Trego, K.M.. Life on Board- A Comparative Study of the Shipboard Items From Four Classical to Early...

8/12/2019 Trego, K.M.. Life on Board- A Comparative Study of the Shipboard Items From Four Classical to Early Hellenistic Merchantmen. 2004. (THESIS)

1/115


2/115

LIFE ON BOARD:

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SHIPBOARD ITEMS FROM FOURCLASSICAL TO EARLY HELLENISTIC MERCHANTMEN

A thesis submitted to the

Division of Research and Advanced Studies

of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in the Department of Classicsof the College of Arts and Sciences

2004

by

Kristine M. Trego

B.A., University of South Florida, 2001

Committee Co-Chairs: Kathleen M. Lynch

Peter van Minnen


3/115

Abstract

Over the past fifty years, Nautical Archaeology has been shedding light on the

ways by which people of the ancient world moved commodities between cities across the

Mediterranean, while they consequentially also spread culture and technology. The

academic community, however, has been slow to realize the importance of this

information and utilize it for understanding the mechanics and magnitude of ancient

maritime trade. By examining the results of underwater excavations, we can gain much

knowledge about ancient ships and the men who sailed them. As excavation results have

been gradually published, we have at our disposal a growing corpus of information which

we can tap into in attempts to elucidate not only ancient trade, but the lives of the men

who engaged in it. Due to the limited amount of evidence for this important economic

segment of ancient Greek society, the lives of sailors have barely received the attention of

modern scholars. As the body of evidence has steadily been growing over the last fifty

years, augmenting ancient textual and epigraphic evidence with the material evidence

from the mens daily lives, this vital group can begin to be better understood.

This study examines this material evidence from excavated shipwrecks and

investigates the means by which the men on board small merchantmen were able to

survive while on commercial voyage. I will compare the shipboard items recovered from

four Classical to early Hellenistic shipwrecks and argue for a standard corpus of

equipment taken on board the ships to sustain and entertain the sailors. By examining the

diet, conviviality, and daily subsistence practices and customs of life spent on board these

merchant ships we can gain a better understanding of who these men were and where

they belonged in Greek Mediterranean society. With this paper, which will explore the


4/115

material evidence of the shipboard equipment and what this evidence can contribute to

our knowledge of shipboard life, I plan to start to investigate these questions.


5/115


6/115

Dedicated to

William and Suzanne Murray, for helping this ship set sail,

and Ben, for keeping it afloat.


7/115

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank George F. Bass for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of the

Tektas Burnu excavation and the world of Nautical Archaeology which he helped create

and legitimize. I would also like to thank Deborah Carlson for her unwavering

leadership, reaffirming support, and one of my most cherished friendships. Thanks are

also due to the amazing staff of the Classics library and to the patient Graduate

Committee. I am very grateful to Bilge Gunesdogdu for her fantastic artifact drawings.

Marcie Handler not only selflessly committed her energy to make sure my thesis would

reach tangible form, but also helped me to remember to laugh down the long tunnel.

I especially want to offer my deepest gratitude to Peter van Minnen for spending

time reading and greatly improving this investigation. My deepest thanks go to Kathleen

Lynch, without whom I never could have accomplished this task. Her constant

encouragement, devotion of time, and smiling patience gave me focus when I had lost it,

drive when I was exhausted, and a path when I had wandered.


8/115

i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One:Introduction..p. 5

Chapter Two:A Comparative Study of Three Mediterranean Merchantmen....p. 14

Chapter Three:Analysis of the Tektas Burnu Shipwreck....p. 33

Chapter Four:Conclusions.....p. 49

Chapter Five:Catalogue of the Shipboard Items from

the Tektas Burnu Excavation......p. 60

Maps and Images....p. 78

Bibliography...p. 105


9/115

ii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The three excavated ships with respective dates, excavation locations,

size, and cargo.....p. 28

Table 2: Crew assemblage items from each of the three ships categorized by primary use.....p. 31

Table 3: Crew assemblage items from the Tektas ship categorized by primary use.p. 47

Table 4: Placing the Tektas ship in context. Crew assemblage items from eachship..p. 52


10/115

iii

LIST OF IMAGES

Map 1/ Plate 1: Location of Tektas Burnu on the Ionian coast

(from Carlson 2003, fig. 1) ..p. 78

Map 2/ Plate 2: Tektas Burnu excavation site

(From Carlson 2003, fig. 4)...p. 79

Plate 3: Kantharos from Cargo (Photo by INA staff)...p. 80

Plate 4: Kantharos (1) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff)..p. 81

Plate 5: Kantharos (2) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)...p. 82

Plate 6: Hydria (3

) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)p. 83

Plate 7: Jug (4) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)..p. 84

Plate 8: Lekanis (?) (5) (Photo by INA staff).......p. 85

Plate 9: Saltcellar (6) (Photo by INA staff)..p. 86

Plate 10: Plate (7) (Photo by INA staff)p. 87

Plate 11: Mortar (8) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff).p. 88

Plate 12: Chytra (9) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)..p. 89

Plate 13: Chytra (10) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)p. 90

Plate 14: Chytra (11) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)p. 91

Plate 15: Cooking pot lid (12) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)..p. 92

Plate 16: Lopas (16) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu).....p. 93

Plate 17: Casserole (18) (Photo by INA staff)..p. 94

Plate 18: Lekanis (?) lid (Photo by INA staff).p. 95

Plate 19: Lamp (20) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff).p. 96

Plate 20: Bone tile (22) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff)p. 97


11/115

iv

Plate 21: Bone tile (23) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff)p. 98

Plate 22: Situla handle (24) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff)..p. 99

Plate 23: Situla handle (25) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu; Photo by INA staff)p. 100

Plate 24: Bronze rim fragment (26) (Photos by INA staff)p. 101

Plate 25: Bronze kyathos (31) (Photo by INA staff)...p. 102

Plate 26: Bronze palmette (32) (Drawing by B. Gunesdogdu)...p. 103

Plate 27: Bronze object (33) (Photo by INA staff).p. 104


12/115

5

Chapter One:

Introduction

The focus of this paper is an analysis of shipboard artifacts recovered by the

Tektas Burnu shipwreck excavation, which was led by the Institute of Nautical

Archaeology (INA) during the summer seasons of 1999 to 2001. The artifacts itemized

in the catalogue are those categorized as utilitarian: items found in limited quantities

with minimal or no decoration which presumably were aboard the vessel for the

convenience of the crew. The assemblage includes: utilitarian vessels for dining,

cooking, and drinking, fragments of a bronze bucket and ladle used for drink service, two

fish hooks,1gaming tiles made of bone, and a coarse, handmade lamp with signs of

significant use. These items will be compared with the utilitarian artifacts recovered from

three other shipwrecks of dates close to that of Tektas. This material was chosen for

study to attempt to shed light on the shipboard lives of ancient mariners in the

Mediterranean. The catalogue of this paper will be included in the forthcoming

excavation report to be published by Texas A&M Press.2

The excavation site was located off the barren and rocky western coast of Turkey

on the Izmir peninsula approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Cesme and east of the

island of Chios (Map 1). For three seasons, a team of archaeologists under the direction

of INA founder George F. Bass and his assistant director, Deborah N. Carlson,

1

In addition to the hooks, a quantity of small lead fishing weights was recovered from the site. Althoughthey are included in the catalogue (37-47) as having been excavated from the wreck site, they were not

likely part of the ancient ships equipment. The weights share no uniformity in size or shape with one

another and were excavated from points all over the wreck site and at different levels in the stratigraphy.

As such, these were almost certainly intrusive objects lost by later fishermen who had laid lines over thewreck site. Had the weights been discovered in close proximity to one another and within the same

stratum, as were weights that were excavated from the other wrecks that will be discussed, it would be

possible to make a much stronger argument for their original provenience aboard the Tektas ship.2For preliminary reports on the Tektas Burnu excavation and findings, see Carlson 1999, 2000, 2001,

2003; Nowak 1999; Oron, 2000; Trethewey, 1999.


13/115

6

systematically and meticulously uncovered, photographed, mapped, and raised the cargo

and remains of the ancient ship (Map 2). The ship itself was modest in size with an

estimated length of about twelve meters, but its significance is substantial. This was the

first Classical period shipwreck ever to be fully excavated in the Aegean and as such, it is

bound to shed light on localized trade conducted in Ionia with small merchantmen.

The cargo was largely comprised of almost two hundred and fifty transport

amphorai identified, in descending order of their frequency, as Pseudo-Samian, Mendean,

Samian, Chian, and Northern Aegean. Mark Lawall of the University of Manitoba

examined the two most prevalent amphora shapes from the wreck and identified them as

Pseudo-Samian and Mendean from the third quarter of the fifth century B.C. The

presence of a complete Samian amphora dating from the last quarter of the fifth century

B.C. offers evidence for dating the wreck itself to ca. 425 B.C.3 The cargo thus suggests

a timeframe within the Greek Classical Age and sets this merchant and his crew trading

wares over the Aegean waters during the period of Athens imperial height.

The majority of the cargo transport amphorai were pitch-lined to contain wine, as

evidenced by several grape seeds found fixed into the pitch lining. The organic remains

recovered from the wreck site suggest some of the foodstuffs, although others may have

since deteriorated, that were intended for sale or for consumption by the crew. Although

most of the transport amphorai appear to have carried wine, some were utilized to store

food. Over one hundred cattle rib bones were found in two amphorai4as well as a large

quantity of small fish bones;5both the beef and fish had very likely been salted or pickled

for preservation. Several olive pits were recovered either inside or near amphorai. In

3Carlson 2003, pp. 581, 587-588, and note 31.

4Carlson 2003, pp. 589-590 and notes 34-41.5Carlson 2003, p. 590 and note 42.


14/115

7

addition to the main amphora cargo carrying wine and those that were used to store food,

ten Mendean amphorai were completely filled with pine tar,6which was likely used for

flavoring wine. These tar-filled amphorai, each weighing nearly eighty pounds, were

also doubling as ballast for the ship.

The pitch-lined Pseudo-Samian amphorai that were carrying the wine cargo

numbered over two hundred. The origin of the wine cargo is presently unknown. There

is, however, compelling evidence to suggest Erythrai, located on the Ionian coast near the

Tektas site (Map 1). About forty of the vessels were marked with a circular stamp most

commonly placed on the neck between the handles, but also found on the vessel shoulder

or at the base of a handle.7 The purpose of this stamp is still ambiguous as its occurrence

is found on amphorai from a broad range of locations and dates.8 Some scholars believe

that the stamp may have been used to test the density of the clay before firing,9but it may

also have served to mark a separate consignment of goods or signify that the jar met local

standards of capacity regulations. Several other Pseudo-Samians from the cargo, at least

seven thus far discovered, were stamped with an ivy leaf and one was marked with the

Greek letter eta(H).10 One of the Pseudo-Samians, however, displays a monogram stamp

that likely points to the home port of the ship and the origin of its main amphora cargo.

The circular stamp, about two centimeters in diameter, contains three Greek letters

6Carlson 2003, pp. 587-589.7

I am extremely grateful to Deborah Carlson for allowing me to read and utilize the rough drafts of herdissertation and for enlightening me with endless discussions concerning these topics. For discussion of

the Tektas amphorai, their stamps and meanings, see Carlson 2003, pp. 586-587 and the final excavation

report to be published by Texas A&M Press.8See Carlson 2003, p. 586 and note 20.

9Carlson 2003, p. 586 and note 20.

10One could speculate that the ivy leaf stamp may be associated with the god Dionysus and thus to wine,

however, this is only one possibility. The eta, appearing only once on the cargo amphorai, cannot be

positively linked to any person. It may have been etched onto the vessel to denote ownership or to simply

single it out from the other amphorai for some unknown reason.


15/115

8

followed by a dot: ERU. This monogram bears striking resemblance to the fifth-century

B.C. coinage from nearby Erythrai, which often depicts a central flower in an incuse

square with the letters ERUor ERUQin the corners surrounding a rosette.11 It is arguable

that the main cargo of wine, contained in the Pseudo-Samian amphorai, originated from

Erythrai located less than 40 kilometers northwest from where the ship sank, while the

ship itself was headed toward an unknown port on the other side of the Izmir peninsula

(Map 1).

A load of black-glazed finewares including table amphorai, kantharoi, large and

small one-handled cups, lamps, saltcellars, and olpai accompanied the amphora cargo.

The objects that have been categorized as utilitarian objects intended for the crews use

were designated as such either from their location on the wreck in the bow or stern of the

ship, which were areas for storage kept separate from the main cargo hold, and/or by the

singular occurrence of an item. Conversely, the items intended for sale, such as the

black-glazed table wares, appeared in greater numbers, with little to no evidence of use,

and were concentrated in groups in the main hold.

Significance of Study

This was not a large merchantman carrying the treasures of a cultural and artistic

explosion nor a swift-sailing trireme of a tribute-extracting navy, but a modestly sized

and humbly loaded cargo vessel that appears to have made short runs along the Ionian

coast and nearby islands. There is little evidence to suggest that cities engaged directly in

state-sponsored trade, but rather influenced, monitored, and profited from it by means of

harbor dues, regulating officials, and laws governing importation, exportation and

11Head [1911] 1981, pp. 119-121, pl. 15.


16/115

9

investment in foreign trade.12

The trading itself, however, was in the hands of private

investors and merchants. It should be noted that there is a paucity of information in the

ancient evidence about merchants and their means and manner of business. Without a

doubt, there existed merchants both large and small who were continually engaged in the

exchange of commodities both luxurious and humble throughout antiquity; the immense

number of recorded shipwrecks itself testifies to this extensive movement of goods.13

The great majority of Greek poleis were situated on or near the coast in part to ensure the

communities access to the sea and the vendibles that were transported on its waves. As

variations existed in the climate of individual regions across the Mediterranean basin, no

polis was capable of producing everything the community needed or desired; importation

of goods and foodstuffs was vital, as is demonstrated by the case of grain scarcity in

Attica during the fifth century and Athens regulation of its exchange.14 Contact and

trade between cities by way of the sea began early in Greek history and continued at

irregular, but near-constant degrees of intensity from the Archaic to the Roman age and

beyond.

This papers aim is not to examine the mechanisms and management of maritime

trade, nor to present a new model for ancient trade and economy, but to look at the lives

of the men who made the inter-politic exchange possible. We have, to our misfortune,

12Stanley 1976 makes an admirable attempt to investigate Greek market regulation from the literary and

epigraphical evidence. He concludes, p. 316, In general the local governments were not so directly

involved in the control of commercial activities in the emporion as they were in the area of the commercial

agora. If a government were to have legislated too extensively in the area of import and export trade, theresult of such legislation might have been to diminish the trade which was carried on in this area of the

emporion, since a good number of the merchants were not local citizens and would have objected to

excessive regulation of their business. The regulations which were passed by a city were primarily

concerned with commercial practices once the cargo had arrived in the harbor and was unloadedThisrestraint from attempting to control the import trade indicates that the governments were cognizant of the

fact that the foreign supply of goods was dependent on a fairly free and open emporion, where few controls

or none interfered with or prohibited the importation of goods.13See Parker 1992 for a catalogue of known shipwrecks, their size, and cargoes.14Stroud 1998; Stanley 1976, pp. 302-307.


17/115

10

scarce literary or epigraphical evidence to shed light on the character and nature of the

lives and social status of these men. We do, however, have a growing collection of

material evidence that is filling in the gaps, evidence that has been coming from the

depths of the Mediterranean over the past half century due to the birth, development, and

employment of underwater archaeology. It is this material evidence from the sailors

lives aboard the merchant ships upon which I intend to focus. The goal of this study is to

explore how these artifacts can contribute to the social history of the merchants and

sailors who played an integral role in the life of nearly every ancient Greek. There has

been little focus upon these traders by modern scholars. Casson, the most prolific writer

on nautical topics, focuses primarily on the ships themselves, and especially on the

warships, but says comparatively little about the men who built and ran the ships.15

Nautical Archaeology, although having only been born within the last half

century, has already provided a wealth of evidence about trade in ancient Mediterranean

societies and the men who conducted it. The number of ships, however, that has been

professionally excavated by archaeologists is small in comparison to the unquantifiably

large number of wrecks that lie in wait on the Mediterranean floor. Moreover, only a

fraction of those wrecks that have been excavated have been fully published and

subsequently have reached the academic community. Parkers exhaustive list of known

shipwrecks is one of the first comprehensive attempts to gather together information on

ancient wrecks into a reference that includes a bibliography for each ship. In his

foreword, Parker points out the difficulty, which his publication attempts to address, of

tapping into this pool of historical information by acknowledging, These lost ships

constitute a remarkable resource for the social, economic and technical history of

15Casson [ 1971] 1986, 1991, 1994.


18/115

11

antiquity, but knowledge of them, often unpublished, has been hard to come by for

historians and others who would like to make use of the statistics or the insights they

offer.16

Those ships that have been published fully or partially, however, are still vastly

under-utilized by scholars of trade, economy, and the social history of non-aristocratic

members of ancient Greece and Rome. As more wrecks are excavated and published,

economic and social historians are bound to realize the neglected wealth of information

these merchantmen can give us about commercial relationships between cities as well as

how and by whom these relationships were made possible.

In the following chapter, I will discuss three other wrecks and analyze the objects

recovered that are believed to have been utilized by the men on board. I will present

them in a chronological order beginning with the Maagan Michael wreck (430-390

B.C.) excavated off the coast of Israel. Following this will come the Porticello wreck

(400-390 B.C.) excavated off the Italian coast. The last wreck I will discuss will be the

Hellenistic ship excavated off the coast of Cyprus at Kyrenia (306-300 B.C.). The Tektas

ship, itself dating to 440-425 B.C., wrecked over a hundred years before Kyrenia wreck,

but within a generation or two of the other two wrecks.

In the third chapter, I will analyze the utilitarian materials recovered from the

Tektas wreck and compare these finds to those of the wrecks discussed in the second

chapter. By examining the similarities and discrepancies in the objects from the Tektas

wreck to those from the other wrecks, I will draw conclusions about the duration of the

voyage and the lifestyle of the crew on board the Tektas ship. Questions that will be

explored will include: What kind of food did the crew consume? How was it obtained?

16Parker 1992, ii.


19/115

12

How was such food prepared? Where would it have been eaten? Is there evidence for

communal drinking? What did the crew do to pass idle time?

In the fourth chapter, I will draw my conclusions from the analysis of the

materials from all four wrecks and argue for a standard corpus of material that was

necessary to have at hand for the convenience of the crew, the equipment that made life

on these ships during their voyages possible. In addition, I will analyze variations in the

equipment from one ship to the next and discuss what these variations can tell us about

the duration of the sailors venture. By examining the material evidence, I believe light

can be shed upon the nature of crew life on board these Classical and early Hellenistic

merchantmen. By examining the diet, conviviality, and daily subsistence practices and

customs of life spent on board these merchant ships we can gain a better understanding of

who these men were and where they belonged in Greek Mediterranean society. The fifth

chapter is a catalogue of the crews materials excavated from the Tektas wreck. A

version of this catalogue will be published in the forthcoming final excavation report to

be published by Texas A&M Press.

Examining the physical remains of merchantmen, even as small a sampling as that

which is used in this paper, can tell us a great deal about the workings of inter-politic

exchange and those conducting trade. Gaining an understanding of how and by what

means the men who conducted maritime trade were able to live while on voyage can help

us understand the mechanics of trade. By understanding the mechanics of trade, we can

gain a broader understanding of the ability of ancient societies and individuals within

those societies to engage in the physical exchange of goods at varying levels of intensity.

At a later date I intend to couple this present investigation with literary, epigraphic,


20/115

13

iconographic, and archaeological evidence in an attempt better illuminate the role this

previously neglected segment of society played in the history of ancient Greek trade and

connectivity. With this present study, I hope only to inaugurate my own investigations

into these relationships between ships, men, and cities by starting with an examination of

the lives of the men while on board the ships.


21/115

14

Chapter Two:

A Comparative Study of Three Mediterranean Merchantmen

e{spete nun moi Mousai jOluvmpia dwvmat je{cousai,ejx ou|nauklhreiDiovnuso~ ejp ;oi{nopa povntou,

o{ss ;ajgavq ;ajnqrwvpoi~ deur ;h}gage nhi;melaivnh:ejk me;n Kurhvnh~ kaulo;n kai;devrma boveion:

ejk d ; JHllhspovntou skovmbrou~ kai;pavvnta tarivch:ejk d ;au| jItaliva~ covndron kai;pleura;boveia:kai;para;Sitavlkou ywvran Lakedaimonivoisi

kai;para; Perdivkkou yeuvdh nausi;n pavnu pollai~: aiJde;Suravkousai su~ kai;turo;n parevcousi:

* * * * * * * *kai;Kerkuraivou~ oJPoseidwn evxolevseie

nausi;n ejpi;glafurai~, oJtih;divca qumo;n e[cousitauta me;n ejnteu`qen: ejk d ;Aijguvptou ta;kremasta;iJstiva kai;bivblou~: m ajpo;d ;au|Suriva~ libanwtovn:

hJde;kalh;Krhvth kupavritton toisi qeoisin,

hJLibuvh d ;ejlevfanta polu;n parevcei kata;prasin:hJ JRovdo~ ajstafivda~ kai;ijscavda~ hJduoneivrou~:

aiJPagasai;douvlou~ kai;stigmativa~ parevcousi:ta;~ de;Dio;~ balavnou~ kai;ajmuvgdala sigaloventa

Paflagovne~ parevcousi: ta;gavr ajnaqhvmata daitov~:Foinivkh d ;au|karpo;n foivniko~ kai;semivdalin:

Karchdw;n davpida~ kai;poikivla proskefavlaia: 17

Now tell me, Muses who have your dwellings on Olympus, of all the good things Dionysus

brought here in his black ship from the time when he sailed the wine-dark sea as a merchant.

From Cyrene silphium stalks and ox-hides, from the Hellespont mackerel and all varieties of salt

fish, from Italy fine flour and ox ribs, and from Sitalces an itch to plague the Spartans and fromPerdiccas lies in a great fleet of ships. Syracuse, providing pigs and cheese[lacuna] And may

Poseidon destroy the Corcyreans in their hollow ships because their loyalties are divided. Thats

what comes from those places, then. And from Egypt rigged sails and papyrus, and from Syria

frankincense. Fair Crete provides cypress for the gods and Libya much ivory for sale, and

Rhodes dried grapes and dried figs that bring sweet dreams. And again, from Euboea pears and

fat apples; slaves from Phrygia, mercenaries from Arcadia. Pagasae provides slaves and branded

runaways, while the Paphlagonians provide chestnuts and shiny almonds, which are the delights

of the feast. Phoenicia provides the fruit of the palm and fine flour, Carthage rugs and multi-

coloured head-cushions.18

This fragment from the comic playwright Hermippus, dated to 426-425 B.C.,

gives an amusing catalogue of the types of raw materials and luxury items imported to

17Hermippus, Fragment 63 in Athenaeus 1.27e-28a.18Translation by John Wilkins as quoted in Gilula 2000, pp. 78-79.


22/115

15

Athens during the period of her naval superiority.19

The goods listed are shipped in from

all over the Mediterranean world for sale and consumption within Athens. It offers

modern scholars an example of the profundity of commodities available from all over the

ancient western world, commodities that found their way into the markets and onto

banquet tables delivered by merchantmen plying the waves in commercial pursuit.

Although Hermippus fragment is comic in nature and not a harbormasters inventory of

cargoes taken for the collection of harbor dues, it nevertheless gives us a glimpse of the

traffic sailing in and out of the Piraeus during the late fifth century B.C. The ships listed

in the fragment sailed from every corner of the Mediterranean to find their market in

Athens, and the evidence being uncovered on the floors of the sea reflects the multi-

national trade and commerce that flourished during this time period.

In order to place the crew assemblage of the Tektas wreck into a context, the

equipment recovered from three other wrecks will be discussed below against which the

equipment on board the Tektas ship will be compared in the following chapter. What

follows is a brief discussion of three ships that carried the goods of the ancient world to

international markets: ships that sank off Israel, Italy, and Cyprus, but whose holds held

the merchandise of cities and nations located at distances from their final resting places.

These three ships were chosen for comparison because of their similarity to one another

and the Tektas ship in size and date, with each measuring in length from 12 to 17 meters

and dating from 430 to 300 BC. Each ship was determined to have been a trading vessel

by the presence of cargo and/or by the deep-bellied hull construction characteristic of

19For a discussion of the dating of this fragment and the genre into which it belongs, see Gilula 2000, pp.

75-90.


23/115

16

merchant ships.20

Moreover, because the excavators and scholars of these completely

excavated wreck sites21have published the wrecks fully or partially in preliminary

reports, there is information available which can be utilized in a comparison; of the very

few completely excavated wrecks dated to the fifth and fourth centuries, these are among

the only such wrecks for which there are available publications. The discussion below

will be particularly focused on examining the equipment needed on board these trading

vessels for the men who connected the cities and nations of the Mediterranean by means

of markets, purses, and appetites. A comparative study of crew assemblages and the

establishment of a standard corpus for on board equipment can aid our understanding of

how these trading vessels operated and were able to link the markets of the

Mediterranean.

Maagan Michael (430-390 BC)

A small merchant ship, 13-15 meters long, was discovered under only a couple

meters of water close to the shore of Israel near Kibbutz Maagan Michael in 1985 and

was subsequently excavated by E. Linder, A. Raban and J. Rosloff.22

A probable date

from the late fifth to early fourth centuries BC was deduced from the pottery found on

board.23 The origin of the ship may have been Phoenician, a possibility suggested by the

site location, ship construction, and pottery that originated from the Palestinian coastline,

20

For disscussion of merchantmen sizes, shapes, and characteristics, see DeVries and Katzev 1972, pp. 47-

48; 50-52; Casson 1995, pp. 169-182.21

As compared to some Classical wrecks where only a single or small number of two meter grid squares

were chosen for excavation. See, for example, Hadjidaki 1996.22

There has been no final excavation report published for this wreck. The best available sources are Parker

1992, p.247-248 and Linder 1992, pp. 24-35.23Linder 1992, p. 26; 32.


24/115

17

although the excavators have not been able to determine the ships origin with certainty.24

The hull of the ship was extremely well preserved with very little wear or teredo worm

damage, observations which have led the scholars to speculate that the ship sank on its

maiden voyage or soon thereafter. There was no discernible cargo onboard the ship;

rather, it was loaded with over twelve tons of ballast, most of which was schist slabs.

The only other items were a collection of cooking and utilitarian wares concentrated at

the ships stern for the use of the crew. This discovery is particularly important to the

study of shipboard items as without a load of cargo, the crew assemblage can be easily

recognized without the added effort of analyzing the layout of the ship and stowage of

cargo in order to determine what were crew utilitarian items and what were cargo items.

With the Maagan Michael we get a clear picture of what the crew would have kept on

board their ship for their own comfort and survival.

There were some seventy pottery vessels recovered, many of them complete,

dated to the fifth to fourth centuries B.C. and originating from Cyprus or the Palestinian

coastline, some with Greek parallels.25 As no final excavation report has been published,

there is no catalogue to which to refer for details of the vessels and their quantities.

Nevertheless, we know from the preliminary report that the pottery assemblage includes a

cooking pot, large plates, jugs, lamps, and a pithos. The exterior bottom of the recovered

24Linder 1992, p. 32; 34-35.25

It is interesting and worthwhile to note that while the pottery, wood species, and pollen all appear to haveoriginated from the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus, Levant, perhaps Greece, and the Phoenician coast), the

ballast stones, of five lithic types, could have come from the Tyrrhenian Sea, Corsica or Calabria.

Although the origin of the ballast has not been firmly established, and may in fact have been derived from

the same areas of the cargo, if the ballast did indeed come from the west, it does not mean the ship eversailed in the area of the ballasts origin. The stones would have been dumped at a port and left when a

cargo was taken onto the ship and new ballast could always be acquired at a different port, if needed. The

possibility of the stones western origin, however, and their discovery aboard an eastern Mediterranean ship

could nevertheless be an indicator of long distance trade and contact between the two regions during this

time period.


25/115

18

cooking pot was covered with enough soot to stain [the excavators] hands,26

indicating

that the vessel had already been used to prepare meals. There were also at least nine

storage jars of the basket handle type, some decorated amphorai, miniature juglets, and

black-glazed vessels, two of which were saltcellars. A whetstone was also recovered

from the site, which may have served in grinding grain for bread or herbs for meals.27

Food remains were also excavated and indicate the types of meals the sailors

would have consumed on board. The remnants include barley, as well as fig, grape, and

olive seeds.28

Pollen samples taken from the barley indicate the grain was an eastern

Mediterranean coastal variety that was usually grown in the summer.

29

This evidence

suggests that the ship was indeed sailing during the customary summer sailing season.30

No animal bones were reported to have been found, which suggests that the sailors

caught fish, as the lead fishing weights indicate, in order to fulfill their dietary needs for

protein.

Metal finds included a small copper shovel possibly used for incense, iron and

copper nails, lead fishing weights, and a lead ingot that could have been on board to use

as raw material for patching the hull or making fishing weights.31

In addition to the metal

finds were several woodworking tools found in and around a fiber basket, as well as rope,

remains of a mat, a quantity of treenails, tenons, toggles, a small woven basket, and a

wooden carpenters square;32

all likely kept on board in case repairs to the ship were

26

Linder 1992, p. 29.27

Linder 1992, p. 32.28

Linder 1992, pp. 32-33.29

Linder 1992, pp. 32-33.30

Linder 1992, pp. 32-33.31Linder 1992, p. 33.32Linder 1992, p. 32.


26/115

19

needed. Fresh wood chips and some unused wooden stakes were found in the bilge.33

Five unusual wooden boxes were recovered: one four inch, swivel-topped box of olive

wood shaped into a heart or leaf and having three circular compartments, and four

violin-shaped boxes. Linder34

has speculated that the boxes may have housed

cosmetics or jewelry while Parker35

postulated that the heart-shaped box could have held

weights.

If, in fact, there was no cargo onboard the Maagan Michael ship, the crew was

nevertheless prepared for a voyage and perhaps wrecked before the cargo could be

acquired. The excavation recovered a pithos, in which fresh water could have been

stored,36

and suggests that the ship was equipped to make voyages during which there

would not have been the need, and perhaps the opportunity, to come ashore in order to

rehydrate the sailors or refill smaller water storage vessels.

Porticello (400-390 BC)

In 1969 near the Italian village of Porticello, located on the shores of the Straits of

Messina, a local fisherman was snaring many rockfish with his nets. Thinking a reef was

concealed below, he asked a sport diver to investigate the seabed. It was not a reef,

however, but a shipwreck that the diver found. The fisherman then organized a group of

divers to help systematically loot the site.37

After having raised about a hundred

33Linder 1992, p. 32.34

Linder 1992, pp. 32-33.35

Parker 1992, p. 248.36

Pithoi are believed to have been used for storage of liquids or grain;Agora XII, p. 193. Their commonpresence on ships are often associated with the storage of fresh drinking water, as on the Yassi Ada ship,

Bass and van Doorninck 1982, pp. 315-316. The large storage jars could, however, also be used to carry

other contents. For example, ten pithoi were recovered from the Ulu Burun shipwreck, some of which

contained large quantities of Cypriot pottery, Pulak 1994, p. 242.37Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, pp. 3-4.


27/115

20

amphorai, small pottery vessels, anchors, and fragments of bronze sculpture, the looters

began to sell the artifacts. When, however, the divers and fisherman began to argue over

the division of the money made from the sales, one of the looters contacted the local

police. The looters were arrested, and Dottore Giuseppe Foti, the superintendent of

antiquities of Calabria, organized an investigation of the site. When the team realized

that much of the wreck was still concealed under the sand, Foti invited the University

Museum of the University of Pennsylvania and David I. Owen, assistant curator of the

Underwater Archaeology Section, to organize an expedition to excavate the remainder of

the wreck site.

38

The finds recovered from the wreck, as well as those that the police were able to

retrieve from the homes of the looters and those who had purchased the illegal artifacts,

have been fully published by Texas A&M press.39 The dating of the wreck to around the

beginning of the fourth century was deduced primarily from the black-glazed pottery

used by the crew, but also from the amphora cargo, and radiocarbon analysis of wood

samples.40 The ship was carrying amphorai with origins as diverse as the Northern

Aegean to Punic and Western Greek regions.41

Many superb specimens are discussed in

the publication, including the now-famous bronze statue of a bearded man, but my

38Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, p. 4.39Eiseman and Ridgway 1987.40

Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, pp. 24-25, 27-28, 31-33, 39. They state on pp. 31-32: The date of thewreck can best be determined by the pottery used by the crew for cooking and eating, as this material is

more likely to have a shorter life span aboard a ship than might the cargo amphoras.41

Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, p. 35, pp. 37-51. Again, the presence of such geographically varied

amphorai on board the ship does not necessarily determine that this ship visited each region, for it couldhave picked up its variegated cargo at main ports of trade like Athens. Porticellos scholars admit that it is

impossible to know whether this ship had sailed from Byzantion to Italy, but consider it technically

possible. They also entertain the ideas that it could have picked up its cargo at Athens and sailed west, or

simply was a western Mediterranean trader who picked up its wares in Syracuse and sold them locally. The

authors discuss the three possibilities in their concluding chapter, pp. 107-113.


28/115

21

discussion will focus only upon those artifacts which were excavated from the stern of

the ship and those determined by the scholars to have been the crew convenience items.42

Several examples of cooking, dining, and drinking vessels were recovered from

the wreck. The collection contained three or four black-glazed bolsals, one black-glazed

cup-skyphos with impressed decoration, one jug-like chytra, fragments of two or three

lidded chytrai or lopades, an oinochoe, and a mortar. In addition to the pottery, there

were also two whetstones and a wooden bowl excavated from the stern area. Evidence

for food consumption is supplemented by the discovery of two small fishing weights,

likely used for fishing with a line in shallow waters, and a bone from the fore-extremity

of a sheep or goat.43

Two black-glazed lamps were also retrieved and because the glaze

was deteriorated only on the interiors of the lamps, the Porticello authors believe the

deterioration was caused by use aboard the ship and not by the marine environment,

which would have resulted in a more even deterioration on the exterior as well as the

interior of the wells.44

In addition to the cooking and dining wares, several miscellaneous items were

recovered from the stern including an awl with an iron point set into a wooden handle,

which likely was used to repair the sails; a pyriform weight used for an unknown

purpose, but may have originally had a metal hook at the top and could have also been

42Unfortunately, because the site had been looted to some degree before archaeologists could map and

excavate the wreck, some of the items lack a provenience. The authors, however, do list which items were

recovered from the site and which were recovered from the looters or the black market. On p. 26 they note,

All the utilitarian pottery recovered by the excavation team came from the northern extremity of theexcavation area. The Carabinieri reported that they retrieved the lamps (G5-6), oinochoe (G11), and chytra

(G8) from this part of the site as well. Items other than pottery aboard the ship for the crews convenience

also recovered from this area included the awl (G15) and the wooden bowl (G14). We cannot know now

for certain from what part of the wreck came the mortar (G10) or the whetstones (G12-13), but it is notunreasonable to suppose that they would have been kept in the stern storage area as well.43

Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, p. 36 discuss the bone and state, Since the bone was retrieved from an area

of the site that had been heavily plundered, it is impossible to state whether or not it was intrusive. If not, it

can best be accounted for as having been from the crews food.44Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, p. 29.


29/115

22

used for fishing; five lead and silver cake ingots and one hundred and twenty-two lead

and silver nuggets which could have been trade items, counterfeit bullion, or raw material

for making fishing weights and brailing rings for the sail or for patching the hull. The

ingots and nuggets were concentrated in an area with the fishing weights, which suggests

that the items were stored in a container that has since disintegrated, much like the metal

finds and woodworking tools excavated from a deteriorating basket on the Maagan

Michael. A metal box, perhaps used as some type of mold, and a wood-and-metal oval

of unknown function, but speculated to have been part of the cargo sculpture, were also

retrieved.

These utilitarian items provide a useful example of the type of assemblage needed

on board for a successful journey. It included not only vessels for cooking and dining,

but also tools for food preparation, like the whetstones and mortar. In addition, there is

evidence for provision acquisition, as the fishing weights suggest a means by which the

sailors could supplement their stores with fresh fish. The excavators speculate that, in

addition to the oinochoe, other table wares and storage vessels, which would have likely

held oil, wine and other vitals, would have been stored in the stern area but did not

survive or were removed by the looters and could not be recovered.45

Missing from the assemblage is a pithos, whose presence would be a useful

indicator of the need for a fresh water storage vessel and thus perhaps indicate a sustained

voyage. An informant, however, mentioned that the looters had removed a very large

jar and it is thought that this was likely a pithos. Such a storage container may well

have been needed if indeed the ship traveled to any of the ports from where the amphorai

cargo originated, namely the Northern Aegean (Mende and Byzantion), Punic, and

45Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, pp. 33-34.


30/115

23

Western Greek regions. Although it must be noted that such a diverse cargo may have

been taken on board at a nearby emporion like Syracuse.

Kyrenia (306-300 BC)

This Hellenistic merchantman was excavated by Michael Katzev off the northern

coast of Cyprus near Kyrenia from 1969 to 1972 and has drawn much publicity during

the succeeding decades due, in part, to the extensive study invested into the hull, which

resulted in the construction of a full-size replica of the ship.

46

Over four hundred

amphorai, which were pitch-lined for the transportation of liquid and primarily originated

from Rhodes, were recovered from the site. Additionally, there were several amphorai

from Samos, Paros, Crete and Palestine. Twenty-nine grinding stones of a hopper design

were used as ballast along the axis of the ship.47

The age of the ship and the date of its sinking were determined by Carbon-14

analysis and coins found at the site. The Carbon-14 analysis of almonds found on board

points to a date of 288 62 B.C.48

The same analysis of the wood used for the hull

points to a date of 389 44 B.C. for when the trees were felled.49

Four bronze coins

were found that could better pinpoint the time period of the ships final voyage. One coin

was minted in the time of Antigonos Monophthalmos (316-301 B.C.), and another from

the time of his son, Demetrios Poliorketes (306-294 B.C.).

50

These coins, therefore, give

46

For the construction of the replica and her surprising success during sea trials, see Katzev and Katzev1986, pp. 2-11; 1989 pp. 4-10.47

Katzev 1970, p. 8; Swiny and Katzev 1973, p. 342.48

Katzev 1970, p. 14.49Katzev 1970, p. 14.50Katzev 1970, pp. 8-9.


31/115

24

a terminus post quemfor the sinking of the ship of 306 B.C. after the time when

Demetrios Poliorketes coin would have been minted. The date suggested by the coins

agrees with the range of dates provided by the analysis of the almonds. The Carbon-14

analysis of the hull planking suggests that the ship itself had been sailing the seas for

some ninety years when it finally sank below the waves off the coast of Cyprus.51

As for the crew assemblage, there were two concentrations of coarsewares and

finewares in the bow and stern areas, which must have served both as the living spaces

for the men and the storage for their equipment on board.52

Although there was no

discernible galley or evidence that cooking took place on board the ship, several food

preparation and cooking items were discovered in the stern, including a bronze cauldron,

a mortar, fragments of a pottery sieve, several broken cooking pots, and two casserole

lids.53 Drink service included three black-glazed pitchers and a pottery ladle (which may

have been used in either cooking or drink service). All four black-glazed kantharoi were

found forward and aft of the main cargo area, which has led Katzev to deduce that the

ships drinking water must also have been kept in this area, although no pithos was found

on the wreck.54

These kantharoi, however, may rather suggest that communal wine

drinking took place among the sailors while on voyage.

51Katzev and Katzev 1986, pp. 4-5: during the excavation, a number of concreted iron blobs were

recovered from underneath the hull which, when conserved, were found to be eight iron spearheads, someof which had pieces of the ships iron sheathing attached. Kyrenias scholars believe that these spearheads

were fixed into the hull at the time of the ships sinking and provide evidence that the merchantman was

attacked and sunk by pirates. This scenario, Katzev and Katzev add, would also explain why there was a

paucity of coins, small trade goods and personal items excavated as these would have been confiscated bythe pirates, along with the crew who would have been sold into slavery, before they punctured the hull to

sink the ship.52

Katzev 1972, p. 50; 1973, pp. 344-345.53Katzev 1972 p. 50; 1973, p. 345.54Katzev 1972, p. 50.


32/115

25

The assemblage of eating and dining utensils, excavated from the stern area,

contained thirteen black-glazed echinus bowls, an assortment of flat black-glazed dishes,

four saltcellars, four gutti (oil jars), a wooden bowl, and fragments of four wooden

spoons. It is thought that the crew may have numbered four as most of the dining dishes

and drinking vessels were found in groups of that same number. Katzev also speculates

that wooden utensils may have been used with much more frequency onboard ancient

ships than the extant evidence suggests.55 The marine conditions were extremely

favorable for the preservation of both the hull and wooden objects. This environment

affords scholars a glimpse into shipboard life that is otherwise not often available because

of the rapid deterioration of unprotected wood in the marine environment.

In addition to the cooking and dining wares, a fragment of a lamp was retrieved

which offers evidence for the need for light, however limited, on the ship. As a single

lamp would have offered only a limited amount of light, Katzev believes the ship did not

likely run at night.56

Twelve unhewn tree limbs were found in the stern of the ship; one

can easily imagine this material being used to make a fire for cooking meals on a shore or

beach, as no brazier or galley was found to lend evidence that meal preparation could

have taken place within the ship herself. Without a galley or similar protected area where

a fire might safely be built on board a wooden ship, the men must have cooked their

meals off the ship to avoid setting it ablaze. Much rigging equipment was likewise

recovered from the seafloor and, as on the Maagan Michael, several tools for repairing

the ship. The hull itself was entirely sheathed in lead from its keel up to and above the

waterline. The merchantman appears to have been about eighty to ninety years old when

55Swiny and Katzev 1973, p. 345.56Katzev 1972, p. 50.


33/115

26

it sank and had been repaired several times.57

Naturally, there was need to keep on hand

the tools and equipment necessary should the hull need further work, and this is

evidenced by the presence of several rolls of surplus lead as well as mallets which could

be used to repair the lead patching and keep the aged ship watertight.58

Other interesting finds included an ink well59

and a marble pedestal; the use of

latter is still undetermined. A quantity of over three hundred lead fishing weights was

uncovered in the fore of the ship and in such an arrangement that suggests they were once

attached to a net that has since disintegrated.60

The reoccurrence of fishing weights

onboard ancient merchant vessels is becoming more and more apparent; this seems

natural as there would undoubtedly be excess time spent on the ship during which the

men could easily utilize such opportunities to supplement their food stores with fish that

would not only be fresh source of protein, but would not have to be purchased from a

market. Over nine thousand almonds were found in the bow of the ship grouped in such

a way that indicates they were once stored in sacks or baskets;61

these may have been

consumed by the crew themselves or were intended for sale.

Other remnants of food found on the Kyrenia provide important clues to the

sailors provisions at sea. In addition to the almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, olives, garlic,

grapes, figs, and dried herbs were found creating a list of ingredients that, along with the

57Katzev 1972 p. 52.58Katzev 1972, p. 5259Quotations are those of Katzev 1973, p. 345. This ink well has been only mentioned in passing by

Kyrenias scholars and no image or drawing of the vessel has been published. If it is indeed an ink well, itis impossible to know with the given evidence whether its presence on the ship indicates literacy on board.

Only the one ink well was reported to have been recovered from Kyrenia, whereas at Porticello there were

eight inkpots excavated from the cargo hold. Their quantity and location on the Porticello ship led its

scholars to conclude these were transporting ink for sale. For a discussion of the Porticello inkpots and theancient sources for ink in antiquity, see Eiseman and Ridgway 1987, pp. 60-62. Agora XXIX, p. 199,

identifies small closed pots with a hole in the center of the top as probable ink wells. The identification of

these vessels as ink wells is strengthen by finds that still contain remains of ink,Agora XXIX, p. 199.60Swiny and Katzev 1973, p. 345.61Katzev 1970, p. 8; Swiny and Katzev 1973, pp. 343-344.


34/115

27

fish caught by the sailors, formed a basic, but varied menu.62

No animal bones were

found during the excavation that would indicate that meat was a part of the sailors diet.

The Kyrenia carried eleven different types of amphorai, eight of which may

represent supplies for the crew. Only those from Rhodes and Samos can be confidently

classified as part of the cargo as their number and location in the hold suggest two

separate consignments intended for markets. Eight other types of amphorai were

uncovered, but they were either found in small numbers or only a single jar of one type

was uncovered. Katzev speculates that these singular and small groups of jars carried the

foodstuffs needed by the crew for the voyage; their rarity on the ship can otherwise only

be explained as carrying rare commodities for sale.63

Unfortunately, the final excavation

report has yet to be published for this wreck, although several preliminary reports have

entered circulation. It would be greatly beneficial to know whether the singular examples

of amphorai were stowed and concentrated in a separate area on the ship, from which one

can better argue that these jars were stored in such a way to facilitate crew access.

Comparing the Data

Each of these ships was excavated from different regions of the eastern and

western Mediterrean. Nevertheless, these three ships, sailing the Mediterranean waters

within a hundred and fifty years of one another, have a remarkable number of similarities

among them. The ships were similar in length, with the Maagan Michael and the

Kyrenia being smaller, at 13-15 meters and 13.6 meters respectively, than the Porticello,

which is estimated at about 17 meters in length. Each ship, however, had a displacement

62Katzev and Katzev 1986, p.10.63Katzev 1972, p. 50.


35/115

28

between twenty to thirty tons. Below is a table illustrating each ships date, location, size

and cargo, as determined by the excavators.

Ship Date Location Size Cargo

Maagan

Michael

430-390 Kibbutz Maagan

Michael, Israel

13-15 m None discernible.

12 tons of ballast

Porticello 400-390 Porticello, Italy 16-17 m Mendean, Punic,

West Greek, andSolokha II

amphorai; leadingots; inkpots;

bronze sculpture

Kyrenia 306-300 Kyrenia, Cyprus ca. 14 m Rhodian, Samian,

Parian (?), Cretan

(?),

and Palestinian (?)

amphorai;

grindingstones; almonds

(?)

Table 1. The excavated ships with respective dates, excavation locations, size, and cargo. Items with ?

may not have been cargo.

Although the cargo of each ship varied from one another to some degree, with the

Maagan Michael carrying only ballast stones at the time of its sinking, the equipment

on board each trader for the crews convenience was noticeably very similar. Each ship

had an assortment of cooking and food preparation wares that included chytrai, casseroles

and cauldrons for cooking stews, some with charring still preserved on the vessels

bottom, mortars, likely used for grinding herbs, sieves, and whetstones for sharpening

tools. Drinking assemblages always included drinking cups or kantharoi for drinking


36/115

29

wine and water, and often oinochoai. Dining wares included plates and bowls, mainly

black-glazed with little or no decoration, which were used by the men during the meal.

Saltcellars and oil jugs accompanied the dining wares for the meals and there was always

one or two lamps found to provide a limited amount of light. A wooden bowl was

excavated on both the Kyrenia and the Porticello, and wooden utensils were also found

on the Kyrenia. It is likely that such wooden tableware was more common on trading

ships than the material evidence suggests, as wood is often unable to survive in the

marine environment.

Fishing weights were found on each of the three ships, pointing to the evidently

common practice of augmenting the sailors diets with fresh fish caught and consumed

along the course of a voyage as a low cost source of protein. Aside from the single sheep

or goat bone found at Porticello, which may have been intrusive,64there was no other

evidence for meat taken on board these three ships. The food remains that have survived

all point to a similar diet of fish, olives, wine, nuts, grain, and fruit, which was perhaps

dried. On the Kyrenia, herbs and garlic were also found, evidence that does not often

survive to modern times, but the extremely favorable marine conditions in which the ship

was found give us a broader look at the quality of meals which the men could enjoy while

trading. Below is a table itemizing the different categories of crew utilitarian items for

each ship. The terminology for the vessels has been adapted from the excavators reports

as often no illustrations or images of the vessels were published. The items were

assigned to categories based on the most likely primary use for each item; i.e. a cooking

pot was primarily used for cooking a meal although it could have theoretically have been

used for other purposes, as for instance, dining from the vessel.

64See p. 21 and note 43 above.


37/115

30

Ship

Maagan

Michael Porticello Kyrenia

Food

Preparation

whetstone whetstones;

mortar

mortar;

pottery sieve

Cooking cooking pot chytrai;

lopades

bronzecauldron;

cooking pots;

pottery

ladle (?);

tree limbs

Dining plates;

jugs (?);saltcellars;

black-

glazed vessels

wooden bowl black-glazed

echinus bowls;black-glazed

flat dishes;

saltcellars;

gutti;

wooden bowl;

wooden

spoons

Drinking pithos;

jugs (?)

pithos;

black-

glazed

bolsals; cup-

skyphos;

oinochoe

black-

glazed

kantharoi;

black-

glazed

pitchers;

potteryladle (?)

Food barley;

figs; grapes;

olives

sheep or

goat bone

almonds (?);

pistachios;

hazelnuts;

olives;

garlic;

grapes;

figs; dried

herbs

Fishing

gear

weights weights weights with

net


38/115

31

Ship repair

tools and

misc.

equipment

lamp; baskets;

wooden boxes;

nails; shovel;

lead ingot;

carpenterssquare;

toggles;

treenails;

tenons; rope;

mat

lamps; lead

and silver

ingots and

nuggets; metal

box; awl

lamp; ink well;

marble

pedestal;

rolled sheets of

lead; mallets

Table 2. Crew assemblage items from each ship categorized by primary use. Items with ? may belong to

another category.

None of the ships provided any evidence of a galley or on board cooking, but each

had cooking wares. As the unhewn tree limbs found in the stern of the Kyrenia suggest,

the sailors would likely put ashore, either in port or on a stretch of beach, and make a fire

over which the cooking could take place. Dining was likely then done on or near the ship

itself, where the equipment and supplies were all housed. It should further be noted that,

although the exact identities of these sailors is impossible to determine, there has never

been any reference in the ancient evidence to the presence of women on board these ships

as part of the crew. It can be inferred, therefore, that the cooking must have been done by

the men themselves, although it is possible that the task was relegated to a slave on board

the ship. The numbers of utilitarian vessels uncovered suggest a small crew for each of

the ships, likely around four men per ship, perhaps numbering only a few more.

The days would have been occupied with sailing, fishing, and repairs that the

voyage necessitated, as woodworking tools and spare rigging parts often formed part of

the stern area equipment. Nights possibly were spent ashore, as very few lamps seemed

to have been kept on board likely ruling out night sailing, but this cannot be stated as fact.

We simply do not know how much sailing could be done by star and moonlight. Pithoi,

possibly for water storage, were found on the Porticello and the Maagan Michael,


39/115


40/115

33

Chapter Three:

Analysis of the Tektas Burnu Shipwreck

The ship that wrecked off the rocky Ionian coast ca. 425 B.C. is the only

merchantman from the Greek Classical era that has been fully excavated in Aegean

waters. Much like the ships discussed in the previous chapter, the Tektas ship was of a

modest 12-15 meters in length and carried a varied cargo of amphorai and black-glazed

fineware. The small number of cooking, dining, and drinking vessels recovered from this

wreck points to a small crew that would have manned the ship. In order to place this

crew assemblage in the context of those discussed in Chapter Two, we must first look at

and analyze the material that was retrieved from this ship.

The majority of the utilitarian wares and small finds on board the Tektas ship

were excavated from the stern while a few other crew convenience items were found at

the bow. As the analysis of the shipwrecks in the previous chapter indicates, these two

areas, the bow and stern, are evidently the most typical spaces in which the sailors stowed

their belongings and equipment. As discussed in Chapter One, the items that were

categorized as utilitarian were designated as such either by their location on the wreck in

the bow or stern of the ship, by the singular occurrence of an item, and/or by significant

evidence of use.

The stern of the Tektas ship was located downslope and furthest from the cliff

against which the ship likely punctured its hull. The bow was upslope and closest to the

cliff face.66

Two marble ophthalmoi, or eyes, excavated in the upslope area, gave

66Carlson 2003, pp. 594-596 and fig. 4, p. 585.


41/115

34

certainty in identifying the bow of the ship.67

These talismanic eyes, which were fixed to

the bow by large, clenched iron nails, are commonly depicted on the bow of ships in vase

paintings and other artistic depictions of ships.68

Those recovered from the Tektas ship,

however, are the only such ophthalmoithat have been found in a shipwreck excavation.

When the merchantman sank, the hull apparently came to rest on the tops of two large

out-croppings of rock. As the hull disintegrated over time, the cargo came to rest on the

sandy sea floor between the rocks. When this occurred, part of the stern broke away from

the ship and items stored there tumbled further down the slope.

Much like the merchantmen discussed in the previous chapter, the Tektas ship

carried a variety of cooking vessels in the ships stern.69

A lidded chytra (11), lopas (17),

and casserole (18) were all uncovered in close proximity to each other. The bottoms of

each of these three vessels are covered with a significant amount of charring on exterior

and interior, similar to the cooking pot on the Maagan Michael shipwreck.70

One

complete (12) and three partial knob-topped lids (13-15) as well as a large coarseware lid

(19)possibly belonging to a lekanis (5) were also found in this area, all likely

components of the cooking assemblage. A nearly complete mortar (8) was recovered and

provides further evidence for food preparation carried out by the crew; although mortars

67

Nowak 1999, pp. 10-11; Carlson 2003, pp. 594-595.68Casson 1995 figs. 81, 82, 91 show such eyes on merchantmen; figs. 65-68, 72, 81-85, 88-90 show

warships with prows armored with rams in the shape of boars heads complete with similar eyes.69

Two chytrai and a lopas, with a complete and a partial lid, were also found closer to the bow. These

three pots show no sign of use and may have been intended for sale, or were spare cooking vessels kept incase a replacement was needed. The chytrai were chemically analyzed by Curt Beck of the Amber

Research Laboratory at Vassar College. One of the largest chytrai on board (9) was recovered from the

bow of the ship, and Becks analysis shows that it contained resinated wine. For further discussion of

chytra 9 and the results of Becks analysis, see Chapter Four, pp. 57-58.70Linder 1992, p. 29.


42/115

35

are commonly associated with making bread,71

they were more probably used on ships to

grind herbs and other such meal components.

Although only one plate (7) survived to provide possible evidence for the manner

by which the crew consumed their meals, it is more likely that this plate was used as a

type of serving dish. The use of plates by individuals at a meal was not ordinary practice

during the Classical period; rather, it was more common for individual diners to use

wooden vessels, bread, or possibly one-handlers72to hold their food.73 Plates do not

often occur in the archaeological record until the Hellenistic Period and only then in some

regions of the Mediterranean.

74

There may once have been wooden dining vessels on the

Tektas ship, as were on both the Porticello and Kyrenia ships discussed in Chapter Two.

There were, however, no such wooden vessels found during the Tektas excavation,

although it must be noted that the marine environment in which the ship was excavated

was unfavorable for the prospect of wood preservation. Very little of the hull itself

remained, and what wooden items and hull components did survive were very

fragmentary and scrappy. It is quite possible, then, that there were wooden bowls or

utensils which the crew utilized during mealtime that simply did not survive the marine

conditions while the plate itself was primarily utilized for serving food.

There was one unglazed saltcellar (6) recovered from the stern with stain and

wear patterns found along the rim of the salt well. The pattern is such that it suggests the

71

For discussion of this primary use of mortars, seeAgoraXII, p. 221, and note 2.72Agora XII, p. 124.73Agora XII, p. 144.

74Berlin 1999, p. 89 discusses plates found in the Lower City of Ilion and notes that because so few

examples were found in comparison to the quantity of drinking vessels and because there was a widevariety in shape and fabric, plates and saucers were relatively unimportant to this areas residents, who

instead must have relied on small bowls and, undoubtedly, bread to hold their food; the few plates they

owned were clearly sporadic, individual acquisitions. It may indeed be a similar case on board the Tektas.

With only one half of one plate recovered, it is most probable that the crew ate their meal off bowls and

dishes that have since disintegrated and that the plate was utilized as a serving dish, perhaps for fish.


43/115

36

vessel had been often used by fingers pinching a substance from the well drawn along the

interior wall to the rim. The saltcellar has a concave exterior wall on a narrow, shallow

flaring foot, which is recessed underneath. In this recessed area below the well and

above the foot, there are two small holes piercing the fabric. This saltcellar could have

been chosen for use on the ship because these holes could serve as a means by which the

vessel could be suspended and stored in such a way as to preserve space on the small

ship. I have been able to find only one parallel for this saltcellar shape with the two

holes. The parallel is nearly exact to the Tektas saltcellar and was uncovered during land

excavations at Klazomenai, which is located near the final resting place of the Tektas

ship.75

The crews small assemblage of wares would have experienced daily use and as a

result from wear and damage would have often needed replacement. These replacements

would either be brought on board at the start of the sailing season at the first venture or

would be replaced as needed in the ships ports of call. Determining the provenience of

such items, however, is often exceedingly difficult as most of the vessels are undecorated

or black-glazed vessels of a more common variety. Regional production of such vessels

with little or no decoration and in shapes that are found all over the Mediterranean

provide little help in identifying production sites. There are often, however, subtle

differences in fabric and details in shape that can provide clues to production sites when

analyzed against comparanda. Analyses of these simple vessels, black-glazed and

coarseware, have usually been neglected in earlier excavation reports devoted to more

intense study of decorated vessels and amphorai where proveniences can be puzzled out

with more certainty, due to a longer tradition of scholarly research. This trend, however,

75Gungor 1994, no. 082, p. 30 and, p. 86 (illus.).


44/115

37

is beginning to change. One only has to look at the compelling study of Andrea Berlin on

coarsewares from Hellenistic Tel Anafa to see how much such investigations have to

offer, in spite of the great challenge of the endeavor. The publication of the plain and

coarsewares from Tektas will add to the growing corpus of published undecorated vessels

to further add investigations into regional pottery production and distribution.

The Tektas saltcellar is not of a common variety. As mentioned, only one other

parallel has thus far been found. Because this unique parallel suggests that the Tektas

saltcellar may have been acquired by one of the crew near Klazomenai, it is very likely

that the ship was indeed operating around this peninsula on a fairly regular basis. As

discussed above, the ship likely took on her main cargo at Erythrai, itself located within

close proximity to Klazomenai, and was sailing towards an undetermined port south of

the peninsula. The saltcellar on board, once more, does not appear brand new and

unused. It is possible, therefore, that the ship had previously sailed in this area and had

visited the port of Erythrai. In fact, it is possible that this was the peninsula where the

crewmen themselves lived and operated their trade here on a regular basis. This can,

however, only be cautiously suggested as a possibility, but one that both the Erythrian

cargo and the Klazomenaian saltcellar suggest as feasible.

No pithos was found on board Tektas to hold the ships fresh water as there was at

Porticello and Maagan Michael.76

Its absence may indicate that the ship did not

undertake long distance trading over open waters, but sailed within proximity to coastal

areas and places where the crew knew where and how to collect fresh water.77

Indeed, if

76

Pithoi have been reported at numerous shipwreck sites. See, for example, entries in Parker 1992 pp. 220,

224, 229, 282, 292-293, 392-394, 405, 412, and 439-440.77In Athenaeus description of a fanciful grain-freighter commissioned by Hieron of Syracuse, he includes

a report of a fresh water tank with a twenty thousand gallon capacity that was built into the bow. It was


45/115

38

the ship operated around this peninsula on a regular basis, no large water storage vessel

would have been needed by the crew, who plausibly would know the area well enough to

be able to supply themselves with fresh water.

Drink service vessels were, however, uncovered. A banded hydria (3) was found

in the stern and a jug (4) was found in the bow area. Four bronze rim fragments (26-29),

all with an egg-and-dart decoration stamped onto the rim, were found near a fragmentary

bronze vessel bottom (30). The decoration and estimated circumference, found by

placing the fragments on a diameter chart, find parallels with buckets uncovered during

land and underwater excavations.

78

Further downslope, in the concentration of stern

items that fell away from the ship when the hull disintegrated, two bronze bucket handles

(24-25)and a bronze duck head ladle (31) were uncovered. The size and length of the

handles almost certainly suggest that they once belonged to the same vessel as the bronze

rims. Bronze buckets have been found on numerous shipwreck excavations, and the

vessel may have been standard equipment for ship voyages.79

Whether the bucket was

used for drink service or tasks on board, such as removing water from the bilge, has not

been determined. Its proximity to the duck head ladle and its ornamentation, however,

suggest that its primary function was centered on drink service. It may have served as a

vessel in which wine could be mixed during communal drinking, or could have simply

built with wooden planks, caulked with pitch, and lined with tarpolins (5.208a). Although Athenaeusdescription of the Syracuse ship is embellished with extravagance, his short discussion of the unexciting

water tank could likely have some basis in truth. Both Tektas and Kyrenia must have been carrying a

heavy load of perishable goods at the bow in order for the ships to have been properly trimmed. As neither

excavation yielded the discovery of pithoi aboard, it is possible that these ships could have had a holdingtank for fresh water similar to that described by Athenaeus.78

See Chapter 5 below, nos. 22-29, for comparanda and discussion of each individual bronze item.79

See, for example, Hadjidaki 1996, pp. 585-586. See also Parker 1996, pp. 88, 173, 183, 199, 392.

Casson 1995, p. 176 and note 42 discusses the use of buckets for bailing out bilge water, but says nothing

of their shape, material, or other possible uses.


46/115

39

aided in fresh water service. Several Greek vases depict duck head ladles being used to

fill cups with wine from amphorai, kraters, and other liquid containers.80

The question concerning the types of cups the crew used for communal drinking

of wine is more complex. Eleven kantharoi were excavated from the sea floor, all of

which were black-glazed. Nine of the eleven are of similar profile and formal details,81

four were found in the bow, three in the stern, and two amidships. These nine kantharoi,

however, are believed to have been cargo for several reasons. Although it is possible that

the crew could have kept extra kantharoi on board in case of breakage or for entertaining

guest passengers on board or on shore, it is more likely that the vessels were part of the

fineware cargo that included table amphorai, lamps, and one-handlers. The kantharoi

show no sign of use, and some are in such fine condition that the black glaze is

completely intact (see Pl. 3). Additionally, the quantity of kantharoi was similar to that

of the table amphorai, lamps, and one-handlers, suggesting a consignment of finewares

that was perhaps intended to be sold as sets. The distribution throughout the hold of the

ship of the table amphorai, lamps, and one-handlers was similar to that of these nine

kantharoi. The large number of kantharoi, moreover, could not indicate that eleven men

were on board, indeed, the small size of the ship speaks against this.

On the other hand, two of the eleven excavated kantharoi were different from the

other nine kantharoi. One of these two kantharoi was excavated from the bow and the

other from the stern. The kantharos excavated from the bow (1) has vertical handles, a

ring foot, and three bands of stamped decorations on the body; the top and bottom bands

are ovules, while the middle band shows a series of palmettes. The other unique

80

Richter 1935, p. 8, 13; Smith 1896, E 65; Williams [1985] 1999, no. 62g, p. 84; Vickers 1978, fig. 26 and

text. See Chapter Five, entry 31and comparanda.81See plate 3.


47/115

40

kantharos (2), excavated near the duck head ladle, had a ring foot and a sharply angled

body. These two kantharoi were likely the personal possessions of crewmen and may

indicate that there were only two men on board this ship. It should be kept in mind that

Kyrenia is thought to have only had four men aboard, as the crews dining dishes and

utensils were found in groups of four,82

and that ships size was a bit larger than that of

Tektas, therefore suggesting that this ship could have run with fewer than four men and

very likely did not run with an eleven man crew.

In addition to the kantharoi, seven large one-handled cups and seven small one-

handled cups all of similar profile and formal elements were uncovered, all of which

were located in the stern in close proximity to one another. Two smal

Date post:	03-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	mizonyx
View:	218 times
Download:	0 times

Trego, K.M.. Life on Board- A Comparative Study of the Shipboard Items From Four Classical to Early...

Documents