Roman canals studies – Main research aims / Introduction to a special issue (original) (raw)
Related papers
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.
Les ports de l'espace méditerranéen antique, 2016
The Roman canal, which was found using magnetometer survey in Isola Sacra (Tiber delta, Italy) in 2009 is fundamental to our understanding of the relationship between Portus and Ostia, which constitute the core of what has been defined as the « port system » of Imperial Rome. This article presents the preliminary results of a stratigraphical study of the canal in an attempt to reconstruct its morphology, phases of activity and eventual disuse. In order to achieve this, three cores were drilled at the widest point of the canal in order to analyse the deposits, while an Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) profile was undertaken to correlate the core sequences. The study of the results of this fieldwork suggests four periods of use. A first phase comprises a straight canal running between the Fossa Traiana (Fiumicino) and the natural mouth of the Tiber near Ostia (Fiumara Grande). A second phase is marked by a lateral mobility of the northern part of the canal, this means that the canal took a new route (CPO-2 core) while the earlier course had been sedimented (core CPO-3). This new stretch of the canal was probably disconnected upstream from the Fiumicino and filled-in with fine sediment (core CPO-2). Finally, a fourth phase of use appears with a later recut of the second phase of the canal, most likely for agricultural purposes. With a depth of between 3 and 4 meters below the Roman sea level respectively, the first two canals would have been navigable by many kinds of ancient boats but not larger vessels. These phases of canal activity are in the process of being given absolute dates.
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.
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.
Exploration of the Canal of Xerxes, Northern Greece: the role of geophysical and other techniques
Archaeological …, 2000
The Canal reputedly built on the orders of the Persian King Xerxes across a narrow isthmus in northern Greece to allow his fleet access into the Aegean in advance of the Persian invasion of Greece in the early fifth century BC must have been a remarkable engineering operation for its time. Yet apart from a depression in the central sector of the isthmus, almost nothing of this canal is visible today, nor are there visible remains of building structures and harbour installations; what information there is about it comes from accounts by ancient writers, notably Herodotus, and nineteenth century travellers. This paper describes the results of a large programme of survey aimed at detecting this putative, now buried structure and ascertaining whether or not it was a canal across the full width (2 km) of the isthmus. Following a detailed topographic survey, resistivity soundings and ground-penetrating radar were carried out principally in the central sector of the canal; the latter detected successive infillings of the canal but neither its original sides nor its bottom. Seismic refraction and reflection measurements, on the other hand, provided decisive evidence for the canal's existence in the central sector, with strong support coming from the analysis of sediment cores: its depth there is 14-15 m below the present ground surface, with top and bottom widths of 25-35 and at most 20 m respectively. The canal's northerly course has been defined but less confidently, whereas to the south the picture still appears incomplete. The canal may indeed have been built across the full 2 km, but the alternative hypothesis that it connected with the sea at only one end and that there was a (short) slipway at the other end cannot be dismissed. Whichever model is correct, a crucial finding from the sediment analysis is that the lifetime of the canal was short.
A new look at the Butic Canal, Egypt
E&G Quaternary Scientific Journal , 2021
The Butic Canal-a Roman period transversal route across the northern Nile Delta-was the longest artificial watercourse in the Nile Delta, yet it remains very poorly understood. To date, the canal has not yet been verified by archeological excavations. The route of the eastern section of the canal has been indirectly identified based on a linear elevated feature most likely representing earth from the excavation of the canal. This study combines the analysis of historical sources and remote sensing data, such as satellite imagery and the TanDEM-X digital elevation model, in order to discuss its date of construction, route, and functions. Based on the data of the digital elevation model, new construc-tional features are visible in the eastern delta providing the first detailed route of a Roman-era artificial watercourse in Egypt. It is suggested that the canal's construction is placed in the context of imperial investments in the infrastructure of the eastern part of the Roman empire. Kurzfassung: Der Butische Kanal war eine römerzeitliche Querverbindung durch das nördliche Nildelta. Obwohl er die längste künstliche Wasserstraße des Deltas darstellt, ist unsere Kenntnislage über diesen Kanal sehr gering. Bis heute ist der Kanal nicht durch archäologische Ausgrabungen verifiziert. Der Verlauf eines Abschnitts des Kanals im östlichen Nildelta wurde indirekt durch eine lineare Struktur iden-tifiziert, die höchstwahrscheinlich den Aushub des Kanals repräsentiert. Dieser Artikel kombiniert die Analyse historischer Quellen und Fernerkundungsdaten, wie Satellitenbilder und das TanDEM-X Digitale Höhemodell, um die Datierung, die Route und die Funktionen des Kanals zu diskutieren. Auf der Grundlage der Daten des Digitalen Höhenmodells sind im östlichen Delta bestimmte bauliche Merkmale des Kanals erstmals genauer erkennbar. Dadurch kann die erste detaillierte Route eines Ab-schnittes einer römerzeitlichen künstlichen Wasserstraße in Ägypten rekonstruiert werden. Es wird vorgeschlagen, die Errichtung des Kanals im Zusammenhang mit imperialen Infrastrukturprojekten in der Osthälfte des römischen Reiches zu verstehen.
The Isola Sacra Survey, 2020
This chapter provides additional evidence for the Portus to Ostia Canal. It first presents a detailed analysis of the sediments in the geoarchaeological boreholes drilled at three different points along the line of the canal and its immediate vicinity. These confirm its identification as a navigable watercourse, even though there remains some uncertainty as to whether the Isola Sacra 1 and 2 shipwrecks were deposited in the canal or in an associated palaeo-lagoon close to the ancient coastline. The study suggests that the canal was probably dug in the Trajanic period, had various phases of use, and that it was abandoned in the early third century AD. The second part of the chapter comprises a study of these two shipwrecks.
To the northwest of the ancient city of Ostia, the analysis of cores revealed a stratigraphic sequence, which we interpret as the filling of a harbour basin. This basin, located at the west of the so-called "Palazzo Imperiale" presents seven characteristics: (1) The maximum depth is 6 m below the Roman sea level. This depth allowed any type of ship (even heavy tonnage) to access the harbour. (2) A chronostratigraphic gap at À6 m below Roman sea level suggests digging operations in the basin (or subsequent dredging) that have caused the loss of sedimentary archives. The filling consists of dark clays typical of a quiet environment but open to marine and river influences. (4) The dates at the base of this sequence give a range between the 4 th and the 2 nd century BC. (5) In the harbour sequence, a facies change at À2.5 m under the Roman sea level involves a change in the processes of sedimentation and/or operation. (6) No later than the beginning of the 1 st century AD, the thickness of the water column in the basin is less than 50 cm and seems to be caused by a massive siltation following a succession of floods of the Tiber. (7) This basin was thus already abandoned during the start-up of Portus.