A topographical analysis of the location of harbours and anchorages of the eastern Mediterranean in the middle and late Bronze Ages, and their relation to routes of trade

Thesis

This thesis examines second millennium BC harbours and anchorages of the eastern Mediterranean through an interdisciplinary analysis of their location, function and relation to trade. It includes a comprehensive survey of the eastern Mediterranean coastal littoral, from the Nile Delta to the southwestern coast of Turkey, including Cyprus and Eastern Crete.

By analysing the corpus of available literature, an imbalance in the current body of evidence concerning harbours and anchorages of the second millennium BC, is addressed. A combination of documentary, pictorial, geomorphological, and archaeological evidence is used to support this analysis.

A topographical typology of anchorage sites is established, with specific reference to topographical change during and since the second millennium. Through analysis of sea-level and coastal change, it is possible to reconstruct the Bronze Age coastline of the eastern Mediterranean, and to recognise the potential location and morphology of second millennium anchorage sites; and how these factors may have dictated their modification, and in some cases, relocation, over time.

Coastal sites where quantities of second millennium BC artifacts, especially imported goods, have been discovered, and where natural topography offers protection from prevailing maritime conditions, are sure to have been used by second millennium mariners. Consideration is given to maritime conditions, such as winds, currents, swell and fetch, that affect the varying coastal interfaces of the eastern Mediterranean, in an attempt to determine how Bronze Age mariners would have tackled these conditions when approaching and leaving harbours of different aspects.

Finally, the network of harbour and anchorage sites of the eastern Mediterranean is considered in relation to the socio-political environment of the second millennium. A number of maritime trade routes are defined, and the function of individual harbours within these routes is analysed. Particular emphasis is placed upon the relationship between harbour sites and inland centres of production, and the role of harbour sites as nodes of trade.

Authors: Blue, LK

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-5r9neoerv
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English