The shipsheds of Sicilian Naxos, researches 1998–2001: a preliminary report

2003 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 387-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blackman ◽  
Maria Costanza Lentini

Remains discovered in excavations at Naxos in 1981–3, underlying structures belonging to the settlement which has been recognized as the mansio mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, have now been firmly identified as the dockyard of the Greek city, the first Greek colony in Sicily and a Chalcidian foundation; an ally of Athens in the fifth century, it was therefore destroyed by Dionysios I of Syracuse in 403 BC. One rock-cut shipshed has been excavated for its surviving length (the lower end is lost under modern buildings); there is pottery evidence for the construction of its north wall in the mid-fifth century BC.As with the installation of the democracy after the return of the Chalcidian exiles from Leontinoi, the work may have been inspired and encouraged by Athens. Installations of an earlier phase are also starting to appear. A selection of pottery evidence and of the remains of roof components (tiles and antefixes) is published.The side walls of at least four shipsheds have been found just inside the city wall, and these respect the orientation of the fifth-century urban plan. The clear width of the shipshed excavated (5.45 m) confirms the evidence of other recent excavations: the previously held view that trireme shipsheds had a clear width of 5.75–6 m will have to be revised. The back 5–6 m of the shipshed do not seem to have been part of the slipway proper; possible explanations are suggested.

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 85-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wilson ◽  
Paul Bennett ◽  
Ahmed Buzaian ◽  
Ted Buttrey ◽  
Kristian Göransson ◽  
...  

AbstractThe fourth season of the current project at Euesperides (Benghazi) took place in Spring 2002. Excavations continued in Areas P, Q and R, accompanied by limited augering work to determine the limits of surviving archaeology to the south of the Sidi Abeid mound. Excavations in Area P revealed part of a courtyard house from the penultimate phase of the site, with a probableandronandgunaikon. Its destruction is dated to after 261 BC. In Area Q work concentrated on the dismantling of street deposits and associated flanking houses from the later phases of the city's life; a soakaway drainage feature under the street was also investigated. The sequence of city wall circuits and their post-abandonment robbing was clarified. In Area R excavations established the structure of the mound of deposits deriving from the production of purple dye fromMurex trunculusshellfish, and its relationship to the robbed-out walls of the courtyard building within which this activity occurred. The processing of ceramic finds underlines the active trading contacts enjoyed by Euesperides, with most of the fine pottery and a fifth of the coarse pottery being imported from overseas, and transport amphorae ranging in origin from the Straits of Gibraltar to the northern Aegean. The coin finds confirm that the city was abandoned after the death of Magas (258/250 BC); and it appears that the Herakles types, common at the site, were minted there under Thibron (323–322/322 BC).


1975 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Hurst

SummaryIn the first season of excavation by a British team participating in the UNESCO Save Carthage Project, two sites in the harbour area and one inland were examined. On the site on the island in the circular harbour, the remains probably of the νεώρια described by Appian succeeded earlier Punic occupation periods and were in turn followed by two successive Roman temples and a building, probably a pharos, associated with the second temple. After this, there appears to have been domestic or commercial occupation in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. On the north shore of the circular harbour, remains of the late Roman quayside and associated streets and buildings were found. On the inland site, situated to the south of the Roman street grid, there were the remains of third–fifth-century and fifth–sixth-century buildings fronting a street and backed by a substantial wall identified as the city wall constructed in the reign of Theodosius II.


2008 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 299-366
Author(s):  
Maria Costanza Lentini ◽  
David Blackman ◽  
Jari Pakkanen

This paper presents the results of the second and main period of excavation. The limits of the site were defined: a monumental building with four covered slipways or shipsheds, flanking another major public building, quite possibly the agora. Preliminary conclusions based on the 2001 excavation of the northernmost shipshed (BSA 2003) can be supplemented and modified.The surprising discovery was ramps of sand, resurfaced several times during the second half of the fifth century. Shipsheds 3–4 produced evidence of two architectural phases, with the back- and side-walls moved upslope, and the ramps now ending in an upswinging curve.The existence of an early phase in the dockyard, already indicated in 2001, was confirmed. The later roof of Corinthian type, without decoration (second half of fifth century), was preceded by a roof of the late sixth–early fifth century BC, attested in particular by a remarkable series of antefixes, both Sileni and Gorgoneia, found in every shed, with some concentration in sheds 2 and 3, and with a number of other architectural terracottas (all described in the catalogue). The excavation context shows that this material comes from the same roof, indicating the very unusual combination of Silenus mask and Gorgon mask antefixes.Other finds are more briefly discussed. Remains of red and blue pigment show that ships were painted in the shipsheds. Pottery finds provide considerable evidence of drinking; so do some graffiti, while others may be ostraka for a selection procedure (possibly ostracism). A scatter of arrow-heads and a few spear-heads have been found in the working levels of the ramps.The case is put for shipsheds as monumental architecture, with some specifically Sicilian features. Comparative material for use of wooden posts and post-pits is discussed, and also the use of mudbrick.A three-dimensional computer reconstruction of the shipshed complex is illustrated, and some particular aspects discussed (lighting and drainage of water from the roof). The reconstruction preferred has a separate stepped ridged roof over shipsheds 1–2 and 3–4.Η παρούσα ανακοίνωση παρουσιάζει τα αποτελέσματα της δεύτερης και κύριας ανασκαφικής περιόδου. Τα όρια που καθορίστηκαν στον ανασκαφικό χώρο ήταν: ένα κτίριο μνημειακής αρχιτεκτονικής με τέσσερα στεγαζόμενα νεώρια ή νεωσοίκους, το οποίο βρισκεται πλευρικά σε ένα άλλο μεγάλο δημόσιο κτίριο, κατά πάσα πιθανότητα την αγορά. Τα αρχικά συμπεράσματα που βασίζονται στις ανασκαφές του 2001 στο βορειότερο νεώσοικο (BSA 2003) μπορούν να συμπληρωθούν και να τροποποιηθούν.Η απροσδόκητη ανακάλυψη ήταν τα κεκλιμμένα επίπεδα (ράμπες) από άμμο, τα οποία επιστρώθηκαν ξανά αρκετές φορές κατά τη διάρκεια του δεύτερου μισού του 5ου αιώνα. Οι νεώσοικοι 3–4 παρείσχαν ενδείξεις δύο αρχιτεκτονικών φάσεων, με τους οπίσθιους και πλαϊνούς τοίχους μετακινημένους προς την πλαγιά του λόφου και τα κεκλιμμένα επίπεδα να καταλήγουν τώρα σε μία ανωφερική καμπύλη.Η ύπαρξη μίας πρωιμότερης φάσης στο νεώριο, που είχε ήδη επισημανθεί το 2001, επιβεβαιώθηκε. Της ύστερης στέγης κορινθιακού τύπου χωρίς διακόσμηση (δεύτερο μισό του 5ου αιώνα) προηγήθηκε μία στέγη του ύστερου 6ου-πρώιμου 5ου αιώνα π.Χ., η οποία πιστοποιήθηκε ειδικότερα από μία εντυπωσιακή σειρά από ακροκέραμα, με μορφές Σειληνών και Гοργόνεια, τα οποία βρέθηκαν σε κάθε νεώσοικο, με μια ιδιαίτερη συγκέντρωση στους νεωσοίκους 2 και 3, όπως επίσης και από έναν αριθμό άλλων πήλινων αρχιτεκτονικών μελών (περιγράφονται στον κατάλογο). Το ανασκαφικό περιβάλλον (context) δείχνει ότι αυτό το υλικό προέρχεται από την ίδια στέγη, υποδεικνύοντας τον πολύ ασυνήθιστο συνδυασμό ακροκεράμων με προσωπίδες Σειληνών και Гοργόνεια.Τα υπόλοιπα ευρήματα συζητώνται με μεγαλύτερη συντομία. Υπολείμματα ερυθράς και κυανής χρωστικής δείχνουν ότι η βαφή των πλοίων γινόταν στους νεωσοίκους. Ευρήματα κεραμεικής παρέχουν αξιόλογες ενδείξεις κατανάλωσης ποτού- το ίδιο υποδηλώνουν και ορισμένα ακκιδογραφήματα (graffiti), ενώ άλλα, είναι ίσως όσιρακα προς χρήσιν σε κάποια εκλογική διαδικασία (ενδεχομένως οστρακισμό). Ένας αριθμός διεσπαρμένων αιχμών βελών και λίγες αιχμές ακοντίων έχουν βρεθεί στους χώρους εργασίας των κεκλιμμένων επιπέδων.Η θεωρία που διατυπώνεται αφορά στους νεωσοίκους ως μνημειακή αρχιτεκτονική με ορισμένα ιδιαίτερα σικελικά χαρακτηριστικά. Εξετάζεται και συγκριτικό υλικό για την χρήση ξύλινων πασσάλων και πασσαλο-οπών, όπως επίσης και η χρήση ωμοπλίνθων.Απεικονίζεται, ακόμη, μία τρισδιάστατη ηλεκτρονική αναπαράσταση του συγκροτήματος των νεωσοίκων και εξετάζονται ορισμένα ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά (ο φωτισμός και η απορροή του νερού από τη στέγη). Η αναπαράσταση που προτιμήθηκε παρουσιάζει μία ξεχωριστή, βαθμιδωτή, δίρριχτη στέγη πάνω από τους νεωσοίκους 1–2 και 3–4.


1972 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 156-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Vickers

SummaryIt would seem that the plan of Thessaloniki (fig. 4) was laid out at the time of the city's foundation by Cassander in c. 316 b.c. and that it has close parallels in the plans of other early Hellenistic cities. There was possibly an agora in the upper city from the beginning, but the principal, commercial agora of the Hellenistic city was probably closer to the sea. A large open space to the west was possibly a ‘sacred area’ in Hellenistic times, but the only religious centre whose site is known with any degree of certainty is the Serapeum. A gymnasium is known to have existed to the north of the city from the late Hellenistic period at least, and a nearby stadium probably goes back to Hellenistic times as well.The Hellenistic fortifications probably followed the lines of those of the mid-fifth century a.d. In common with many other Hellenistic cities there is an acropolis incorporated in the city wall, but the fortifications of Thessaloniki are slightly anomalous in that the lower stretches of the east and west walls run parallel with some of the streets of the city plan.Thus, even though the reconstruction of Hellenistic Thessaloniki may be an elusive and often a speculative business, the statement of an anonymous writer to the effect that ‘il ne reste à Thessaloniki aucun vestige de la ville hellénistique’ is certainly exaggerated.


1999 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 147-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wilson ◽  
Paul Bennett ◽  
Ahmed Buzaian ◽  
Susanne Ebbinghaus ◽  
Kenneth Hamilton ◽  
...  

AbstractThis paper reports on the first season of a new project at Euesperides (Benghazi) aimed at studying the urban development and economy of the city. Two area excavations were started, the first on the site of early Hellenistic pebble and tessellated mosaics discovered in 1998, and the second in what appears to be an area of houses and workshops built against the city wall on the east side of the mound of Sidi Abeid. Geophysical survey and surface prospection was also undertaken; it appears that the lower-lying extension to the city was much larger than previously thought, and several modifications are necessary to previously published plans of the site. Much of the lower city is covered with large spreads of deliberately crushed shells of Murex trunculus, indicating the production of purple dye on a significant scale. Other evidence of urban production was also recovered, notably metal-working, while study of the ceramic assemblage shows widespread trading connections, with significant imports of coarsewares besides the expected fineware and amphora imports.


2000 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 121-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bennett ◽  
Andrew I. Wilson ◽  
Ahmed Buzaian ◽  
Kenneth Hamilton ◽  
David Thorpe ◽  
...  

AbstractThis paper reports on the second season of the new fieldwork at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavations continued in Areas P (a large building with early Hellenistic mosaics) and Q (an area of streets and buildings built against the line of the Archaic period city wall), and were commenced at a site in the Lower City (Area R), where evidence for purple dye production from the Murex trunculus shellfish was found. In addition, a programme of machine-cut evaluation trenching was carried out in an area to the south of the Sidi Abeid mound to determine the limits of the archaeological area; this showed that occupation deposits continued for some distance to the south-east of the zone formerly considered to have encompassed the city. Geophysical prospection was completed in the Lower City, giving a fuller understanding of the city plan and of manufacturing activities. Preliminary quantification of the fine pottery suggests heavy reliance on imported wares (some 90%) to meet demand for tablewares, and carries important implications for the volume of ancient shipping and trade reaching Euesperides.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Ghifari Arfananda ◽  
◽  
Surya Michrandi Nasution ◽  
Casi Setianingsih ◽  
◽  
...  

The rapid development of information and technology, the city of Bandung tourism has also increased. However, tourists who visit the city of Bandung have problems with a limited time when visiting Bandung tourist attractions. Traffic congestion, distance, and the number of tourist destinations are the problems for tourists travel. The optimal route selection is the solution for those problems. Congestion and distance data are processed using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method. Route selection uses the Floyd-Warshall Algorithm. In this study, the selection of the best route gets the smallest weight with a value of 5.127 from the Algorithm process. Based on testing, from two to five tourist attractions get an average calculation time of 3 to 5 seconds. This application is expected to provide optimal solutions for tourists in the selection of tourist travel routes.


Author(s):  
Cinzia Arruzza

A Wolf in the City is a study of tyranny and of the tyrant’s soul in Plato’s Republic. It argues that Plato’s critique of tyranny is an intervention in an ancient debate concerning the sources of the crisis of Athenian democracy and the relation between political leaders and the demos in the last decades of the fifth century BCE. The book shows that Plato’s critique of tyranny should not be taken as a veiled critique of the Syracusan tyrannical regime but, rather, as an integral part of his critique of Athenian democracy. The book also offers an in-depth and detailed analysis of all three parts of the tyrant’s soul, and contends that this approach is necessary to both fully appraise the complex psychic dynamics taking place in the description of the tyrannical man and shed light on Plato’s moral psychology and its relation with his political theory.


Author(s):  
Johannes Haubold

This chapter compares three texts about the Seleukid monarch Antiochos III: a decree of the Seleukid Greek city of Teos published shortly before the king’s war with Rome; a description of his conduct of the war written by the pro-Roman historian Polybios; and a cuneiform text from Babylon about Antiochos’ visit to the city just after the war. I argue that, despite differences in style, cultural background, historical context, and political allegiance, these texts converge around key themes of Seleukid imperial discourse, such as the king as benefactor and the importance of the royal couple. The chapter thus serves as a corrective to recent scholarship that tends to stress the differences between Greek and non-Greek perspectives on the Seleukid kings.


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