Java's forgotten pearls: the history and disappearance of pearl fishing in the Segara Anakan lagoon, South Java, Indonesia

Pearls have been a valued resource in most cultures that had access to them. A number of historically important pearling grounds were situated in the waters around today's Indonesia. One of these areas, now largely forgotten, was the Segara Anakan lagoon in South Java. In the seventeenth century, Dutch colonists exploited the lagoon's pearls. Afterwards, the lagoon's oysters were locally exploited as a food item until the late 1970s. While the pearl fishery attracted considerable attention in the colonial literature, its disappearance, by contrast, went largely undocumented. Nowadays, the oysters no longer are found in the lagoon as a result of extensive sedimentation processes. Their former existence is only preserved in the memory of local people. This article examines the history and fate of the pearls of Segara Anakan, providing an example of a formerly valued species whose existence simply became forgotten outside the area.     

The Dor 2001/1 Byzantine Shipwreck,Israel: final report

Dor 2001/1 was a Byzantine coaster, about 16.9 m long, with an estimated displacement of 50 tonnes, dated to the first third of the 6th century CE, and loaded with building stones. It was excavated over five seasons, recorded under water, and a section of the shipwreck was retrieved and studied on land. The hull construction was based on frames without any type of planking edge‐fasteners. It is thus among the earliest frame‐based shipwrecks found so far in the Mediterranean. The origin of its construction tradition, with flat frames amidships, hard chine and straight sides, might have been related to a riverine tradition.     

The Dor 2001/1 Shipwreck, Israel—a Summary of the Excavation

Dor 2001/1 was probably a Byzantine coaster carrying building stones, dated to the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century AD. No shell-first construction features were identified, specifically no kind of planking edge-joints; but instead all the essential components showed that it was a frame-based hull. Thus it is apparently among the earliest frame-based shipwrecks found so far in the Mediterranean.
© 2006 The Authors     

Roman Navigation in Venice Lagoon: the Results of Underwater Research

Venice lagoon formed part of a network of inland waterways used for navigation in the northern Adriatic, an almost continuous system of lakes, river‐mouths and canals, at least partly pre‐Roman in origin. The fossae which cross the present lagoon are the continuation of a complex system of natural watercourses and artificial canals between Ravenna and Aquileia. Two Roman buildings discovered on the present San Felice canal could be interpreted as providing navigational assistance at points linking the sea and inland routes. © 2009 The Authors     

Analysis of hull remains of the Dor D Vessel, Tantura Lagoon, Israel

A relatively closely spaced set of unpegged mortise-and-tenon joints was the significant element revealed in the 7th-century AD shipwreck, Dor D. It provides additional information for the transitional period of shipbuilding in the Mediterranean, and together with additional wrecks it establishes a better database for ship construction in the 4th–11th centuries AD. The preliminary conclusions tend to draw a slightly more complicated picture of the general evolutionary trend, since they present some features that have traditionally been considered as a disappearing technique.     

Sharks in the lagoon? Fishing exploitation at the Neolithic site of Suwayh 1 (Ash Sharqiyah region,Arabian Sea,Sultanate of Oman)

The study of the fish bones from the Neolithic shell midden of Suwayh 1, excavated in the 2000s, identified a total of 1060 identifiable fish bones, from 23 families, 33 genera and 28 different species. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates that the sites date to the early 6th to mid 5th millennium BC. The results follow an eight-phase chronology highlighted by an earlier malacological study. The most important taxa were the Carcharhinidae (requiem shark), Rhinopteridae (cownose rays), Sparoidea (Sparidae and Lethrinidae: sea breams and emperors) and Ariidae (sea catfishes). The results of the fish study show that the Suwayh lagoon must have gradually opened up to the sea and been populated with mangroves. The unique presence of so many sharks at this site seems to indicate that the inhabitants had a special interest in shark fishing and that their location was ideal for this specialised activity. Two types of fishing nets and hooks have been discovered, which require the use of different fishing techniques.     

Locating the Harbour: Myos Hormos/Quseir al-Qadim: a Roman and Islamic Port on the Red Sea Coast of Egypt

Recent maritime investigations at Quseir al-Qadim, on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, have revealed the importance of this port in both the Roman and later Islamic periods. This paper outlines the key evidence for the location of the harbours, from survey, sedimentological analysis and selective excavation. The Roman harbour, occupied between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD, was located in a now-silted lagoon. Over 100 sedimentological cores indicated its siltation process. By the time the site was reoccupied in the 12th century AD, the harbour was reduced to a small bay at the entrance to the former lagoon.
© 2007 The Author     

Toggles and Sails in the Ancient World: Rigging Elements Recovered from the Tantura B Shipwreck, Israel

Excavation of the 9th-century AD shipwreck B in Tantura Lagoon, Israel, yielded four toggles, numerous rope fragments, and three pierced wooden spatulate objects believed to be associated with the ship's rigging. In the first half of the article, the toggles are described and compared to a corpus of similar devices found on both land and shipwreck sites. The spatulate devices are tentatively identified as spill-toggles, pierced for attaching a trip-line. The second half of the article traces the textual and iconographical evidence for toggles and sail types––in particular, the lateen––in the ancient Mediterranean, and their possible association.
© 2008 The Author     

The Tantura F shipwreck: hull remains and finds—final report

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in 1996, and was excavated in 2004–2007. It was dated to between the mid 7th and the end of the 8th centuries AD. The remains comprised the bottom of the hull, including the lower part of the turn of the bilge on both sides and the beginning of the upward curvature at the bow and the stern. It was constructed based on frames. Among the finds were two anchors, 30 ceramic items, fish remains, food remnants, matting and ropes. The finds are of eastern Mediterranean and Egyptian origins. The Tantura F shipwreck is evidence of frame‐first construction in the period. It is also evidence of a trade route along the Levant coast and of the existence of a settlement in the Dor region at that time.     

New Dating and Contextual Evidence for the Fragmentary Timber Remains Located in the Dor D Site, Israel

The laboratory report for a wood-sample taken from one of the ship-timbers discovered at the Dor D site for C14 analysis is completed. This dating result indicates a potential revision for the group of timbers in this deposit and, consequently, new chronological contexts for their construction characteristics. Subsequent excavation and survey in the lagoon has resulted in a revised interpretation for the components of the Dor D deposit. Taken together, this new dating and contextual evidence helps to clarify what these timbers can and cannot contribute to the understanding of trends in ship construction.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society