Ancient Shipwrecks

Investigations of Mediterranean connectivity have increasingly turned toward maritime landscape models to frame questions of seaborne exploration, marine resource exploitation, trade and exchange, and seafaring culture. Environmental and technological parameters are consistently acknowledged as crucial for understanding when and why different relationships developed across the sea, but their formal employment in the modeling and interpretation of maritime space remains quite limited. The methodology outlined here utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to integrate environment and technology as an analytical tool for exploring the complexity of seaborne connectivity. Focusing on sailing days as practical units of distance and using an Archaic Greek shipwreck off Turkey as a case study, this preliminary model demonstrates how a more nuanced spatial approach can inform the human geography and socioeconomic structures of ancient maritime interaction.

The wrecks of merchant ships transporting amphorae with wine and oil represent
an important source of information for the reconstructions of antique economy
in the western part of the Mediterranean. Following the analysis of submerged finds,
it was possible to validate the findings obtained at land sites, create a classification of
Roman amphorae and verify their chronology, which proved particularly important
in the case of Greek-Italian amphorae, i.e. Dressel 1, Pascual 1 and Dressel 2-4 (for
wine) and Dressel 20 (for oil), as well as reconstruct trade routes and the distribution
of wine and oil production centres in particular areas of the Roman Empire during
the Republican and Imperial periods.

Freedom of navigation through the South China Sea could now be at risk. Six countries lay claim to all or part of the Spratly Islands and the Paracels (Fig. 1). Five of them occupy islands or reefs. All five have built structures and infrastructure, and all have reclaimed land to do it. Recently, however, China has instigated something of a reclamation Blitzkrieg. It has converted seven submerged reefs into islands, and several of those incorporate runways and harbours. They are primarily for military use and therefore dramatically change the strategic situation. When challenged, China cites an indisputable right to be there.
This paper seeks to address the sense of entitlement that all claimants exude. Perceived rights seem to override international law, ratified conventions, signed declarations, and even common sense. They stem from history, both ancient and modern; but history is open to interpretation. Archaeological evidence is more concrete, as it can
corroborate and/or enhance the textual evidence.

The Story of Garum recounts the convoluted journey of that notorious Roman fish sauce, known as garum, from a smelly Greek fish paste to an expensive luxury at the heart of Roman cuisine and back to obscurity as the Roman empire declines. This book is a unique attempt to meld the very disparate disciplines of ancient history, classical literature, archaeology, zooarchaeology, experimental archaeology, ethnographic studies and modern sciences to illuminate this little understood commodity. Currently Roman fish sauce has many identities depending on which discipline engages with it, in what era and at what level. These identities are often contradictory and confused and as yet no one has attempted a holistic approach where fish sauce has been given centre stage. Roman fish sauce, along with oil and wine, formed a triad of commodities which dominated Mediterranean trade and while oil and wine can be understood, fish sauce was until now a mystery. Students and specialists in the archaeology of ancient Mediterranean trade whether through amphora studies, shipwrecks or zooarchaeology will find this invaluable. Scholars of ancient history and classics wishing to understand the nuances of Roman dining literature and the wider food history discipline will also benefit from this volume. Sally Grainger is an independent scholar with degrees in ancient history and archaeology. She is a food historian, chef and experimental archaeologist. She has worked with many university institutions and museums helping to interpret the foodways of ancient societies. She has published widely in food history, and jointly with Andrew Dalby she wrote the acclaimed Classical Cook Book, and with her husband Dr Christopher Grocock she edited and translated the recipe text known as Apicius. She continues to collaborate with archaeologist in research into the various ways in which ancient fish sauces were made, traded and consumed.

Occasionally the archaeological ship reconstructor is fortunate enough to encounter the remains of a vessel on which shipwrights' design marks have been preserved. La Belle (1684) has the most extensive and complete set of such marks documented to date. The distinguishing features of the distribution, number, and placement of La Belle's surmarks associate it with a graphic design system of "geometric fairing with diagonals," which was in use in French shipbuilding in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Section I of this essay presents the archaeological and documentary evidence that supports the conclusion that a graphic design system of "geometric fairing with diagonals" was used in La Belle's construction. It also discusses how and which specific measurements were applied to the reconstructed design procedures to regenerate La Belle's archaeologically documented hull shape.

Section II examines whether La Belle's design system was a completely new invention or whether it was developed from existing concepts of ship design. It will be argued that this system actually expanded on the basic concepts of Mediterranean moulding—a non-graphic design system of geometric fairing that was in use in European shipbuilding for centuries prior to La Belle's construction—in the process of adapting them to the methods of orthographic drawing.

This book presents a new study of Greek large-scale bronze statuary of the late Archaic and Classical periods. It examines the discovery, origin, style, date, artistic attribution, identification, and interpretation of the surviving bronzes, and focuses in particular on their technical features and casting techniques. It contains over 170 plates of photographs and drawings to illustrate its discussion.

It also places the development of the casting techniques in connection with the stylistic evolution in Greek free-standing sculpture. During the Classical period, artists preferred bronze to marble when creating their contrapposto figures. Indisputably, bronze gave particular freedom to artists in creating three-dimensional figures. In addition, the evolution in style encouraged the development of the uses of bronze to serve the new needs and tendencies in sculpture during the late Archaic and especially the Classical period. Through the examination of how technical matters affect style, this book presents fresh interpretations of these important monuments of Greek art and offers a new approach in the field of Greek free-standing bronze sculpture.

SUMMARY: Chapter 8, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers what typically survives, what constitutes an "artifact", interpreting usage, obtaining materials (e.g., quarrying; mining), transporting materials, installing materials, manufacturing items, identifying function, experimental archaeology, etc., regarding stone, bone, antler, shell, leather, wood, plant, metal, faience, glass, and other materials and diverse artifacts.  In my view, this is one of the best college textbooks available, and is invaluable for students, archaeologists, and the public in general, to obtain a top notch overview of approaching and interpreting the archaeological record.  UPDATED May 2023.

In August, 1974, a shipwreck was discovered in the Quanzhou Bay. Scholars in the 1970s-1980s did a thorough study of this ship, and found that it was a Chinese wooden junk built in the end of the Southern Song. They argued that this Song ship, after its return journey from Southeast Asia (highly likely Srivijaya), came across the turbulent period of the Song-Yuan transition in Quanzhou and was abandoned thereafter. Combined with recent textual and archaeological findings, the author critically examines the discovered goods especially spices and marine organisms found in or attached to the shipwreck such as cowrie shells, and argues that, more likely, this Song ship indeed just completed a return journey from the Indian Ocean world.

The North Sea. A review of shipping lanes, volume of traffic and frequency of shipwrecking from medieval times, to 1900. Cultural heritage on and in the seabed, as a non-renewable resource.
Nordsjøen. Analyse av seilingsleder, skipstrafikkens volum, og forlisfrekvens fra middelalder til 1900. Kulturminner er ikke-fornybart kulturhistorisk materiale. I Nordsjøen utsettes kulturminner, i form av skipsvrak og submarine levninger fra steinalderen, for en stadig større belastning. Dette skjer blant annet ved fiske med bunnredskaper, og inngrep i sjøbunnen i forbindelse med petroleumsvirksomhet. Målet med denne artikkelen er å kaste noe lys over Nordsjøens potensial som kulturhistorisk kilde, med hovedvekt på skipsfarten og vrakene. Seilingsleder, og volumet av skip og beseilinger, til forskjellige tider belyses. Senmiddelalderens navigasjon, lesekartbøkene og de første sjøkart nevnes.Videre blir det lagt frem en analyse av forlis i åpen sjø i Nordsjøen, blant annet basert  på Malmsteins seilskuteregister, som konkluderer med at det i Norsk sektor av Nordsjøen finnes rester etter rundt 10.000 forlis.
Nævestad, Dag 2010: «Nordsjøen og skipsvrakene»  i ;Stylegar, Frans Arne (red) «Mangesysleren. En vennebok til Svein Mjaatveit.»  Vest-Agder Fylkeskommune, Kristiansand 2010. Side 162-179

End-of-season progress report on the excavation of the wreck site of the 17th century in Mogincual designated MOG-003, tentatively identified as the São Jose (1622) and the survey in the waters off the island of Mozambique and Mogincual in various wreck sites and potentially dangerous areas.

Das Roll-up gibt eine kurze, allgemein verständliche Einführung zu den beiden römischen Schiffswracks aus der Zeit um 100 n. Chr., die 1986 in Oberstimm (Markt Manching) entdeckt und 1994 vollständig geborgen wurden. Seit 2006 bilden die Wracks Highlights der Dauerausstellung im kelten römer museum manching. +++ Das Roll-up wurde im Rahmen des Kooperationsprojektes »Die Rückkehr des Römerschiffs« erstellt, an dem das kelten römer museum manching, die Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg und weitere Institutionen beteiligt waren. Im Juli und August 2018 begab sich ein 1:1-Nachbau des Oberstimmer Schiffswracks 2 entlang der Donau auf große Tour: die Fridericiana Alexandrina Navis (kurz F.A.N.). Sie bot interessierten Besuchern die einzigartige Gelegenheit, sich selbst in die Riemen zu legen und damit Geschichte hautnah zu erleben.

The HMS St George was a second rate ship-of-the-line of the Royal Navy. She sank, together with the HMS Defence, in the North Sea off the Jutland coast in 1811, with nearly all of her crew lost the tragedy claimed 1400 lives. The ship was excavated during the 1980’s and a museum dedicated to the wreckage opened in 1993 in Thorsminde. Several theses have been written in past years about artefacts from the HMS St George at the University of Southern Denmark. This thesis examines the collection of navigational instruments recovered from the wreck and reflects on the culture of navigation onboard the ship. It re-examines the history of the St George’s last voyage with regards to Gibbs’ theory on site formation processes.

""En Filipo II y el Arte de la Guerra tendremos la oportunidad de conocer en profundidad a uno de los más grandes reyes de la antigua Macedonia. Gracias a su habilidad como estratega, diplomático, político y soldado, heredó un reino pobre, débil y acosado por innumerables enemigos y lo transformó en el más poderoso de toda Grecia.

A lo largo de sus páginas podremos conocer la historia del reino Macedonio, desde sus orígenes míticos hasta la formación de un imperio, de la mano del que, a la postre, se convertiría en el padre del mítico Alejandro Magno y en el forjador de un nuevo ejército que cambiaria el devenir de la guerra en la Antigüedad. Filipo II fue el creador de la falange macedonia, formación que se demostraría como inigualable en el campo de batalla y que reportaría incontables victorias sobre poderosos enemigos, como los ilirios, los tesalios, los tracios, los beocios o los atenienses. Pero no sólo eso, logró integrar en el campo de batalla a la infantería y a la caballería para emplearlos en nuevas formaciones tácticas: armó a sus soldados con las míticas sarissas y apreció como pocos las posibilidades militares que la maquinaria de guerra podía proporcionarle, siendo el mecenas de numerosos avances en este campo. Soñó con conquistar el Imperio persa, cuando ya había logrado lo que nadie antes fue capaz: el control de Grecia.

Sólo la muerte le arrebató esa hazaña, pero sentó las bases de lo que más tarde conseguiría su propio hijo. Su figura levantó tanto odios como pasiones; se le conocía como mujeriego y bebedor, pero también por su habilidad para la oratoria, por sus astucia, determinación y valor. Siempre luchó en primera línea junto a sus soldados y nunca permitió que éstos le llamaran rey, sino solo "General".

Åren 2006 och 2008 utförde Bohusläns museum en arkeologisk forskningsundersökning av det senmedeltida Skaftövraket (RAÄ-nr Skaftö 270). Fartygslämningen som påträffades år 2003 är belägen på mellan sex och åtta meters djup i Lysekils skärgård. Undersökningen visar att den bevarade delen av skeppskonstruktionen utgör omkring 70 procent av fartygets styrbordssida, med kölen, delar av för- och akterstäven samt nedre delen av rodret bevarade. I tillägg har också ett mindre parti av fartygets babordssida akterut bevarats. Skaftövraket har varit helt igenom klinkbyggt och av ek. Längden över stäv kan bestämmas till cirka 25 meter medan bredden sannolikt har överstigit åtta meter. Lastkapaciteten har uppskattats till mer än 300 kubikmeter, vilket innebär att den med samtida mått mätt har varit relativt betydande. En dendrokronologisk analys talar för att byggnationen av fartyget ägt rum i slutet av 1430-talet. Då proveniensen för virket är nuvarande Polen är det troligt att fartyget byggts i någon av de samtida hamnstäderna vid Gdańskbukten, mest troligt Danzig (Gdańsk) eller Elbing (Elbląg).

På sin sista resa medförde Skaftövraket en last bestående av metall- eller legeringstackor, tegel, ekplank samt tunnor med kalk och tjära. Metall- eller legeringstackorna förekommer dels som runda eller ovala koppartackor, dels som kantiga bitar av en naturlig legering kallad speis. Utifrån lastens sammansättning och de naturvetenskapliga analyser som har utförts kan åtminstone två sannolika utskeppningsorter identifieras: dels Gotland/Visby, dels någon av de preussiska hansestäderna Danzig, Elbing eller Königsberg (Kaliningrad). Av dessa tre orter utgör Danzig det mest troliga alternativet mot bakgrund av stadens dominans inom den polsk-baltiska timmerexporten samt dokumenterade hävd som utförselhamn för bland annat ungersk och schlesisk koppar. Skaftövraket var med all sannolikhet på resa till Västeuropa, och då kanske troligast England, Holland eller Flandern, när det av okänd anledning förliste vid Bohuskusten. Detta bör ha inträffat någon gång i slutet av 1440-talet.

År 2009, efter det att forskningsundersökningen av Skaftövraket avslutats, uppdrog Länsstyrelsen åt Bohusläns museum att utföra en så kallad skyddstäckning av fartygslämningen. Målsättningen med åtgärden var att bromsa pågående sedimenterosion i syfte att säkerställa ett fortsatt bevarande av fornlämningen in situ. En besiktning som utfördes 2011 visar att skyddet fortfarande är intakt och att det verkar ha avsedd funktion. I nuläget föreslås därför inga ytterligare åtgärder förutom återkommande inspektioner. För att förhindra att skyddet skadas genom exempelvis fiske eller ankring anser dock museet att man bör överväga att besluta om en skyddszon runt fornlämningen.

ABSTRACT: The following 83 questions follow the documentary (no.7), National Geographic, Quest for the Phoenicians (55 minutes). It is a good documentary detailing diverse aspects of the heritage and achievements of the Phoenicians: WEB LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBObLQZdeq8.  The question sheet aids in furnishing a summary of the documentary's coverage and sequence of specific topics. The documentary introduces the Phoenicians' Canaanite background, geographic dispersal and trading network, and legacy via mostly hostile and biased Greek and Roman accounts.  The film's focus includes and interweaves (1) R. Ballard's past-current maritime investigation of known and sought after Phoenician shipwrecks (e.g., SW coast of the southern Levant; the Malta-Carthage trade route), (2) two geneticists' --(i.e., Pierre Zalloua and Spencer Wells)-- study of modern DNA from residents in modern Carthage, Tyre, and elsewhere (in comparison to samples from a tooth from a Phoenician royal burial of King Tabnit), (3) Paco Giles' excavations of a Phoenician cultic deposit in Gorham's Cave at Gibraltar, (4) Claude Dumet Sirhal's five seasons of excavations of a Phoenician cemetery and other Canaanite remains at Sidon, and (5) a Lebanese ship builders's reconstruction and sailing of a replica Phoenician ship. The documentary incorporates various discussions by other specialists, Larry Stager, Glenn Markoe, and Ian Morris, plus coverage of the biblical traditions regarding the Phoenicians, Herodotus' references to Phoenician voyages, the sites of Carthage and the Temple of Eshmun, and other aspects about Phoenician ships, navigation, trade, and rivalries with Rome.

The Flying Fish Wreck derives its name from the freely painted decoration in the centre of one of the first finds, a large stoneware basin. The graceful gliding flying fish design is known from the Cizao kilns of Fujian Province, China, but it has ever been seen in a shipwreck cargo before.

The wreck lies just south of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, East Malaysia. This report is the outcome of an archaeological excavation conducted in conjunction with the Sabah Museum. Maritime archaeologist, Dr Michael Flecker, concludes that the Flying Fish Wreck is a Southeast Asian lashed-lug ship, following a shipbuilding tradition that lasted for over a thousand years. She has been dated to the first quarter of the 12th century, corresponding to the late Northern Song dynasty, when the Chinese export trade was flourishing. Most of the ceramics cargo was manufactured in Fujian province, suggesting that Quanzhou was the port of embarkation. The ship followed the eastern route down the South China Sea bound for northwest Borneo. Dr Tai Yew Seng, a Chinese ceramics specialist, contributes a comprehensive analysis of every ceramic type excavated from the wreck. Non-ceramic artefacts include wrought and cast iron, and lead ingots and rings, along with ship’s equipment, personal belongings, and one of the original voyagers, whose bones survived deep inside the wreckage.

En este trabajo nos proponemos analizar las recientes investigaciones arqueológicas relativas al transporte marítimo de grano en época romana, tratando de indicar a su vez las limitaciones de estas fuentes de información. Los resultados de los análisis arqueobotánicos realizados en los últimos años nos informan principalmente de la importación de grano, así como de los insectos asociados que, bien por encontrarse en los propios pecios o en los lugares de recepción de los alimentos, nos permiten deducir su transporte por vía marítima. También el avance de los trabajos enmarcados en la denominada Arqueología Náutica nos brinda la oportunidad de conocer las embarcaciones y las operaciones de trasbordo de los grandes navíos cargueros que surcaban los mares, a partir del estudio de los pecios y las estructuras portuarias descubiertas. Por otro lado, los problemas de conservación y documentación de los alimentos que viajaban a bordo de los barcos nos obligan a recurrir a fuentes indirectas que nos hablan del transporte marítimo de diferentes tipos de grano. En este sentido, trataremos de analizar la información procedente de los lugares de recepción que, dotados de enormes horrea, estratégicamente situados en zonas costeras, nos advierten de la existencia de un transporte de grano importado por vía marítima, especialmente durante las operaciones militares de conquista, hipótesis que se ha podido corroborar gracias a los recientes análisis arqueobotánicos.

This paper focuses on the weapons of the Queen Anne, an English merchantman that was wrecked on the Zuiderzee near Kuinre (province of Overijssel) in the first quarter of the 18th century. The wreck was discovered in a now-reclaimed part of the Zuiderzee (the Noordoostpolder) in 2016 and excavated by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology of the University of Groningen during the summer of 2018. The wreck was well preserved and contained a large number of artefacts, including multiple weapons (flintlock pistols, swivel guns) and plenty of ammunition, including dozens of cannonballs. A substantial part of the ammunition was too large to be fired by swivel guns, meaning that multiple guns were missing from the wreck site. Based on the diameter and weight of the dozens of cannonballs, a reconstruction was
made of the full armament of the Queen Anne.

See the entire article here (view only): https://rdcu.be/b2hez

One of the few facts that can be stated unequivocally is that wooden vessels leak. Whether due to a damaged hull, loose caulking between seams, or simply a reflection of the age of a ship, water always manages to end up in the bilge. Sailors on smaller watercraft addressed this issue through bailing, but as ships became larger, the demand for an efficient device eventually produced the ships' pump. Over most of history, contemporary scholars paid little attention to describing the device and it is only in the last few decades that archaeologists have begun to piece together the various versions of ships' pumps found on several shipwrecks. This article addresses earlier analyses on ships' pumps and expands upon the topic with new archaeological findings. It also discusses the relationship between the hull design and where shipbuilders positioned the pumps within the hold.

This expedition’s aim was to survey and assess 14 locations by local sources which were reportedly wreck sites or sites with cultural material. The inspection of these locations was made by visual survey and/or magnetometer and sidescan sonar surveys depending on the case and local conditions. As a result, 7 wreck sites were discovered and assessed.