Ancient shipwrecks and archaeological science: characterising cargo items through stable isotope, organic residue, and DNA analysis

Thesis

Finding a way to accurately characterise the contents of cargoes from ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks would provide invaluable insight into economic, agricultural, and social transformations in antiquity. The three forms in which ancient shipwreck cargo items survive in the archaeological record, as macro-remains, visible residues, and molecules invisible to the naked eye, are analysed here in order to better understand what these ships were transporting, and why.

Despite the a...

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Authors: Briggs, EH

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-vm4yxqjno
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: shipwreck, DNA, isotopes, organic residue analysis, archaeological science, Uluburun, Cape Gelidonya, Kyrenia, Mazotos, Babuljas
• Subjects: DNA; Water-saturated sites (Archaeology); Plant remains (Archaeology); Archaeology; Stable Isotope analysis; Organic residue analysis