Eight Byzantine Shipwrecks from the Theodosian Harbour Excavations at Yenikapı in Istanbul,Turkey: an introduction

Excavations at Yenikap? in Istanbul, Turkey, related to the Marmaray Project, have unearthed remains of Constantinople's Theodosian Harbour, including 37 Byzantine shipwrecks of 5th‐ to 11th‐century date. Eight of these shipwrecks, six round ships and two of the first long ships, or galleys, to be excavated from the Byzantine period, were studied by archaeologists from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. These well‐preserved shipwrecks are an important new source of information on the maritime commerce of Constantinople and the gradual shift from shell‐based to skeleton‐based shipbuilding in the Mediterranean during the second half of the first millennium AD.     

The New Post Office Site in Istanbul and the North-Eastern Harbour of Byzantine Constantinople

An unpublished letter of 1906 describes a wall discovered at the New Post Office site in Istanbul. This may have been an Early Byzantine (5th–7th century) quay and, along with geological evidence, suggests that the north-east harbour of Early Byzantine Constantinople (probably the Neorion/Neorium harbour) was much larger than hitherto supposed. The harbour probably silted in the 7th century.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

The Enigma of Tantura B: Historical Documentation and the Lack of Circumstantial Documentary Evidence

Tantura B is by far the first early Islamic shipwreck to be discovered off the Palestinian coast. Scientific evidence indicates that this vessel sank some time between the mid-8th and the mid-9th centuries. Neither archaeological remains nor historical sources can ascertain its exact function and origin due to the lack of circumstantial documentary evidence. However, it has been argued that the vessel could be either a coaster, capable of entering rivers or estuaries, or a support vessel operating in the Arab fleet, i.e. , it may have had been used for either military or civil purposes, or both.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

The Mollö Cog Re‐Examined and Re‐Evaluated

As part of a research project on medieval trade and maritime transportation in the former Norwegian province of Bohuslän, western Sweden, a dendrochronological analysis of the so‐called Mollö cog was undertaken. The wreck, which was first salvaged in 1980, was previously dated by ¹⁴C analysis. Since this provided a nearly 400‐year time‐span for the building of the vessel, a more precise dating was considered essential. In conjunction with dendrochronological sampling, several features not previously reported were recorded. This paper presents the find, the research history and the results of the dendrochronological investigation. © 2012 The Authors     

Preserving Archaeological Remains In Situ: Three Case Studies in Trentino,Italy

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the restoration and conservation work which has been carried out in three archaeological areas in the Autonomous Province of Trento. The areas, which have been opened to the public for more than ten years, are the open-air archaeological site of Monte S. Martino, Roman Tridentum (an underground site under the historical city centre of Trento), and Fiavé (a pile dwelling site in a peat bog). These areas present very different environmental characteristics and have therefore required different interventions according to their speci?c situation.

In order to reduce maintenance and extraordinary costs, appropriate conservation of the archaeological remains is required. This consists of methodologies of conservation according to the characteristics of the environment; continuous monitoring systems and indirect preventive intervention; and annual maintenance planning.     

Crusaders and mercenaries: the west-European soldiers of the Laskarids of Nicaea (1204–1258)

The so-called empire of Nicaea was one of the new political entities that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The raison d'être of Nicaea was the recovery of Constantinople and the restoration of the Byzantine Empire. Consequently, the Nicaean rulers were almost constantly involved in wars against the Latin empire of Constantinople. Nevertheless, west-European soldiers made up a large part of the Nicaean armies. This article examines the impact of these troops on the military ideology and military organization of Nicaea during the reign of the rulers of the Laskarid dynasty.     

Laboratory Experiments as Support for Development of In Situ Conservation Methods

Abstract

Within the EU-Project BACPOLES (EVK4-CT-2001-00043) bacterial wood degradation could be simulated in laboratory experiments to investigate the living conditions of the up to now unknown bacteria consortia, named erosion bacteria (EB), which cause considerable decay on waterlogged archaeological wood. In these Microcosm (MC) experiments the role of oxygen and chemical composition of the sediment were investigated. Therefore, the microcosms were subjected to different gassing treatments and the free dissolved oxygen was measured in different depths of the microcosms by special oxygen sensors (optodes). In further experiments the chemical composition of the sediment was verified to investigate the influence of different nutrient concentrations to the degradation process by EB.

From the findings it can be concluded that bacterial wood decay can proceed without free oxygen present but that it is more intense if oxygen is available. A water flow like streams in the sea, simulated by vertical water circulation, seems to stimulate the degradation activity and the degradation of wood by EB seems to be a result of low nutrient levels in the surrounding area.     

古铜矿遗址地表坑木的保护

针对铜绿山古铜矿遗址露出地表的浸饱水古坑木进行了研究和保护工作,在分析湖北大冶地区的气侯和环境的基础上,根据遗址现场保护的要求以及浸饱水坑木的特性,产生出“自然慢干法”、“室外冻干法”和“木屑填补法”等处理方法,一定程度上有效地控制了浸饱水古坑木的脱水速率,并通过控制脱水速率,冻干和加固,在现场脱水保存浸饱水坑木上取得了较好的效果。     

拉丁史籍对“1182年君士坦丁堡大屠杀”的历史书写

1182年,拜占庭首都君士坦丁堡城内爆发了一起拜占庭人针对拉丁人的大屠杀行动。通过幸存者、信使、旅行家、路人、十字军等群体的传播,中世纪拉丁作者对这一历史事件进行了详细的记录。他们从不同角度描述了君士坦丁堡大屠杀的全过程和对拉丁人生命、财产和精神所造成的巨大伤害,认为这场大屠杀具有全民参与的特征。拉丁作者从受害者的角度试图对该事件发生的原因作出解释,认为这是拉丁世界和拜占庭帝国矛盾激化的产物,是拜占庭人长期以来仇视情绪的结果。对照拜占庭文献,我们就会发现,拉丁史籍对"1182年君士坦丁堡大屠杀"的记述既有一致性,也存在着明显的偏差。拉丁史籍所塑造出的安德罗尼库斯与穆斯林相勾结、背叛基督教的形象,与历史事实并不相符。这种带有偏见的记载显然是受到了当时社会环境尤其是拉丁世界长期丑化拜占庭帝国心理因素的影响。     

The Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project: In situ Preservation and Long-Term Monitoring of the Clarence (1850) and James Matthews (1841) Shipwreck Sites

Increasingly, archaeologists are opting for on-site examination, reinterment, and in situ preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites as the first option in the management of sites at risk, as opposed to the more traditional excavation, recovery, conservation, and display/storage methods. This decision will inevitably be based on significance assessment, degree of perceived risk, and resourcing issues. However, long-term monitoring must become an integral part of these management programmes in order to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the in situ preservation techniques employed. In 2012 the Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project (AHSPP) was awarded a large Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant, enabling ten partner organizations and three Australian universities to collaborate in one of the largest multi-organizational maritime archaeology projects to be undertaken in Australia to date. One of the major aims of the project is to develop a protocol for the excavation, detailed recording and reburial of significant shipwrecks under threat, fostering a strategic national approach for the management of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites at risk. Two historically significant shipwreck sites that are considered under threat were chosen for this longitudinal comparative study — the Clarence (1850) located in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; and the James Matthews (1841) which lies in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Both sites have been preserved in situ using two very different but innovative remediation strategies. More importantly, long-term monitoring programmes have been implemented on both sites, which will characterize changes in the reburial environment and the effect on the reinterred materials. In this way, the efficacy of both in situ preservation techniques will be systematically tested, providing a comparative analysis of practical protocols for the long-term protection and management of underwater cultural heritage.     

Out of the Peat: Preliminary Geophysical Prospection and Evaluation of the Mid-Holocene Stationary Wooden Fishing Structures in Haapajärvi,Finland

The huge scientific and interpretive value of wetland archaeological sites has been well demonstrated in several studies. The management of the archaeological resource of wetland landscapes is problematic, however, and there is an urgent need for noninvasive techniques to detect waterlogged organic archaeological remains. Stationary wooden fishing structures associated with fishing sites constitute an important wetland archaeological resource in northern Europe. In Finland, similar wooden constructions have been used for fishing from prehistory to the early modern era. The discovery of sites has been accidental, because the waterlogged organic remains have been considered invisible to conventional geoprospection techniques. Because of this, a small project was launched at Lamminoja, northwest Finland, in order to investigate whether it would be possible to improve our chances to detect fishery sites in demanding wetland habitats. New information was obtained through geophysical prospection, trial excavations, and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating. Geophysical testing was hampered by several factors, including complex sediments affected by modern drainage. New information was obtained, however, on the composition, age, and spatial distribution of the wooden fishing structures preserved in peat over 5000 years.