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IPR XXV
Abstracts
Averdung, Denise et al.
Rhine River Bank Deposits at Biebrich Castle – An Accumulation Site ofPalaeontological and Archaeological Interest
The rhine river deposits in the region of thestate capitels Wiesbaden and Mainz arewidely known for numerous archaeologicaland paleontological river finds from differenteras. Due to increasing seasonal low waterlevels of recent years, the Rhine graveldeposits in front of Biebrich Castle (Fig. 1)in Wiesbaden was well accessible; and isextremely rich in palaeontological andarchaeological remains.
The stratigraphic range of finds extends fromthe fossil-rich Neogene WiesbadenFormation (Miocene, about 21 million yearsBP) and mammal teeth from the Quaternaryice ages of up to settlement artifacts from theRoman to recent times (Fig. 2).
Dealing with multidisciplinary disciplines,our project is of regional scientific interest.Due to special hydrodynamic fluviatileconditions and historical river interventions,new material accumulates steadily, which isexamined and, if necessary, restored orprepared. On the basis of materialdistribution, river sediment investigationsand regional flow analysis we would like toevaluate the origin of the finds and todetermine the sedimentation conditions at theundercut slope of Wiesbaden-Biebrich.
Denise Averdung1,*, Patrick Zell1, Marisa Blume2
1Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen, Schloss Biebrich, 65203 Wiesbaden, Germany2Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany*corresponding author, [email protected]
Bekić, Luka
Research of a shipwreck on the Island of Velika Sestrica near Rovinj
Back in 2013, we discovered a new positionof a potential shipwreck near the islet ofVelika Sestrica near Rovinj. The scatteredfinds lie close to a rocky island, in shallowwater. The first exploration campaign wasconducted in 2018 and at that time severallarge pits in rock bottom with findings wereexplored and the mapping andphotogrammetric documentation of the sitewas started. Out of the 152 kilograms ofdocumented archeological finds, 190 specialfinds were extracted. Obviously, it was ashipwreck with a load of amphorae of typeForlimpopoli and various glass and ceramicsthat were part of the ship’s inventory. Inaddition, a number of regular stone blockswere suspected to be part of the cargo.
This year, the research continued andconfirmed our current knowledge of the siteand provided additional evidence of theexistence of a shipwreck at this site, namelythree metal nails. In addition to the alreadyknown Forlimpopoli type amphorae, fewfragments of some other types of amphoraehave been found, but overall, it is clear thatthe cargo consisted almost entirely ofForlimpopoli type amphorae, in variousvariants and dimensions. In addition, othersfinds were collected, like fragments of roughpots for cooking and storing food, jugs,bowls, bottles, oillamps and other necessitiesfor living at sea, probably owned by thecrew. Stone blocks were also analyzed bypetrographic analysis, which were consideredto be a cargo of stone blocks as a semi-finished product. Shipwreck can preliminarybe dated to the 2nd or 3rd century, but anotherfield reserch campaign is still planned for2020.
doc.dr.sc. Luka Bekić
International centre for underwater archaeology in ZadarB.Petranovića 1, Zadar, Croatia
Bockius, Ronald
Spuren altmediterraner Schiffbaustandards in der eisenzeitlichen BinnenschifffahrtNordeuropas und Südostasiens.
Traces of Mediterranean Shipbuilding Standards in N. European and SE Asian IronAge Inland Navigation
Egde-joined carvel planking, made bypegged mortise & tenon fasteners is meantfor the most distinctive feature of ancientMediterranean Shipbuilding. With its earliestevidences in Old and Middle Kingdom Egyptas well as in middle and late Bronze Agecontexts from Levant, Syria and the Ciliciancoast the origin of this woodworkingtradition might be the E Mediterranean.According a written source of the 2nd c. BC,mortise & tenon construction (coagmentaPunicana) was seen as a particular feature ofPhoenician timber processing.
It was not before the 7th c BC on, thatespecially ships with edge-joined plankingsunk equally in the central and W part of theMediterranean. Among them a number ofremains are found from the pre-Hellenisticperiods showing combinations of mortise &tenon and stitched construction. Could suchspatial dynamics be understood as a result ofGreek and Phoinician colonization, evidenceof mortise & tenon construction from early1st c. Dutch and German places are clearlyconnected to the Roman army. Embedded ina barbarian archaeological environment thisbuilding tradition represents Mediterranean/Roman influence although not necessarilytechnological transfer, i.e. the ability ofindigenous people to copy such a complexbuilding method.
Since a couple of years only, unmistakableproof of mortise & tenon edge fastening isknown surprisingly also from local Iron Agecivilizations in N Vietnam and Irland wherenamely a small number of logboat findsimply the use of this technique. The presentauthor discusses their cultural backgroundsand tries a historic interpretation.
Bram, Moshe
Preparing wooden planks for bending by heating over open fire: Preliminary results
Techniques of bending wooden planks forship building have been in use since the daysof the Pharaohs, and are still practised. Thebending of relatively thick planks requiredsome preparation: one of the methods usedbeing heating the planks over an open fire.The sole archaeological evidence for this istheir charred surfaces. Examination ofcharred-bent planks showed that they werealways charred on the concave side.
The components of wood ‒ cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin – become pliable abovetheir glass transition temperatures (Tg),which are all slightly different, the Tg of apiece of timber is a combination. Heatinggreen or water-soaked-seasoned wood to orabove the Tg allows wood to be more easilybent. Experiments on heating 5-cm-thickseasoned pine planks showed that thetemperature inside the plank reached100±2°C. A similar set of experiments onwater-soaked-seasoned pine planks showed alower temperature inside the plank: 90±2°C.In both cases the planks were charred.
Based on these results, it seems likely thatchar-bending was done on green or water-soaked wood, and that the charring is doneon the concave side of the plank for tworeasons:
Cracks in charred wood are stress con-centration sites. This might lead to failureon the convex side, which is subjected totensile stresses on bending.
To reduce the water content in the con-cave face. This reduces the chance ofcompression failure during bending.
Moshe Bram, Deborah Cvikel and Yoav Me-Bar
Department of Maritime Civilizations, Faculty of Humanities, University of Haifa, Israel
Capulli, Massimo
The Via Annia Shipwrecks
Traces of a navigation in a waterscape between rivers and lagoons
The consular Roman road via Annia wasconstructed in the year 128 B.C. by PraetorTitus Annius Rufus it run along the Adriaticarea, linking Atria (currently known asAdria) to Aquileia, passing throughimportant centres such as Altinum (Altino),one of the greatest ports on the upperAdriatic Sea and Iulia Concordia (ConcordiaSaggitaria).
Moreover, thanks to several rivers andcreeks, the via Annia was connected with aninside navigable route, that ran parallel to itthrough lagoons and channels, and so to thesea.
It is therefore not surprising that manyremains of boats have been found along itsroute (image 1), almost all in wetlandenvironment and of the “sewn” shipbuildingtradition.
The paper will present an overview of theseshipwrecks in relationship with the via anniaand their function in the roman network ofthe northern-east of Italy. The conferencewill be also the opportunity to present the2019 excavation on the via Annia Bridge inStella river (image 2).
Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage – University of Udine (I), Vicolo Florio 2/A, I-33100 Udine
Tel. (+39) 432556625 - Mobile (+39) 3473680083
Dunsch, Boris
Nautische Fachliteratur in der Antike.
Lange Zeit galt es in der marinehistorischenwie auch altertumskundlichen Forschung alsausgemacht, dass die Kunst derSchiffsführung (κυβερνητικὴ τέχνη/arsgubernatoria) in der griechisch-römischenAntike ausschließlich oral tradiert wurde.Neuere Forschungen zeigen, dass danebenauch mit einer schriftlichen Transmission desnautisch-navigatorischen Fachwissens zurechnen ist.
Der Umfang und die konkrete Gestalt der indiesem Umfeld entstandenen Fachliteratur istaufgrund der ungünstigen Quellenlage nurschwer konkret zu bestimmen. In diesemBeitrag soll versucht werden, die bisherigenForschungen auf diesem Gebietzusammenzufassen und Vorschläge zumachen, wie die fachliterarischen Werke imeinzelnen ausgestaltet gewesen sein könnten.
Enzmann, Jonas
Submerged Mesolithic: preliminary results of the excavations at an aceramic Ertebøllesite at Strande LA 163 in the Kiel Bay, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Since 2011, the site Strande LA 163, in 6 mdepth around 1 km in front of the moderncoast, is known as one of the few aceramicErtebølle sites in Northern Germany. A firstexcavation campaign in 2012 and a survey in2014 had very promising results, which ledto the current project. Under the title:„Subsistence strategies, settlement structureand communication during the terminalmesolithic exemplified by a submarine microregion in the Bay of Kiel” the GermanResearch Foundation (DFG) granted a threeyears project to the Lower Saxony Institutefor Historical Coastal Research (NIHK).
The author will present the first results of hisPhD after four campaigns of coring andexcavating the site in 2018 and 2019. Aim ofthe presentation is an overview of the workthat is done so far and the applied methods aswell as the general spectrum of artefacts. Dueto the complexity of the site’s formationthere will be only a few remarks on thatsubject.
Jonas Enzmann M.A. (Niedersächsisches Institut für historische Küstenforschung, Wilhelmshaven)Viktoriastr. 26/28D-26382 Wilhelmshaven
Friedman, Zaraza
Mediterranean Sea: Continental Waters and the Economy Source of the Roman Empire
The Mediterranean Sea is unique, not onlygeographically connecting three continents,namely Africa, Asia and Europe, but alsobecause of its great importance sinceantiquity until nowadays, in the economy,cultural development and exchange of ideas.
The Romans called the Mediterranean MareInternum (Internal Sea) or Mare Nostrum(Our Sea). Aelius Aristides, a Greek sophistand rethorian, when visiting Rome in143/144 CE, expressed his vision on the roleof the Roman Empire and the importance ofthe Mediterranean Sea in their economy:
The sea (Mediterranean) is like a belt thatextends in the middle of the oikoumene (theinhabited world), as well as in the middle ofyour empire (Roman). Around this sea, thegreat continents extend far and wide,constantly augmenting your wealth withsomething of their own.
The purpose of this paper is to shed light ondifferent aspects of the maritime trade as theeconomy base of the Roman Empire, andwhat we can learn from historical,archaeological and iconographic sourcesthroughout the centuries. Combinedpictographic evidences from all arts,especially from mosaics and reliefs, and fromarchaeological remains of shipwrecks andtheir cargoes, all reflect the economydevelopment and demands of the RomanEmpire.
Ports and harbors are the actual evidence ofthe economy development and exchangescarried on the continental waters of theMediterranean Sea.
Independent Scholar
Gerasimov, Vyacheslav
Forschungen der internationalen Schwarzmeer-Unterwasserarchäologischen-Expedition im versunkenen Teil der antikes Stadt Olbia auf der Insel Beresan
und am antiken Schiffswrack des 4 - 3 Jahrhunderts v. Ch. bei der Kinburn Nehrungim Jahre 2019.
In der Feldsaison 2019 führte dieInternationale Schwarzmeer-Unterwasser-archäologische Expedition Forschungen imBereich des versunkenen Teils der Unterstadtvon Olbia, im Gewässer der Insel Beresanund am antiken Schiffwrack aus dem späten4. – 3. Jahrhunderts v. Chr., das in dervorangegangenen Saison in der Nähe derKinburn Nehrung entdeckt worden war,durch.
Im versunkenen Teil von Olbia wurde ein 20x 20 m großes Flussbodengelände visuelluntersucht und ein detaillierterWasserflächenplan erstellt. Im Laufe derArbeit wurde eine Vielzahl vonarchäologischem Material entdeckt, darunterauch numismatisches, sowie drei antikeBriefe auf Bleitafeln.
Im Gebiet der Insel Beresan konnte einAnkerplatz mit zahlreichen Keramik-materialien aus verschiedenen Epochen vonder Antike bis zum frühen Mittelalterlokalisiert werden.
Auf dem im Laufe der Saisons 2018 bei derKinburn Nehrung entdeckten antikenSchiffwrack aus dem späten 4. - frühen 3.Jahrhunderts v. Chr. wurden die Ausgra-bungen fortgesetzt. Als Ergebnis wurdezahlreiches Keramik-Material entdeckt,einschließlich eines ganzen Laginos, sowieHolz- und Metallteile des Schiffes.
Vyacheslav Gerasimov, Kyiv Institut des Archäologie Ukraine
Roman Reyda, Kyiv Institut des Archäologie Ukraine
Oleksandr Smirnov, Mykolaiv Universität Ukraine
Grossmann, Eva
Tel Michal - Trade
The eastern Mediterranean coast beingcentrally placed between Africa, Asia andEurope has been of great importance to allthe nations surrounding the sea throughouttime, Cyprus serving as a hub.
Tel Michal, a settlement on the Israeli coast,some 10 km north of Tel Aviv, was occupiedfrom the 17th to the 6th century BC.According to the artifacts discovered in landexcavations, the town traded withneighboring towns and islands, mainlyCyprus. It seems that merchandize from theAegean Sea, Athens, even from Cretetravelled through Cyprus.
Its anchorage, as usual during this time, wassituated in the estuary of wadi Glilot, whichthroughout the millennia did not significantlychange its flow/ course.
The commercial relations with Egypt, notonly during Tel Michal’s occupation, arewell documented. The story of Sinuhe (20thcentury BC), Thutmoses III campaign (15thcentury BC), Wen-Amun’s journey (11thcentury BC) to buy wood for the bark ofAmen-Re, and many others, are all examplesbased on traded and sea transport.
Harbours and anchorages had to be verybusy, if we consider the story of Wen-Amun,where the Prince of Byblos mentions 20ships in his harbour and later 11 Tjeker shipspursuing Wan-Amun to Cyprus. Likewise,Sinuhe preferred the faster transport home -by ship.
The main merchandizes from the coast weretimber (missing in Egypt), but also honey,raisin, oil and wine (rarer in Egypt) whereasEgypt exported corn. This trad continued todeveloped throughout the centuries. Bitumenwas needed during the Hellenistic period andlater for sealing amphorae. Not to mentionthat enslaved prisoners of war weretransported through the Mediterranean Sea.
If we consider the perils of the sea, transportby ship was still preferred overtrade/transport on land. The sailors wereaware of the preferable month and evendaytime for sailing, water currents andwhirlpools, seasonal winds, all familiar todaythanks to modern know how.
The knowledge obtained by sailing thereplicas of Kirenia II and Ma’agan II throughthe Eastern Mediterranean Sea can give apartial picture of sailors’ expertise in ancienttimes. Even these ships, reconstructions ofships built in the 6nd century BC,approximately the time Tel Michal declined,can provide us a vivid image of thedifficulties in navigating merchandize vesselswith a square sail without oars in opened sea.
Hazenberg, Tom , Vorst, Yardeni and Koehler, Laura
Operation Roman Ship of Zwammerdam (NL)
On preservation and restoration of a major inland maritime collection belonging to thefuture World Heritage Lower German Limes
Since 2 years, a group of scientists andhistorical shipbuilders are working on therestoration of the State Maritime Collectionof six Roman ships, discovered in the early1970's in Zwammerdam (NL), a village witha Roman fort along the Lower GermanLimes. The main archaeologist is Dr.Maarten de Weerd, still associated to projectOperation Romam Ships of Zwammerdam.The ships are the name-givers of the inlandship type “Zwammerdam”, declared by PeterMarsden (GB) in 1972.
The first ship, carrier barge Zwammerdam 2,is nearly finished. Team Restoration is nowpreparing the Zwammerdam 6. The wholeship collection will be restored to serve as thecore collection of the new to be builtNational Roman Maritime Museum, as anextension of Museumpark Archeon inAlphen aan den Rijn, just a few kilometersfrom the place of discovery.
We propose to give a paper on this project bytelling about the famous ships ofZwammerdam, their strategic, economic andcultural significance for the Roman army, thedistribution of products as well as thesignificance for the future UNESCO WorldHeritage status of the Lower German Limes.In our paper we will explain the way ofpreservation and restoration, the choices wemake in restoration and reconstruction.
The project is an cooperation of MuseumparkArcheon, 1 Arch/Hazenberg Archeologie,Vorst Wood Research, Batavialand,supported by State Departments ofEducation, Sciencen & Culture, Province ofZuid Holland, municipality of Alphen aanden Rijn, Mondriaan Fonds, LeidenUniversity and more.
The lecture will be held by: Tom Hazenberg, archaeologist, entrepreneur, guest researcher University Leiden
With contributions of Yardeni Vorst, archaeologist andLaura Koehler, archaeologist, curator
Kaszab-Olschewski, Tünde
Ein Flusshafen am Lech bei Augusta Vindelicum
Im Zuge einer archäologischen Notbergungim Jahr 1994 in Augsburg (AugustaVindelicum bzw. Aelia Augusta), ist eingrößerer Holzbefund aus der römischenEpoche entdeckt worden. Die im bzw. amehemaligen Lech-Flussbett, parallel mitdiesem ausgerichteten Artefakte ausunterschiedlichen Holzarten dienten offenbarals Schiffanlegestelle. Diese stammtdendrochronologischen Analysen zu folgeaus der zweiten Hälfte des 2. Jahrhundert n.Chr. Etwa in jener Zeit ist Augsburg alsStatthaltersitz des neu entsandten Legatenausgebaut, und die steinerne Stadtmauervollendet worden. Anzunehmen ist, dass inder Hafenanlage die Lieferung von größerenMengen an Baumaterialien an derTagesordnung war. Es ist sogarwahrscheinlich, dass der Flusshafenzumindest an dieser Stelle primär für dieAbwicklung dieses Transportes angelegtwurde. Aber auch die Heranschaffung vonlandwirtschaftlichen Produkten über denLech mit Löschung der Wasserfahrzeuge andieser Stelle ist anzunehmen.
Der Lech-Hafen befand sich in einigerEntfernung außerhalb der Stadtmauer,offenbar in der Nähe einer vicusartigenAnsiedlung, die sich entlang des Flussuferserstreckte.
Neben der Vorstellung des Befundes, erfolgtauch die typologische und funktionaleEinordnung sowie die Verortung derKaianlage im Weichbild der Siedlung.
Özdaş, Harun – Winfried Held – Nilhan Kızıldaǧ
A Newly-Detected Potential Submerged Minoan Settlement in the Karian Chersonesos
“The Coasts of the Karian Chersonesos” isthe title of a new project in cooperation ofDokuz Eylül University Izmir and MarburgUniversity, which aims at the investigation ofcoastal structures at the transition of land andwater. During the 2019 season, a Minoansettlement has been detected with a richvariety of Middle Minoan II-III pottery. As apreliminary result, it seems to be a Minoan“colony” for the trade with Anatoliacomparable to Iasos and Miletos. Thesettlement has been situated at the shoreline,and through sea level change is now mainlysubmerged.
Oliveri, Francesca *; Lo Porto, Antonina **
Presented by Detlef Peukert
Comunication and economic network by water: Phoenician - punic port systems inWestern Sicily
It is fair to say that the Phoeniciansdominated Mediterranean sea travel, tradeand commerce for over two thousand years.Yet, for most of their glorious history theywere not a maritime military power, but morea business empire and a multicultural meltingpot, usually maintaining good relations withall neighbors.
Western Sicily preserves many traces andremains of underwater structures that testifythe evolution of harbors in the ancientMediterranean, related to Phoenician – punicsettlements, that this work aims to analize.
Starting with the Phoenician colony ofMotya, island situated at the western fartestend of Sicily, on a stretch of sea known asthe Stagnone Lagoon, whose shallow watersgave a safe harbor for ships, in the bestPhoenician tradition, with that unique docksystem that is represented by the so-called“submerged causeway”, to the continuityrepresented by Lilybeum-Marsala, whoseharbor system extension has yet to bedetermined, but the location of the three portsis known through many evidences andancient sources. Not too distant, the city ofSelinus, had to process such a mass ofmaritime traffic that two ports were needed:one to the East and the other to the West ofthe acropolis. The remains of these portsfound so far are some architectural structuresalong the beach.
The site where the city of Mazara del Vallolies, was probably the seat of an ancientemporium of Phoenician origin, given itsfairly important position on the coast, at themouth of the Mazara river, on the border ofthe territory of Selinunte.
At last, Eraclea Minoa was founded in thelate 5th century BC by colonists fromSelinunte. It was built on the left bank of theriver Halycos near Capo Bianco, in the areawhere it flows into the sea. The strategicimportance of Eraclea Minoa’s harbor ismade clear from the sources and it must havehad both military and commercial features.
* Archaeologist, Soprintendenza del Mare, Regione Sicilia, Palermo
** External collaborator archaeologist, Soprintendenza del Mare, Regione Sicilia, Palermo
Pešić, Mladen
Remains of ancient shipwreck near Cape Zanavin on Rivanj Island, Croatia
A number of underwater sites werediscovered during the conducting ofarchaeological surveys of the underwaterarea in the Zadar County that were done bythe International Center for UnderwaterArcheology in Zadar. One of them witnessesabout remains of the shipwreck form Romanera. On a slope from 4 to 10 meters deep,fragments of amphorae were observed. Theywere situated on the sandy bottom mostlycovered by dense posidonia. Certain amountof characteristic parts like bottoms, rims andhandles helped us to establish the origin ofthe cargo. Among them, most of the findscould be attributed to Keay 25 type Africanamphorae and ceramic vessels of the sameorigin. Several fragments belong to the fineAfrican sigillata and several fragments ofcoarse vessels belong to Pantelleria ware.What makes this cargo even more interestingare finds of several conglomerates made upof amphora fragments. Scattered fragmentsof the pottery cover the area that is 20 by 30meters.
By manual removal of sediment on one partof the site, it was found that the sand wascovering a thicker cultural layer of amphorafragments. Surface documentation of the sitewas performed during 2018, and thirtyfindings that can be typologically definedwerw collected. Traditional 2Ddocumentation method and modern 3Dmodeling technology were used during thestudy to compare the results obtained. Thislecture will present the results of preliminaryresearch and define this shipwreck within thewider picture of Adriatic shipwrecks with thecargo of North African findings.
International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in ZadarBožidara Petranovića 1Zadara, Croatia
Schäfer, Christoph
Propulsion and Performance of Roman River Barges
Nicht die schlanken, mit Ruderreihenversehenen Militärschiffe, die eher einfachgebauten und weit weniger ansehnlichenPlattbodenschiffe mit rampenartigem Bugund Heck bildeten das Rückgrat derrömischen Präsenz am Rhein und seinenNebenflüssen. Ohne sie hätten die gewaltigenMengen an Baumaterial, die allein schon fürden Ausbau des römischen Köln benötigtwurden, niemals die Metropole am Rheinerreicht. Hundertausende von Tonnenmussten aus den Steinbrüchen in Norroy-les-Pont-à Mousson, Trier, Rheinbrohl etc.herangeschafft werden. All dies konnte nichtüber Straßen geschehen, da ein Karren nuretwa eine Tonne an Ladung befördern konnteund ein Landtransport weder zu leisten nochzu bezahlen war.
Nach Auswertung der Schriftquellen zumWarentransport gelangte R. Duncan-Jonesfür die römische Kaiserzeit zu folgenderKostenrelation von See-, Fluss- undLandtransport: 1 : 4,9 : 28-56. Der Transportauf den See- und Binnenwasserstraßen waralso auch schon damals um ein Vielfachesgünstiger. Das tatsächliche Verhältnis desAufwands für den Transport auf Flüssensowie die verschiedenen Arten des Antriebsder Flussschiffe (Prahme) zu untersuchen istGegenstand eines Projekts von Althistorikernder Universität Trier, Maschinenbauern derHochschule Trier und Physikern der TUHamburg-Harburg sowie des MIT inMassachusetts. An einem konkreten Beispielsoll das Vorgehen zur Ermittlung derLeistungsfähigkeit römischer Prahmevorgestellt werden.
It was not the slender oared military ships,the rather simple and far less attractive flat-bottomed ships with ramp-like bow and sternthat formed the backbone of the Romanpresence on the Rhine and its tributaries.Without them, the enormous quantities ofbuilding material needed e.g. for theexpansion of Roman Cologne alone wouldnever have reached the metropolis on theRhine. Hundreds of thousands of tons had tobe transported from the quarries in Norroy-les-Pont-à Mousson, Trier, Rheinbrohl, etc.All this could not be done by road, since acart could only carry about one ton of cargoand land transport was neither to be affordednor paid for.
After evaluating the written sources on thetransport of goods, R. Duncan-Jones arrivedat the following cost ratio of sea, river andland transport for the Roman Empire: 1 :4.9 : 28-56. Transport on the sea and inlandwaterways was therefore already many timescheaper at that time.
It is the subject of a common project ofancient historians of the University of Trier,of mechanical engineers of the TechnicalUniversity of Trier and of physicists of theTU Hamburg-Harburg as well as of the MITin Massachusetts to examine the actual ratioof the expenditure for the transport on riversas well as the different kinds of the drive ofthe river barges. A concrete example will beused to present the procedure for determiningthe performance of Roman barges.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Schäfer; [email protected]
Wacker , Daniel
Zwischen Aare, Rhein und Bodensee: Die Barcarii und das spätantike Confluentibus
Durch die Notitia Dignitatum, ein spätantikesStaatshandbuch, sind für die Gebiete desAlpenvorlandes zwei Flotteneinheitennachgewiesen, welche im Zusammenhangmit dem Hochrheinabschnitt des Donau-Iller-Rhein-Limes stehen. Die vermutlich größereder beiden, die classis barcariorum, EbruduniSapaudiae, kann mit ziemlicher Sicherheit imheutigen Yverdon-les-Bains (CH) verortetwerden. Im Falle der anderen, an zweiStandorten stationierten numeri barcariorum,Confluentibus sive Brecentia ist die Sachlagewesentlich unklarer. Die Identifizierung vonBregenz (AT) als Brecentia lässt sich zwarschlüssig belegen, die Lage vonConfluentibus ist aber bis heute Spekulation.Erst die Entdeckung eines spätrömischenKastells im Zentrum von Konstanz (D)bestärkte die in der Forschung schon seitlängerem gehegte Vermutung, dass derStandort Confluentibus tatsächlich an dieserStelle zu verorten wäre.
Im Rahmen dieses Referats wird diese Theseanhand neuer archäologischer Forschungs-ergebnisse diskutiert und besonders imZusammenhang mit den naturräumlichen undhistorischen Gegebenheiten betrachtet. Denndie zentrale Lage des Bodensees ist nicht nurfür den Hochrheinlimes von Bedeutung,sondern auch für die Logistik auf demAlpenrhein sowie den damitzusammenhängenden Siedlungen undBefestigungsanlagen. Zudem legt dieErwähnung einer zweiten Einheit inYverdon-les-Bains (CH) auch einenZusammenhang mit dem Schiffsverkehr aufder Aare nahe.
Könnte diese Flotteneinheit also tatsächlichfür Konstanz nachgewiesen werden, würdensich somit neue Erkenntnisse undinteressante Fragestellungen für dieErforschung der römischen Logistik imBereich des Hochrheinlimes generierenlassen.
Wagener, Sieghard
Investigation of an ancient sea battle by engineering methods
More than a dozen rams have been liftedfrom the seabed around Egadi Islands. Theyare among other items the remains of thebattle between the Punic and Roman fleet at241 BC. Most of them have got minordamages only probably due to corrosion.Others show severe damages at differentlocations. Parts of the structure were torn off.The cause of these failures can be found outby using physical methods such as the shocktheory and the law of conservation of energy.Stress calculations and fractional mechanicshelp to explain what kind of destructionhappened at the ship’s hull after a hit with aram.
The data base for the evaluation is derivedfrom the geometry of the cavity of the ramwhich provides the dimensions of the keel,the wales and the stem. Other ships data aretaken from the replica of the AthenianTrireme “Olympias” build in 1985 and testedin 1987. Initially two scenarios are studied: Afrontal and a sideward crash. The influenceof motions in water is considered togetherwith the shock theory.
The results of the calculations give a hintwhat happened during the crash phase andthe order of loads and accelerations to whichthe ship and its crew are exposed. Even thekind of maneuver could be proved.
An interesting fact is that even a partlydamaged ram was still good enough toperform a ramming again.
A comparison with scale 1:1 crash tests inwater with modern ships (20000 to tankers)shows that the method described above givesgood results.
For further investigations it would befavorable to carry out NDT test on each ramsuch as X-ray, CT and crack detection (Dyepenetration) tests. This gives information ofthe quality of the cast and its strength. Somerams have wooden remains inside andoutside the ram’s housing. The classificationof the type of wood and it’s direction of grainwould help here.
With a bigger data base, i.e. more rams fromthe same spot, it might be possible to tellsomething more about the tactic of a seabattle in the middle of the 3rd century BC.
Watson, Philip L.
Informal Economies and Navicularii in the Balkans, 4th-7th c. CE
The assumed authoritarian nature of the LateRoman state limits our perspective onsupply, tempting us to ascribe everything tothe needs of the state, claiming thatdepositional patterns reflect state desires ascarried out by merchants and shippers.However, this is an overly simplistic view, asBanaji (2016) has demonstrated in relation tomonetary history.
Furthermore, anthropological research hasshown that we cannot ignore the existence ofprofit motives and self-interested economicactivity prior to capitalism. To address thisgap in scholarship, I propose an analysis ofarchaeological evidence for supply and tradeinformed by recent studies of informal or“grey” economies. This concept of economicactivity outside the bounds of officialauthority can be usefully applied to theEastern Roman Empire along the Danube,the Black Sea, and the eastern Mediterraneanfrom the 4th to 7th century CE. By looking atthe possibility of informal economic activityin the archaeological record, we maycircumvent any simplistic view of shippersand shipping networks within an empire asvast as the Late Roman state.
As an initial step, I revisit amphora evidencefor supply in the Late Roman Balkans. Inconjunction with shipwreck evidence, andwith an eye toward possible informaleconomic activity, this evidence providespossible avenues into analyzing the activitiesof navicularii. Through this, it may bepossible to discern profit motivesindependent of the state. Ultimately, this willallow for a more nuanced approach toarchaeological evidence for supply to theLate Roman provinces, and the ways inwhich such evidence may not refer to state-directed provisioning at all.
(PhD student, University of Chicago Department of Anthropology)
