Videos by Bjørn Lovén
In 2017 Greek, Danish, French, Slovenian, British and German archaeologists and geoarchaeologists... more In 2017 Greek, Danish, French, Slovenian, British and German archaeologists and geoarchaeologists have discovered the Roman Harbour at Lechaion – the main harbour town of ancient Corinth. The findings include well-preserved harbour structures dating back to the 1st century AD when the Romans had recolonised Corinth. The discoveries range from monuments built of 5 ton blocks to very rare, extremely well-preserved organic finds. 33 views
Books by Bjørn Lovén
Marine Geology , 2023
Evidence of the earliest harbour industrial activity in Europe
Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth wa... more Evidence of the earliest harbour industrial activity in Europe
Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth was Ancient Corinth’s largest port from as early as 600 BC, but researchers had long suspected that the seaside settlement dated back earlier since Corinth served as a bustling hub in land and sea trade in the 8th and 7th century BC during the colonisation of Southern France, Sicily and Italy. Utilizing an array of scientific sampling methods, the Lechaion Harbour Project has found compelling evidence of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age industrial activity at the harbour in a set of cores taken in the harbour basins. The cores show an excess of lead and brown coal mixed with organic material that has been carbon-dated to 1381-1056 Cal BC. This is one more piece of evidence helping to paint a clearer picture of Corinth’s metal trade and maritime commercial activities during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition. The results have just been published by French, Greek, and Danish researchers in the journal Marine Geology and represent the earliest evidence of harbour industrial activity in Europe.
Also access article here please -
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1h%7El75mVdwCN0
Vol. III.1: The Harbour Fortifications of the Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours – Architecture and Topography. , 2021
TEASER including front page, table of contents, preface and introduction
15,4 (134 pages)
III.1... more TEASER including front page, table of contents, preface and introduction
15,4 (134 pages)
III.1: The Harbour Fortifications of the Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours – Architecture and Topography.
The primary objective of this fascicule is to present the results of the Zea Harbour Project’s investigations of the harbour fortifications at Mounichia in 2005 and the period 2007 to 2012 and to re-examine what can be known about the fortifications of Kantharos, which continues to serve as the Piraeus’ principal harbour to the present day. Chapter 1 (Introduction) considers the objectives, textual sources, archaeological evidence, terminology, and methodology involved, introducing two new terms: “fortified mole” and “fortified breakwater.” Chapter 2 presents the textual evidence relating to the fortifications of the Piraeus, contextualising these structures within the history of the Piraeus from the late 6th century BC until their destruction by Sulla’s forces in 86 BC. Chapter 3 offers an overview of the documentation created by travellers since 1589, topographers since 1686, and scholars since 1881, focusing on their descriptions of the structural remains of the harbours in the Piraeus, but also bringing relevant cartographic, photographic, and artistic documents into consideration. Chapter 4 explores the topography of the fortifications at Kantharos Harbour based on published data. Chapter 5 does likewise for Mounichia, drawing on the findings of the Project’s fieldwork there to provide a detailed analysis of the harbour fortifications’ architecture, supported by feature catalogues of the northern and southern fortified moles. These monumental structures were probably initially constructed in the early 5th century BC. Two later building phases belonging to the 5th century BC (in all probability 429/28 BC or shortly thereafter) and the 4th to 3rd centuries BC have been identified.
On sale here:
https://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/t/the-ancient-harbours-of-the-piraeus,-volume-iii-1%E2%80%932/
Vol. III.2: The Themistoclean Shipsheds in Group 1 at Mounichia Harbour – Architecture, Topography and Finds. , 2021
TEASER including front page and table of contents
Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus, Volume III.2 ... more TEASER including front page and table of contents
Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus, Volume III.2 (MoDIA 15,5)
About the Book
15,5 (247 pages, 259 ill., 45 A3 plates)
III.2: The Themistoclean Shipsheds in Group 1 at Mounichia Harbour – Architecture, Topography and Finds.
This fascicule presents the findings of the Project’s 2010–2012 investigations on the northern side of Mounichia Harbour to discuss the architecture and topography of Shipsheds 1–7 in Group 1. Chapter 1 is devoted to the survey and excavation of this set of shipsheds. Shipshed 1(α), dated to terminus post quem 500–480 BC, represents the Zea Harbour Project’s most important discovery: of all the Classical-period structures in the Piraeus, only Shipshed 1(α) has a compelling claim to be linked to Themistocles’ building programme. Chapter 2 offers a survey and catalogue of the ceramics and other small finds discovered during the excavation of Shipshed 1(α) and of the northern fortified mole at Mounichia. Appendices, Figures, and Plates complete the volume.
On sale here:
https://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/t/the-ancient-harbours-of-the-piraeus,-volume-iii-1%E2%80%932/
The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus Volume I.2. The Zea Shipsheds and Slipways: Finds, Area 1 Shipshed Roof Reconstructions and Feature Catalogue, 2011
Athens in the Classical period was preeminent because of her naval power.
The architectural glori... more Athens in the Classical period was preeminent because of her naval power.
The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer:
O Athens, queen of all cities!
How fair your naval base!
How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus!
- Com. Adespot. 340
The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power.
This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2; including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power.
The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus Volume I.1. The Zea Shipsheds and Slipways: Architecture and Topography, 2011
Athens in the Classical period was preeminent because of her naval power.
The architectural glori... more Athens in the Classical period was preeminent because of her naval power.
The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer:
O Athens, queen of all cities!
How fair your naval base!
How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus!
- Com. Adespot. 340
The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power.
This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2; including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power.
Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, Volume 15.3, 2019
David Blackman and Boris Rankov published Shipsheds of the Ancient Mediterranean in 2013. This pu... more David Blackman and Boris Rankov published Shipsheds of the Ancient Mediterranean in 2013. This publication, based on the results of the research project “Shipsheds in the Ancient Mediterranean,” contains an extremely problematic study of the architecture and topography of the shipsheds in the Piraeus conducted by Rankov that is supplemented by architectural reconstructions by Jari Pakkanen. This is my evaluation of their study including an answer to their criticism of our research – please read it and judge for yourself (Chapter 6.4, pp. 155–173). I have also included Chapter 6.1–6.3 on the relative sea-level change and the positions of slipways and shipsheds at Zea and Mounichia Harbours (see pp. 147–155), since this data is important for the arguments presented in Chapter 6.4. The relevant figures and plates are included.
Book Reviews by Bjørn Lovén
Tholbecq, L. 2015 ‘David BLACKMAN, Boris RANKOV, Kalliopi BAIKA, Henrik GERDING & Jari PAKKANEN, Shipsheds of the Ancient Mediterranean. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013. , 2015
Rankov's “Piraeus” catalogue in Blackman and Rankov 2013 “derives extensively from” Volumes I.1 a... more Rankov's “Piraeus” catalogue in Blackman and Rankov 2013 “derives extensively from” Volumes I.1 and I.2 of the ZHP’s publication, according to this review by Tholbecq 2015: 505 (“Ajoutons que la notice « Piraeus » tire largement parti des fouilles de l’Institut danois d’archéologie d’Athènes…”).
I did not write this review - but it is obviously very important to me
BMCR reviews, 2013
I am obviously not the author of this BMCR review :)
“SHED WARS der der de de de derrr derrr etc.”, 2019
Papers by Bjørn Lovén
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Dec 15, 2022
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Nov 2, 2022
Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens (MoDIA), 2011
Antike Welt, 2018
A. Güngör – B. Lovén, Lechaion. Fünf Jahre Hafenforschung und Unterwasserarchäologie, Antike Welt... more A. Güngör – B. Lovén, Lechaion. Fünf Jahre Hafenforschung und Unterwasserarchäologie, Antike Welt 49, 2, 2018, 39-44
Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens (MoDIA), 2011
Appendix 1: Graser 1872, table following page 65 Appendix 2: Reconstructing the Capitals... more Appendix 1: Graser 1872, table following page 65 Appendix 2: Reconstructing the Capitals of the Phase 3 Shipsheds at Zea Appendix 3: Reconstructing the Capitals of the Phase 2 Shipsheds at Zea Appendix 4: Calculating the Dimensions and Section of the Gutters of the Phase 3 Shipsheds at Zea Appendix 5: Reconstructing the Valley Beam in the Phase 2 Shipsheds and the Architrave in thePhase 3 Shipsheds Appendix 6: Survey and Recording Methods Appendix 7: Zea Harbour Area 1 Sediment Descriptions Index Lapidum – Inscriptions Index Locorum – Ancient Sources Bibliography Abbreviations Index&nbsp
This paper describes the initial concepts and ideas of the CHIMERA project. We first present the ... more This paper describes the initial concepts and ideas of the CHIMERA project. We first present the historical site, then describe the communication challenge in relation to a projected popular audience. To meet this communication challenge, we explore promising matured technologies, present an overview of our preliminary findings, then describe our vision for an interactive and engaging museum based on an augmented reality network. In the conclusion, we list our immediate initiative and the scientific goals of the project.
Athens News, Aug 19, 2004
During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the Zea Harbour Project (ZHP), under the Danish Institute at At... more During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the Zea Harbour Project (ZHP), under the Danish Institute at Athens and supervised by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, conducted surface cleaning, excavation, survey dives, and digital survey in the two ancient naval harbours of the Piraeus: Mounichia (modern Mikrolimano; Figs. 1‑2) and Zea (today also called Pashalimani; Figs. 1, 3). The Carlsberg Foundation has generously provided the funding for our fieldwork and research. The following report summarises the most significant results of the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.
Proceedings of the Danish Institute at Athens, 2007
the staff of the Danish Institute at Athens. We furthermore wish to thank D. Davis for correcting... more the staff of the Danish Institute at Athens. We furthermore wish to thank D. Davis for correcting the English text and for useful comments. '" The pilot project can be downloaded from www.zeaharbourproject.dk under 'News'. 11 wAvw.archaeology.sdu.dk.
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Videos by Bjørn Lovén
Books by Bjørn Lovén
Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth was Ancient Corinth’s largest port from as early as 600 BC, but researchers had long suspected that the seaside settlement dated back earlier since Corinth served as a bustling hub in land and sea trade in the 8th and 7th century BC during the colonisation of Southern France, Sicily and Italy. Utilizing an array of scientific sampling methods, the Lechaion Harbour Project has found compelling evidence of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age industrial activity at the harbour in a set of cores taken in the harbour basins. The cores show an excess of lead and brown coal mixed with organic material that has been carbon-dated to 1381-1056 Cal BC. This is one more piece of evidence helping to paint a clearer picture of Corinth’s metal trade and maritime commercial activities during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition. The results have just been published by French, Greek, and Danish researchers in the journal Marine Geology and represent the earliest evidence of harbour industrial activity in Europe.
Also access article here please -
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1h%7El75mVdwCN0
15,4 (134 pages)
III.1: The Harbour Fortifications of the Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours – Architecture and Topography.
The primary objective of this fascicule is to present the results of the Zea Harbour Project’s investigations of the harbour fortifications at Mounichia in 2005 and the period 2007 to 2012 and to re-examine what can be known about the fortifications of Kantharos, which continues to serve as the Piraeus’ principal harbour to the present day. Chapter 1 (Introduction) considers the objectives, textual sources, archaeological evidence, terminology, and methodology involved, introducing two new terms: “fortified mole” and “fortified breakwater.” Chapter 2 presents the textual evidence relating to the fortifications of the Piraeus, contextualising these structures within the history of the Piraeus from the late 6th century BC until their destruction by Sulla’s forces in 86 BC. Chapter 3 offers an overview of the documentation created by travellers since 1589, topographers since 1686, and scholars since 1881, focusing on their descriptions of the structural remains of the harbours in the Piraeus, but also bringing relevant cartographic, photographic, and artistic documents into consideration. Chapter 4 explores the topography of the fortifications at Kantharos Harbour based on published data. Chapter 5 does likewise for Mounichia, drawing on the findings of the Project’s fieldwork there to provide a detailed analysis of the harbour fortifications’ architecture, supported by feature catalogues of the northern and southern fortified moles. These monumental structures were probably initially constructed in the early 5th century BC. Two later building phases belonging to the 5th century BC (in all probability 429/28 BC or shortly thereafter) and the 4th to 3rd centuries BC have been identified.
On sale here:
https://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/t/the-ancient-harbours-of-the-piraeus,-volume-iii-1%E2%80%932/
Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus, Volume III.2 (MoDIA 15,5)
About the Book
15,5 (247 pages, 259 ill., 45 A3 plates)
III.2: The Themistoclean Shipsheds in Group 1 at Mounichia Harbour – Architecture, Topography and Finds.
This fascicule presents the findings of the Project’s 2010–2012 investigations on the northern side of Mounichia Harbour to discuss the architecture and topography of Shipsheds 1–7 in Group 1. Chapter 1 is devoted to the survey and excavation of this set of shipsheds. Shipshed 1(α), dated to terminus post quem 500–480 BC, represents the Zea Harbour Project’s most important discovery: of all the Classical-period structures in the Piraeus, only Shipshed 1(α) has a compelling claim to be linked to Themistocles’ building programme. Chapter 2 offers a survey and catalogue of the ceramics and other small finds discovered during the excavation of Shipshed 1(α) and of the northern fortified mole at Mounichia. Appendices, Figures, and Plates complete the volume.
On sale here:
https://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/t/the-ancient-harbours-of-the-piraeus,-volume-iii-1%E2%80%932/
The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer:
O Athens, queen of all cities!
How fair your naval base!
How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus!
- Com. Adespot. 340
The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power.
This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2; including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power.
The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer:
O Athens, queen of all cities!
How fair your naval base!
How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus!
- Com. Adespot. 340
The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power.
This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2; including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power.
Book Reviews by Bjørn Lovén
I did not write this review - but it is obviously very important to me
Papers by Bjørn Lovén
Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth was Ancient Corinth’s largest port from as early as 600 BC, but researchers had long suspected that the seaside settlement dated back earlier since Corinth served as a bustling hub in land and sea trade in the 8th and 7th century BC during the colonisation of Southern France, Sicily and Italy. Utilizing an array of scientific sampling methods, the Lechaion Harbour Project has found compelling evidence of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age industrial activity at the harbour in a set of cores taken in the harbour basins. The cores show an excess of lead and brown coal mixed with organic material that has been carbon-dated to 1381-1056 Cal BC. This is one more piece of evidence helping to paint a clearer picture of Corinth’s metal trade and maritime commercial activities during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition. The results have just been published by French, Greek, and Danish researchers in the journal Marine Geology and represent the earliest evidence of harbour industrial activity in Europe.
Also access article here please -
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1h%7El75mVdwCN0
15,4 (134 pages)
III.1: The Harbour Fortifications of the Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours – Architecture and Topography.
The primary objective of this fascicule is to present the results of the Zea Harbour Project’s investigations of the harbour fortifications at Mounichia in 2005 and the period 2007 to 2012 and to re-examine what can be known about the fortifications of Kantharos, which continues to serve as the Piraeus’ principal harbour to the present day. Chapter 1 (Introduction) considers the objectives, textual sources, archaeological evidence, terminology, and methodology involved, introducing two new terms: “fortified mole” and “fortified breakwater.” Chapter 2 presents the textual evidence relating to the fortifications of the Piraeus, contextualising these structures within the history of the Piraeus from the late 6th century BC until their destruction by Sulla’s forces in 86 BC. Chapter 3 offers an overview of the documentation created by travellers since 1589, topographers since 1686, and scholars since 1881, focusing on their descriptions of the structural remains of the harbours in the Piraeus, but also bringing relevant cartographic, photographic, and artistic documents into consideration. Chapter 4 explores the topography of the fortifications at Kantharos Harbour based on published data. Chapter 5 does likewise for Mounichia, drawing on the findings of the Project’s fieldwork there to provide a detailed analysis of the harbour fortifications’ architecture, supported by feature catalogues of the northern and southern fortified moles. These monumental structures were probably initially constructed in the early 5th century BC. Two later building phases belonging to the 5th century BC (in all probability 429/28 BC or shortly thereafter) and the 4th to 3rd centuries BC have been identified.
On sale here:
https://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/t/the-ancient-harbours-of-the-piraeus,-volume-iii-1%E2%80%932/
Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus, Volume III.2 (MoDIA 15,5)
About the Book
15,5 (247 pages, 259 ill., 45 A3 plates)
III.2: The Themistoclean Shipsheds in Group 1 at Mounichia Harbour – Architecture, Topography and Finds.
This fascicule presents the findings of the Project’s 2010–2012 investigations on the northern side of Mounichia Harbour to discuss the architecture and topography of Shipsheds 1–7 in Group 1. Chapter 1 is devoted to the survey and excavation of this set of shipsheds. Shipshed 1(α), dated to terminus post quem 500–480 BC, represents the Zea Harbour Project’s most important discovery: of all the Classical-period structures in the Piraeus, only Shipshed 1(α) has a compelling claim to be linked to Themistocles’ building programme. Chapter 2 offers a survey and catalogue of the ceramics and other small finds discovered during the excavation of Shipshed 1(α) and of the northern fortified mole at Mounichia. Appendices, Figures, and Plates complete the volume.
On sale here:
https://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/t/the-ancient-harbours-of-the-piraeus,-volume-iii-1%E2%80%932/
The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer:
O Athens, queen of all cities!
How fair your naval base!
How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus!
- Com. Adespot. 340
The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power.
This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2; including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power.
The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer:
O Athens, queen of all cities!
How fair your naval base!
How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus!
- Com. Adespot. 340
The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power.
This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2; including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power.
I did not write this review - but it is obviously very important to me