and allows us to define the use of the canal and the maintenance procedures.
A harbour–canal at Portus: a geoarchaeological approach to the Canale Romano: Tiber delta, Italy
Water History, 2014
This paper presents a detailed description of the sediments trapped by the Canale Romano in the Imperial harbour complex of Portus (Rome). The study confirms the hypothesis of a Roman canal (active during the early 2nd century ad and the 3rd/5th century ad) with a maximum water-depth between 4.36 and 7.37 m. The function of this canal as a harbour seems to particularly fit with the data available. This study follows a multidisciplinary approach. It combines all previous data available on the Canale Romano (geophysical surveys, archaeological and historical data) and provides a new palaeoenvironmental dataset in order to draw a more complete overview about its history. Three cores drilled in the Canale Romano are analyzed using sedimentological data, CM diagram and bioindicators, 14C and archaeological data. Four main sedimentation phases were identified: (1) Pre-canal deposits; (2) relatively quiet fluvial environment deposits; (3) flood sediments inputs; and (4) fine sediment infill after the cut-off of the canal. In the discussion, the paper attempts to put this stratigraphic sequence into context of the reorganization of the harbour of Imperial Rome during the reign of Trajan (early 2nd century ad) and its subsequent evolution.
In: C. von Carnap-Bornheim/F. Daim/P. Ettel u. a. (Hrsg.), Harbours as object of interdisciplinary research. Archaeology + history + geosciences. RGZM Tagungen 34 (Mainz 2018), 2018
Big navigable canals – fossata magna – are crucial parts of the European harbour network in the 1st millennium AD. By means of canals, site conditions at transition zones of the transportation network were artificially modified. Water depths and fairway widths of canals reflect specific requirements regarding the accessibility of inland harbours and waterways in the adjacent transport zones. These requirements significantly depend on the size of ships. In our study we present a supraregional and diachronic comparative approach, integrating canal parameters and ship findings. Our pivotal point is the Fossa Carolina or fossatum magnum (Germany), constructed in 793 AD to bridge the main European watershed. The 8th-century Kanhave Canal was cut through an isthmus on Samsø island (Denmark) to avoid a lengthy detour and to offer direct access to a safe natural harbour. The Fossa Corbulonis, built around 50 AD by Roman military, bridged the watershed between the Rivers Waal and Maas (Netherlands) to avoid a dangerous coastal route.
Archaeological Prospection, 2012
The Gulf of Manfredonia and the Tavoliere Plain have experienced intense human colonization since the neolithic times. There is past evidence in the study area of a Roman-age settlement historically known as Salapia, probably located close to the salt-production ponds. In particular, several portions of a partly submerged ancient pier-like structure were found close to Torre Pietra town. This structure has been interpreted as a portion of a dragged-ship channel that connected the town of Salapia to the sea. In this article we discuss the results of a high-resolution geophysical prospecting of the Margherita di Savoia offshore archaeological site (Puglia, Italy). We collected magnetic gradiometric and bathymetric data to map the submerged remains of Salapia harbour. We found evidence of an offshore projection of a Torre Pietra pier-like structure, identifying the direction of the ship channel and possibly the location of the harbour's defensive post.