FRÉJUS FORUM JULII LE PORT ANTIQUE THE ANCIENT HARBOUR

2010

This report includes: > Discussions on the design of several ancient ports (Actium, Alexandria, Apollonia, the Bosphorus, Delos, Caesarea Maritima, Centumcellae, El Hanieh, Leptis Magna, Marius’ canal, Narbonne, Nirou Khani, Portus, Pisa, Puteoli, Sharm Yanbu-Charmothas, Thapsus, Tyre); > A list of over 200 proposed locations for potential ancient harbours; > Some comments on ancient port structures, like Vitruvius’ methods, failure of breakwaters and breakwater remains, design waves, reinforced concrete, arched breakwaters, pierced stones, harbour silting-up, tombolos & salients; > Some notes on ancient merchant ships and galleys, sailing techniques and Mediterranean sailing routes; > Some thoughts about ancient trade networks and intermodal hubs; > Some remarks on ancient measures, on ancient maps and ancient climate, including earthquakes and tsunamis.

2018

N. Carayon, S.J. Keay, P. Arnaud, C. Sanchez, "The Harbour System of Narbo Martius (Narbonne / F) and its Facilities during Antiquity", in C. von Carnap-Bornheim, F. Daim, P. Ettel, U. Warnke (eds), Harbours as Objects of Interdisciplinary Research - Archaeology + History + Geosciences, International Conference »Harbours as objects of interdisciplinary research – Archaeology + History + Geosciences « at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel, 30.9.-3.10.2015, within the framework of the Special Research Programme (DFG-SPP 1630) »Harbours from the Roman Period to the Middle Ages«, Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, Mainz, 2018, 151-163. Within the framework of the ERC Rome's Mediterranean Ports project (FP7-IDEAS-ERC, project reference: 339123; http://portulimen.eu), and thanks to a partnership with the Collective Research Project: Les ports antiques de Narbonne (http://pan.hypotheses.org) (CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes), it has been possible to precisely define the harbour system of the colonia Narbo Martius between the late republic and the late antique period. This paper aims to reconstruct the development of this harbour system from the 2nd century BC to the first part of the 3rd century AD, taking into account the human occupation of the area and the artificial development of harbour activities. By applying the concept of harbour systems to the area of Narbonne, our understanding of one of the most important ports of the western Mediterranean, the »emporion of all Gaul« in the words of Strabo (4, 1, 6), becomes clear.

Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 2023

The archaeological site of Portus (Ostia Antica), is a most important ports of the ancient world. Since 2017, the University of Huelva, in collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica, has been developing a research project on one of its interior piers, the socalled lantern. Said east-west structure or pier is the best example of its category in the port complex. With a length of about 150 m. the latest research has provided numerous and interesting data on its architecture and diachrony, highlighting significant phases in its evolution from its construction to its final abandonment in the beginnings of the Middle Ages. Therefore, the results presented here represent a significant novelty in the general knowledge of Portus and in that of its docks in particular.

Nearly 6000 ancient coastal settlements have been identified so far. It may be accepted that all of them had some kind of boat landing or shelter. From a nautical point of view, many of these sites are not considered very good for sheltering modern yachts, but were nevertheless used in ancient times. Conversely, would you believe that a natural shelter that is considered today as ‘excellent’ from a nautical point of view would not have been used in ancient times, at least as a bad weather refuge shelter? If such a place, in addition, provided fresh water and food, it could become more than a simple refuge. If it also had some ‘hinterland’ providing trade opportunities, it could become a bigger city with sufficient resources to build specific port structures like breakwaters and quays. The aim of the present study is to list ‘Potential Ancient Harbours’ defined as natural shelters that are considered ‘excellent’ by modern sailors but not (yet) listed as ancient harbours. The result is a list of ca. 150 places that might be further considered by historians and archaeologists to find out if they were indeed ancient settlements.

VON CARNAP-BORNHEIM, Claus; DAIM, Falko; ETTEL, Peter; WARNKE, Ursula (eds.) International Conference. Harbours as object of interdisciplinary research - Archaeology + History + Geosciences. Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum. Mainz, 2018

The importance of Tarraco, former capital of Hispania Tarraconensis, largely resided in its condition of port city. This paper gives an account of the progress made in research into this ancient harbour by analysing literary sources and archaeological remains from a broad time period, covering from the third century BC to the eighth century AD. The updated examination of the ancient sources and the study of several recent archaeological discoveries allows us to provide new and precise information about the configuration of the harbour and its evolution. We outline the advances in these fields of study in order to understand not only the harbour’s appearance, but also the economic, urban and social progress of the city. First, we take into account the boost to the city’s economy, bolstered by the arrival of Italic immigrants during the Roman conquest of Hispania and later from other cities, and also the movement of people and the growth of the city as an urban and economic centre. Second, we analyse the urban reality of the port suburb, which clearly reflects the situation of the harbour. After an interval of urban contraction, the fifth century AD sees a new period of urban and economic growth. This development is also attested in the centuries that follow, calling into question previous interpretations that considered the seventh century a period of decline that culminated in the Arab and Berber invasion in 713.

The Karian Chersonesos, a rough peninsula in southwestern Asia Minor, is rich in archaeological findings including a well-preserved coastal landscape with a large number of small harbours or landing places. Most of them are simple quay structures built from a rough quay wall that is backfilled with large rubble stones. They are datable only through their archaeological context, while the construction technique seems to be more or less unchanged between at least the Hellenistic and the Early Byzantine periods. A selection of these simple harbours is presented in this paper.

פוליטיקה, 1998

טקס יום השואה, הממוקם בתוך רצף של מועדים לאומיים, נוגע בשורשיה של ההוויה הציונית, ולכן יחסן של קבוצו ת שונות אליו מהווה הזדמנות מעניינת לבחינת מעמדן למול האתוס הציוני ומקומן בחברה הישראלית. ערב יום השואה 995 ו הוחלט בבית הספר "קדמה" 1 בשכונת התקוה בתל־ אביב לשנות את הטקס המסורתי ולהדגיש את היבט הגזענות והסבל האנושי. לשם כך, הודלקה אבוקה שביעית, שהוקדשה לציון רצח קבוצות ועמים אחרים, בנוסף לשש האבוקות שמסמלות שישה מיליון יהודים שנספו בשואה . אירוע זה עורר ביקורת נוקבת בקרב מגזרים שונים של הציבור הישראלי שטענו שהטקס צריך להדגיש את ייחודיותה של השואה, ובהדלקת אבוקה שביעית פגע בית־ הספר בייחודו של יום זה לעם היהודי.

Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology, 2020

This paper presents the results of the documentation and analysis of the pottery and terracotta collections from the excavations conducted at Cotton College in Guwahati during 1990-1992 by the Directorate of Archaeology, Govt. of Assam. The collection is presently housed at the Assam State Museum and Anthropological Museum of Cotton University. Although the archaeological digging was conducted for two seasons, the excavations have brought to light some important archaeological vestiges in the form of brick structures, pottery, terracotta sculptures, stone architectural pieces and other clay and stone objects. Considering the similarity of the pottery in terms of types, shapes, decorations and technological features and other archaeological remains of stone architectural pieces and brick structures, the archaeological site at Cotton College Campus can be considered as an extension of the Ambari archaeological site.