Exploring Shipwreck Data

This chapter applies the proposed methodology to the working dataset of 67 wrecks. Varied quantitative analyses serve to contextualize spatial and diachronic trends in the study area against the broad backdrop of the east and Mediterranean as a whole. Two discrete peaks of activity provide the basis for constructing comparative Social Network Analysis visualizations of Roman and Late Antique connections within and among the geographical areas represented by cargos. The analytical tools of Geographic Information Systems, together with environmental parameters and seafaring capabilities, allow these network links to be grounded spatially using likely sailing times; such journey lengths reflect the “costs”—and therefore the potential regularity and investment—represented by these connections.

Maritime Interaction and Mediterranean Communities

This chapter introduces the argument and background for the study, exploring Mediterranean connectivity through interaction across the sea. It reviews relevant motivators and logistics behind Roman maritime connections and situates these aspects within broader discussion and debate over Rome’s economic history. The dataset of shipwreck and port sites along the coasts of Turkey and Cyprus that forms the basis of analysis for the case study is introduced and contextualized alongside recent efforts to amass and analyze bulk data, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities of working with uneven evidence. A brief overview of the book’s structure is provided.

Maritime Networks in the Roman East

This chapter brings together insights into the structures and dynamics of Roman maritime interaction, stressing the need to approach it as a spatially and temporally grounded network phenomenon. Discrete and dynamic regional maritime economies—featuring their own small mariners, simple ports, and flexible mobilities—formed the basis for agricultural distribution reaching beyond urban centers. The intersection of these regions with Mediterranean-wide connections offered the opportunity for flexible and varying forms of integration. This approach sheds new light on the emergence and evolution of maritime networks across the eastern Mediterranean, as well as their stability and dynamics in light of the broader economic, political, and social shifts that marked the transformation to Late Antiquity. The chapter ends by considering broader application of this methodology to other datasets for connectivity.

Ports and Everyday Economies

This chapter turns from shipwrecks to the comparative evidence provided by Roman and Late Antique ports. Discussion focuses first on the methodological challenges associated with modeling the full range of port-based activities and facilities from complex built protective structures down to the least conspicuous sandy beaches. Two case studies illustrate the extended world of maritime networks: a series of sites around the Datça peninsula in southwest Turkey and another along the south-central coast of Cyprus. Together, these views allow examination of the diversity and distribution of ports in the local material record as well as the likely roles these spaces played in networks and rhythms of economic activity throughout their hinterlands.

Topography and Tools of Interaction

This chapter provides the key parameters for modeling the Roman and Late Antique maritime movement and economic activities at the center of this study. It first explores the local marine environment, particularly the topography, currents, winds, and other natural factors most directly relevant to ancient seafaring. Following a brief overview of the archaeological evidence and allied iconographic and textual sources for Roman and Late Antique seafaring, the discussion turns to ship construction and types, sizes of vessels and cargos, and rigging and outfitting, as well as sailing speeds, capabilities, and journey conditions in the study area.

Modeling Maritime Dynamics

This chapter outlines the theoretical background and methodology adopted to construct an archaeological model of maritime interaction. After problematizing concepts of regionalism, the discussion draws on maritime landscape studies to embrace the diverse geographies and temporalities of different seaborne mobilities that integrated communities around maritime space. To organize this material record of diverse seafaring practices, the analysis turns to conceptual approaches and formal modeling tools of networks. These provide the framework for a multiscalar model of maritime interaction that unfolds over the next chapters.