Harbour Archaeology

In 2017 a throne-amulet made from bone, once retrieved from the diggings of harbour excavation 1979/80 in Hedeby, was committed to the Wikinger Museum Haithabu. It constitutes the second specimen known from the site and fits well into the larger group of throne-amulets known from south-eastern Scandinavia. The academic discussion of these amulets as devotional pagan objects either in connection with the worship of Óðinn or else as thrones of vǫlur is controversial. The piece from Hedeby harbour does not seem to depict the typical block-chair, though, but is about the first indication for the existence of Viking-age barrel-chairs used continuously until Early modernity.

The aim of this article is to examine the micro-regional development of the northern harbour of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. The city of Mytilene is the only one out of the six cities of the island facing east.
Since its establishment at the end of the second millennium BC it was focused towards the sea and seaborne trade. With the establishment of colonies on the coastal zone of Troad and northern Aeolis Mytilene came into contact with the people of Asia Minor and the rest of the ancient world in general as a prominent city of the socalled Aeolian cultural landscape.
Its two harbours, especially the northern one, became principal factors for the urban planning of Mytilene especially from the Archaic to the Roman period. In addition, the relations of the northern harbour with smaller harbours and port facilities of the territory of Mytilene are commented in an attempt to outline the ›internal‹ and ›external‹ micro-region of the harbours and the island of Lesbos.

I den beskrevne marinarkeologiske forundersøkelsen ble det gravd 12 prøvesjakter på 11 forskjellige lokaliteter i Vågen, Bergen. Undersøkelsen ga en stor og variert mengde funn av
gjenstander, fra middelalder fram til i dag. Det ble ikke påvist vrak, større anomalier eller andre objekter på de stedene hvor de akustiske forundersøkelsene tilsa at det skulle være slike nede i bunnmassene. Funnene domineres av etterreformatorisk materiale slik som keramikk, krittpiper og glass, men det ble også funnet store mengder organisk materiale, slik som lær, bein og tregjenstander. I havnen er det naturlig å tolke mange av funnene som enten brekkasje fra skipslaster eller bruksgjenstander om bord i båter, som av en eller annen grunn har vært kastet over bord. Funnene på sjøbunnen er derfor vernet gjennom Kulturminnelovens § 14.

De områdene med størst potensiale for marinarkeologiske kulturminner synes å være i Vågens indre del. Her er det generelt stor tetthet av funn. Resultatene viser også at det her er intakte kulturlag på opptil 1,85m tykkelse på sjøbunnen. Dette gjelder særlig området langs Bryggen, hvor også bevaringsforholdene for arkeologisk materiale synes gode. I den ytre delen av Vågen er sjøbunnen preget av omrotning og til dels lave, men varierende funnmengder.

Agderfylkene planlegger å bruke kulturarv i uthavnene til verdiskaping under det regionale samarbeidsprosjektet «Uthavner i verdensklasse». Fra og med 2017 har også Norsk Maritimt Museum (NMM) vært med på
uthavnssatsingen for å bidra til å inkludere kulturminner under vann i Agderfylkenes satsing.

Målet med dette prosjektet har vært å styrke kunnskapsgrunnlaget om kulturminner under vann i Ny-Hellesund med feltundersøkelser, utprøve formidlingsopplegg knyttet til undersøkelsene og samle lokale og reginale aktører til et dialogmøte om verdiskapning med utgangspunkt i kulturminneverdiene under vann.

Prosjektet har gitt et kunnskapsløft om kulturlagene i Ny-Hellesund. Vi har nå en langt bedre innsikt i kronologisk fordeling og bevaringsforhold i sentrale deler av uthavnen. Kulturlagene er meget rike på gjenstander og
beinmateriale, og det var mer middelaldermateriale enn forventet.
Undersøkelsen av Pelikanen har gjort det mulig å få bekreftet identiteten til vraket og den har vist at, på tross av
berging før skipet endelig gikk tapt, er det fortsatt et gjenstandsmateriale igjen på stedet.

Gjennom dialogmøtet med lokale og regionale aktører er det åpnet opp nye muligheter for samarbeid og tettere
kontakt fremover. Prosjektet har gitt gode erfaringer med en aktiv formidling under gjennomføringen i felt og resultatene har gitt
grunnlag for en bredere formidling av uthavnen. Dette vil NMM nå arbeide videre med.

2017, Baralis A., Lungu V., Dupont P., Bastide M., Bony G., Caraire G., Comfort A., Delfieu R., Guy M., Jubeau T., Kaniewski D., Lebouteiller P., Marinova-Wolff E., BMontagne-Perruchon B., Morhange C., Musat-Streinu A., Popova T., Petrescu M., Rossignol I., Slavova I., Streinu M., Sternberg M., L’établissement d’Acic-Suat (commune de Baia, département de Tulcéa). Méthodologie d’une enquête pluri-disciplinaire, Pontica, 50, pp. 455-488.

This site analysis explores the archaeological potential to locate the remains of a nineteenth century shipyard identified in Wharton's thesis 'Changing Tides: A Cultural Landscape study of the maritime community in Balmain, New South Wales 1860-1910.' The shipyard can be seen in a photograph dated c.1872 which shows a cutter-style hull set on a gravitationally launched longitudinal slipway with simple shoring. Thesis research carried out on shipbuilders of Balmain for the period of 1860 to 1910 was not able to identify the shipwright or shipyard as a commercial operation in this location in the historical record. The area in the photograph has since been reclaimed in
the late twentieth century and converted into public parkland. Therefore, there is potential that the remains of this yard, and related surrounding structures, remain within the reclamation.

After 1731 in the Zuiderzee in NL poles were protected against the ship worm by hammering in a protection shield of nails. Some of there poles were re-used in a creation of a Texel artitst. By this he, probably unaware. saved important information of the effort put into the fight against the destructive work of the invasive species Tedero navalis in the NL sea waters..

En los últimos años nuevos estudios están mejorando nuestro conocimiento general de la articulación del tráfico marítimo en época romana.(Remolà Vallverdú and Pociña López, 2001); (Berrocal Caparrós, 2008); (Keay, 2011) El estudio de los contextos portuarios  permite analizar, a través del fondo portuario estratificado tras siglos de frecuentación y actividades comerciales, una gran serie de aspectos relativos a la historia marítima y económica no solo del propio puerto, sino de su territorio marítimo (Ford, 2011). Estos estudios están ayudando a definir una red de tráfico marítimo mucho más compleja que la tradicionalmente planteada para el comercio annonario. Resulta extremadamente interesante comprender estos procesos pues en época augustea se produce un cambio capital en las dinámicas y las tendencias comerciales. El comercio tardorepublicano está caracterizado por ser un comercio con un alto porcentaje de iniciativa privada, en manos de publicanii y negotiatores basado en el abastecimiento de las colonias y la explotación de las materias primas que estas pudieran ofrecer. En ese sentido se observan unas tendencias de comercio marítimo basadas principalmente en el comercio de redistribución a media y pequeña escala. La heterogeneidad de las cargas (al menos en la variedad de los productos) y el tonelaje medio establecido reafirman estas interpretaciones (Pomey, 1978); (Tchernia, 1986); (Nieto Prieto and Raurich i Santaló, 1999). Sin embargo, las sucesivas legislaciones de las furmentationes promovidas en los últimos años de la república (Lex sempronia furmentaria, Lex Terentia et Cassia frumentaria, Lex Clodia Frumentaria….) condicionan un cambio en los modelos comerciales en los que el estado intervendrá de forma directa creándose bajo Augusto el Prefecto de la Annona y otorgando la gestión de la misma al ordo ecuestre. Esta intervención llegó a casos extremos como  los sucedidos durante la crisis neroniana. Estos cambios obligan pues a un comercio más directo, con menos escalas y por tanto un contexto arqueológico diferente. Puertos principalmente redistribuidores como pudiera haber sido el de Carthago Nova en fases anteriores, ven progresivamente decaer su actividad comercial (Ramallo Asensio, 2011).
A través del estudio de los contextos materiales de los fondos portuarios de Carthago Nova, y de los puertos de redistribución, Statios Marítimas o fondeaderos auxiliares, así como de los pecios, podemos comprender mejor los ritmos y los cambios que supuso en el comercio marítimo y en la demanda de consumo el cambio de modelo comercial annonario y sobretodo, las reformas urbanísticas de la ciudad bajo el gobierno de Augusto.

La sedimentation holocene au sein d'un bassin versant est conditionnee par les variations climatiques, l'utilisation des sols et les heritages geomorphologiques. Les reponses morphogeniques a ces stimuli demeurent peu connues, particulierement pour les milieux semi-arides. Au cours de ce travail, je me suis attache a apporter des elements de reponse a cette problematique par l'etude de l'alluvionnement holocene du Gialias, le principal fleuve de Chypre. Ce travail associant des etudes geomorphologiques, stratigraphiques, sedimentologiques, magnetiques, micromorphologiques et geochimiques, couplees a un large corpus de datation couvrant l'Holocene a permis de preciser les modalites du transfert solide amont/aval du bassin versant. Les resultats permettent de caracteriser l'impact de l'aridite sur le fonctionnement de l'hydrosysteme. Ils montrent une adequation relativement bonne avec les connaissances regionales sur le paleoclimat. Les principales phas...

The excavation has revealed 19 structures, foundations of houses, cellars, pier remains and harbor walls. Each one is given a specific structure number. Not all of the structures count as archaeological remains as defined by section 3 of the Icelandic law no. 80/2012 on cultural artifacts. The harbor wall, 1928-1929 [10], is built out of large rocks with a top layer made of carved stones with slits in four places to accommodate sewage. The wall is well preserved, about 94 m long and close to 4 m tall. It was disturbed next to the Tollhúsinu (Tollhouse) at Tryggvagata during construction in the 20th century, where the Steinbryggja (Bæjarbryggja) used to be. An intersecting harbor on the east end reaches under Geirsgata outside of the research area. The so called worker's shelter (Verkamannaskýli) stood on that harbor and foundation of it was excavated. Wooden remains of the Ziemsen dock [7] lay on top of the harbor wall along with four thick and rusted chains. Bólverkið [20] is a harbor wall from the 19th century, about 50 m long and 3 m tall. It can be seen on a map from 1876 but is conceivably quite a bit older. The Ziemsen dock [8] east of Bólverkið is lower than the wall, about 3.8 m long and 5.6 m wide. Bólverkið is well preserved and meticulously built out of carved stones. Íshúsið - Nordalsíshús [15] was built in 1894 and has gone through a series of construction phases and changes. It comprised a number of houses with the last one torn down in 1945. The foundation is incomplete but stone walls have been preserved from various parts of the house. Foundation of a house [11] is likely from a cellar with a concrete floor. The walls were built of stone with concrete poured around them. The foundation is 7.8 m long and 5.3 m wide. Its orientation is east - west and it is located at the corner of Tryggvagata and Lækjargata.
There is no available information yet regarding the exact age of the following structures but there is nothing to suggest that they fall under the legal definition of archaeological remains. Foundation of a house [17]. Nordalsíshús has been disturbed on the east side by a concrete foundation at the corner of Geirsgata and Lækjargata. It is 6.9 m long and 6.9 m wide. Foundation of a house [18]. A section of the foundation of house 18 was excavated and measured to be 8.3 m long. Parts of the northern stone wall still stand. All the rocks are carved, and the floor consists of a concrete base. Its orientation is north-south, and it continues under Lækjargata were it has most likely been disturbed to a large extent. Foundation of a house [19] comprises two parallel foundations of kerosene tanks. Their orientation is north-south. Walls and floor base were made of concrete. Their total length is 4.3 m and width is 2.4 m.

"30 Jahre nach den Ausgrabungen mehrerer Hafenanlagen von Haithabu hat Sven Kalmring nun erstmals die ganze, bisher kaum zu übersehende Fülle von Dokumenten zusammengeführt, digitalisiert, analysiert und so neue Erkenntnisse über das uralte Terrain gewonnen.

21 x 29,7 cm, 672 S., zahlr. farb. Abb. u. Tab., 1 Klapptafel, 2010, Leinen
Aus der Reihe: Die Ausgrabungen in Haithabu 14"

The project »Harbours in the North Atlantic AD 800-1300« (HaNoA) focuses on harbours and landing sites in areas
settled by the Norse across the North Atlantic. The harbours that are investigated within this project mostly provided
natural protection and had little or no permanent harbour infrastructure. Traditional archaeological methods therefore
fall short in identifying and analyzing these sites. To understand what the Norse harbours may have looked like and
how they were used, we need to follow an interdisciplinary approach.
One approach that is taken by the HaNoA project is to analyze the suitability of potential harbours and landing sites
based on wind fetch. The fetch method, which is introduced in this paper, is designed as a simple tool to assess the
quality of harbours and landing sites on both a regional and local scale. One of the goals of the project is to refine and
consolidate the fetch method and show its potential for other projects.
Along with wind speed and wind direction, fetch – i. e. the distance the wind travels in a certain direction over open
water – is one of the main determinants of wave height. Unlike wind conditions, the fetch does not change much
over time (although major shifts of the coastline do have an effect on the fetch). By measuring the fetch in multiple
directions and combining the fetch calculations with long-term wind statistics, we can tell which areas along a coastline
offer best protection from the wind and thus from wave action.
In this paper we present both a point (vector)-based and a raster-based method to calculate fetch. Both are performed
in a Geographical Information System (GIS) but the point-based method can also be applied manually on analogue
maps. While the vector method allows for a detailed analysis and comparison of selected points, the raster-method
can be used for an extensive evaluation of an entire water body and the surrounding coasts.
The use of the fetch method is demonstrated for Veøy, an island in the Romsdalsfjord in the north-western part of
Norway, which hosted a thriving settlement between 1000 and 1400 AD. Three inlets on the northern side of Veøy
provided access to the medieval settlement area and presented good natural harbours. The fetch analyses reveal significant
differences in the wind and wave climate in the various bays on Veøy. Comparison of the fetch-calculations with
the location of known and convincingly dated harbour remains confirm the potential of the fetch method to identify
favorable or unfavorable harbours and landing sites on different scales.

Seit 2012 führt das Niedersächsische Institut für historische Küstenforschung im Rahmen des sogenannten Nordseehäfen-Projekts interdisziplinäre Forschungen zu frühmittelalterlichen Häfen und Handelssiedlungen im deutschen Nordseeküstengebiet durch. Ziel des Projekts ist es, potentielle Hafenareale zu lokalisieren und Hinweise auf ihre paläogeographischen Voraussetzungen, ihre Struktur sowie ihre wirtschaftliche und gesellschaftliche Bedeutung zu gewinnen. Einen Untersuchungsschwerpunkt bilden dabei die Marschen des westlichen Ostfrieslands mit den traditionell als Händler- und Handwerkersiedlungen angesprochenen sogenannten Langwurten. Die hier am Beispiel der Wurten von Groothusen und Grimersum vorgestellten Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine auf den überregionalen Handel und Handwerk ausgerichtete Wirtschaft nur für wenige Plätze nachzuweisen ist. Das forschungsgeschichtlich problematische Interpretationsmuster zu den Langwurten sollte daher zugunsten des neutralen Begriffs „Gewerbewurt“ und einer dynamischeren Sichtweise aufgegeben werden.

Since 2012, the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research has conducted interdisciplinary investigations into early medieval harbours and trading settlements on the German North Sea coast. The aim of the so-called “North Sea harbours project” is to identify potential harbour sites and to obtain information on their palaeogeographic conditions, their structure and their economic and social signifi cance. Special attention is paid to the marshes of western East Frisia with their so-called Langwurten (elongated dwelling mounds / long terps), which have traditionally been considered as settlements of traders and craftsmen. However, as demonstrated by the examples of the mounds at Groothusen and Grimersum, these settlements rarely focused on supra-regional trade and crafts. The problematic interpretation of the traditional Langwurten-model should therefore be abandoned in favour of the more neutral term ‘trading terp’ and a more dynamic perspective.

South Africa’s connection with the sea is most prevalent in its founding harbor at Cape Town. Until the opening of the Suez Canal, the passage around the Cape of Good Hope via Table Bay represented the most important oceanic trading route to the East. The passage, however, became known for its characteristic storms that devastated shipping at Table Bay and developed the area’s reputation as the Bay of Storms. This thesis examines the way the British government at the Cape managed the risks associated with using Table Bay and demonstrates how risk is reflected in the historical and archaeological record of Cape Town. Specifically, research will focus on the initial development of the harbor during the Second British occupation at the Cape from 1806 to 1910.

This thesis will utilize an amalgamation of social theories pioneered by Anthony Giddens and approaches of risk analysis to examine how risk is incorporated in and reflected by the remains of past societies. A combination of statistical and geo-spatial analyses will be used to reflect the maritime risks of using Table Bay during the selected timeframe. Through the use of these theoretical and methodological foundations, it is possible to assess risk as a measureable entity in the cultural landscape of the harbor. It is ultimately argued that the harbor’s historical development was intrinsically linked to the concept of risk and risk management.

Ginalis, A. and Athanasoula, M. 2018. Οι παραθαλάσσιες υποδομές της Ρωμαϊκής και Βυζαντινής Σκιάθου. In Ταμείο Αρχαιολογικών Πόρων & Απαλλοτριώσεων (ed.), Proceedings of the International Symposium “Βουτιά στα περασμένα” (6th March, 2015). Athens.

The chapter investigates the mutual impact of river traffic and urban development at Rome in the long term. It sets out the limitations and variations in the use of the Tiber, and how these could be pushed by new infrastructure, technology and organization to increase the volume of river traffic, producing five moments of change in movement on the Tiber between the second century BCE and the fifth century CE. The chapter also compares Rome’s links with the Tiber valley through its northern ports and with the Mediterranean through its southern ports, thereby hoping to understand the Tiber’s role in the dispersed hinterland of Rome.

Although much has been written on the subject of ancient Mediterranean harbours, the relatively new area of harbour
geoarchaeology remains dispersed in the geoscience and archaeological literature. Over a decade of research has amassed rich and varied datasets of anthropogenically forced coastal evolution, with a remarkable number of between-site analogies. This new research field also shows the rich potential of geoscience to reconcile important archaeological questions. No single publication, however, has yet drawn on these geological patterns to yield a detailed overview suitable for geoscientists and environmental archaeologists. The aim of this review article is to
(1) discuss how ancient harbours have come to be preserved in the geological record;

(2) expound the basic principles and palaeoenvironmental tools underpinning ancient harbour geoarchaeology;

(3) outline some of the most significant research advances made; and

(4) discuss a new chrono-stratigraphic model applicable to harbour.
sequences.

More than 50 year after the first systematic analysis of the
ancient and medieval harbour of Anthedon in Central Greece
done by David Blackman, Helmut Schläger and Jörg Schäfer,
the paper presents a re-evaluation of this earlier study and
new interpretation of central features of this important archaeological
site. Based on a new survey of the harbour
structure, it proposes novel approaches to the dating and
interpretation of the architectonical dynamics of Anthedon’s
port.

The proto-urban emporium of Hedeby was one of the most important trading centres of the Viking world. Because of its position in the borderland between the Carolingian Realm (respectively later German Empire), and Scandinavia, two traffic routes could be controlled from here: The north-south directed overland traffic route and – even more important – a portage between the North Sea and the Baltic. The harbour of Hedeby in its double function as the area for mooring ships and stock turnover, as well as the market place to the settlement, inheres a central significance for the comprehension of the site. By an enduring adaptation to the changing demands of professional seafaring, it safeguarded the economic basis of the emporium itself. Even though the harbour at first glance has to be considered as a maritime phenomenon, the overall development of Hedeby was directly subjected to the usability of it.

The site of Avaris is located on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, which forms the
eastern flank and limit of the fertile Delta. It lies in a strategic position that made
it the gateway between the Nile valley and the Near East, both as a starting point
for expeditions overland via the Sinai and as an important harbour town from the
Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1650 BC) and the Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1650-
1550 BC) onwards. It can most probably be identified as the harbour of Piramesse
in the Ramesside Period (ca. 1295-1070 BC). As the river Nile and its branches
formed the principal lines of traffic and communication, the fluvial system and
harbours are a key factor to the understanding of the function of this town in the
Pharaonic period.
A thorough analysis of the magnetometry survey of the site carried out over
the last 10 years has led to the identification of several possible locations for main
harbours, and also for smaller harbours and mooring places. Archaeological
excavations have recently begun within the area of the assumed main harbour of
Avaris, in areas R/IV and A/VI. This paper will give an overview of the results of
these excavations, and will go on to discuss how harbours and state control may
interact there.