On the Lion Harbour and other Harbours in Miletos: recent historical, archaeological, sedimentological, and geophysical research (original) (raw)

2014, Proceedings of the Danish Institute at Athens 7, 2013, 49-103

The Lion Harbour was Miletos’ most prominent harbour during antiquity. It can be envisaged as the heart of the Ionian metropolis in western Asia Minor. Originally situated in a bay of the “(I-)Karian Sea”, Miletos is now fully incorporated into the plain of the Maeander river, today’s Büyük Menderes. In this article we combine results from historical and archaeological research with those from palaeo-geography and geophysics. This geoarchaeological approach offers new insights into the dynamic evolution of the harbour basin from the time of the marine transgression in the early Bronze Age (c. 2500 BC), when the area formed part of an island, until its final siltation by the sediments of the river Maeander c. AD 1500. The Lion Harbour’s outstanding significance is clear from its strategic role as one of the closable war harbours of Archaic and later times. Its central position in the Archaic insula street grid, lining the agora and the main city sanctuary of Apollo Delphinios, made it a gate through which, so to speak, gods and humans entered the city; it was also the point from which Milesians left the city to start their sailing seasons or found their many colonies. The Lion Harbour is likely to be identified with the “Harbour of Dokimos” mentioned by the 1st century AD novelist Chariton (Chaireas and Kallirhoë 3.2.11) The commercial relevance of the Lion Harbour, however, was quite limited in antiquity. Miletos had a series of other harbours that fulfilled this function: the Theatre Harbour is perhaps the oldest of Miletos’ harbours; it also served as a closable harbour in Geometric-Archaic times. Other important harbours are the Humei Tepe Harbour and the Eastern Harbour at the eastern fringe of the peninsula; one of them, most probably the Eastern Harbour, should be identified with the emporion, or commercial harbour, where the slave market was located. Together, this quartet might be equated with the four harbours of the city Strabon mentions (Geographica 14.1.6). Finally, there are the Athena and Kalabak Tepe harbours, both of only minor importance. An overview of the evidence for all these harbours is given at the end of the article.