Critical Approaches to Cypriot and Wider Mediterranean Archaeology - (Volume 16) - Sturt W. Manning

Critical Approaches to Cypriot and Wider Mediterranean Archaeology - (Volume 16) - Sturt W. Manning

17. Seascapes and Maritime Capacity of Late Roman Cyprus

Critical Approaches to Cypriot and Wider Mediterranean Archaeology - (Volume 16) - Sturt W. Manning

Stella Demesticha [+-]
University of Cyprus
Stella Demesticha is an Associate Professor of Maritime Archaeology, with a special interest in maritime transport containers, pottery traditions, ships and shipwrecks, trade and sea routes in the eastern Mediterranean. For the last 12 years she has directed underwater excavation projects at Mazotos and Nissia shipwrecks, both in Cyprus, as well as numerous short survey projects along the island’s coasts. Along with papers about her field projects, in 2016 and 2017 she worked on two books with Bernard Knapp, both on Maritime Transport Containers and Seaborne Trade in the Bronze and Early Iron Age in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Description

This paper discusses some key concepts of maritime archaeology in the context of Late Roman Cyprus, namely maritime cultures, coast- and seascapes. On the basis of textual and archaeological evidence, as well as of contemporary geographical and meteorological features, it is argued that the island’s coastal zone should not be considered as a homogenous entity. Five possible coastscapes are distinguished with diverse connectivity attributes and seas with different names, according to texts of Roman geographers. This kind of information is related with the ancient mariners’ common sense geography, which, coupled with archaeological evidence from rural anchorages, can illuminate elements of ancient maritime cognitive landscapes. It is in this respect that underwater anchorage assemblages, located all along the Cypriot coast, are discussed in this paper. Most of the them were dated to multiple periods, but almost all had a strong Late Roman phase. This is not surprising, given the island’s prosperity during the three centuries of this period (5th – 7th centuries AD), which was coupled with an unprecedented peak in rural expansion and coastal activity. Despite the full exploitation of its maritime capacity, however, no major changes in established practices seem to have happened. Moreover, although there is no evidence to suggest that the island was rich in natural havens in antiquity, the location of anchorages at places completely unprotected today from the prevailing winds is intriguing. It indicates that that the shoreline was more sinuous before erosion eliminated small inlets, especially all along the south and the east coast. On this basis, this paper argues that Late Roman Cyprus shapes an ideal context for the study of the island’s maritime culture, in the longue durée.

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Citation

Demesticha, Stella. 17. Seascapes and Maritime Capacity of Late Roman Cyprus. Critical Approaches to Cypriot and Wider Mediterranean Archaeology - (Volume 16). Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 313-340 May 2022. ISBN 9781800500594. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=42493. Date accessed: 10 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.42493. May 2022

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