"The Delos Underwater Survey Project (2014-2016)", The Honor Frost Foundation Conference Under the Mediterranean, Nicosia, Cyprus

Mantha Zarmakoupi (Invited speaker)
Magdalini Athanasoula (Contributor)

History and Cultures

Activity: Academic and Industrial events › Conference, workshop or symposium

Description

Over the course of three seasons the survey project identified structures providing evidence for commercial activities in the submerged area of the Stadion District, changing the predominant assumption that this neighborhood did not have an instrumental role in the operation of the Delian emporion, as well as remains of harbor installations in the submerged area of the Skardana District, indicating that the bay of the Skardana was an anchorage. These finds are significant as they clarify the function of the bays that were located next to the newly-formed neighborhoods on the island. It seems that commercial harbors operated both in the bay of the Stadion District and in the bay of the Skardana District, complementing the activities of the central harbor. Whereas previous research had focused on the main harbor area, assuming that the emporion of Delos depended solely on a single harbor, the Delos Underwater Survey Project—the first underwater survey to be conducted around Delos—provides a different picture of the ways in which the port-city functioned. Although the mechanisms of trade were weighted towards direct preferential links between emporia ports, rather than towards random coastal tramping or cabotage, an emporion has several harbors, which could be used according to the weather conditions. The results of the survey project show that the bays of the Stadion District and the Skardana District served as anchorages around the island, allowing skippers to avoid crossings in difficult weather conditions, thus facilitating the busy emporion of Delos in the late Hellenistic period.

Finally, the project conducted a preliminary survey for shipwrecks during the 2016 fieldwork season. The six shipwrecks that were found around Delos, Rheneia and in the channel between Delos and Rheneia date from the Hellenistic through the late Roman period. They point to the continuation of the activity of the harbour of Delos and the usage of the channel between Delos and Rheneia, which must have continued to operate as a main waterway of the Aegean through the late Roman period connecting the Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

Period	21 Oct 2017
Held at	The Honor Frost Foundation, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International

Keywords

Delos
harbours
shipwrecks
Hellenistic period

Documents & Links

The_Delos_Underwater_Survey_Project_201
File: application/pdf, 43.5 KB
Type: Text

Under the Mediterranean The Honor Frost Foundation Conference of 'Mediterranean Maritime Archaeology' to be held on the Anniversary of the Centenary of Honor Frost's Birth on the Island of Cyprus (28 October 1917). Nicosia, 20-24 October 2017 Organisers: Stella Demesticha (University of Cyprus, Maritime Archaeological Research Laboratory) Lucy Blue (Maritime Archaeological Director HFF/ University of Southampton, Centre for Maritime Archaeology) The world of maritime archaeology has undoubtedly changed significantly since Honor Frost wrote her seminal volume, Under the Mediterranean (1963). A milestone in the development of the subject in the Mediterranean came when in 1985 a symposium series began in Greece with the theme: TROPIS, International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity. TROPIS soon became a meeting point for maritime archaeologists, working mainly (but not exclusively) in the Mediterranean, who presented papers on diverse research themes, including shipbuilding, ships and boats, ports and harbours, navigation and seafaring. The last TROPIS conference took place on Hydra, in 2008. Honor was part of this meeting as she had been, with one exception, in every previous meeting. Since then TROPIS has not been followed up by any other Mediterranean maritime archaeological forum, and yet the discipline has continued to develop as more and more papers with maritime themes are presented in other archaeological conferences of more general interest. In other words, it seems that maritime archaeology has come of age and the 21st century finds it much better integrated into the world of Archaeology than ever before. However, we believe it is now time to provide a forum for maritime archaeologists working in the Mediterranean to regroup and to re-engage with the early TROPIS principles: to communicate more widely with others working in the region underwater, on the coasts, and on the land, and to share new finds, methodologies and ideas, including landscapes, trade, connectivity, scientific analysis, cultural management and new technological developments. Sadly, Honor Frost, one of the pioneers of Mediterranean maritime archaeology, is no longer with us. Her legacy, however, lives on not only in terms of the significant contributions she made to the field in terms of her research, but also in her creation of the another milestone in the history of the maritime archaeology, the Honor Frost Foundation (HFF). Since 2011, the HFF has already made a dramatic difference, particularly important during a period of financial and political instability, to the growth of maritime archaeology in the region. On 28 October 2017, 100 years will have passed since Honor Frost was born in Cyprus. To mark this event, it has been decided to celebrate the centenary of her birth, to honour her work and that of her Foundation, by organising an international conference on Cyprus. It will be held over four days and will be hosted at the University of Cyprus, Nicosia. A fifth day will be dedicated to visiting some of the important coastal archaeological sites of Cyprus, particularly the pre-Classical harbours that were the main focus of Honor's research. Participants will also be invited to sail on the replica Kyrenia Liberty. The conference is largely supported by the HFF.