The Juniper Coast: a Survey of the Medieval Shipwrecks
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THE JUNIPER COAST: A SURVEY OF THE MEDIEVAL SHIPWRECKS OF NOVY SVET, UKRAINE A Thesis by JOHN ARTHUR ALBERTSON Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Chair of Committee, C. Wayne Smith Committee Members, Filipe Vieira de Castro Daniel Schwartz Head of Department, Cynthia Werner August 2014 Major Subject: Anthropology Copyright 2014 John Arthur Albertson ABSTRACT This thesis provides an accurate, comprehensive physical context for the extent underwater archaeological excavations in the Bay of Novy Svet, located on the southeast coast of the Crimean Peninsula. In addition, it presents vital new historical context and explores new archaeological assemblages discovered while mapping the 100 x 250m2 research site. These include minimal hull remains, concretions, ceramics and an assemblage of anchors and ships equipment dating from antiquity to the modern day. Certain of these may indicate an 11th century wreck site, while others provide probable evidence for seafaring on the bay as early as the foundation of Sudak in 212 A.D. or before. These findings reinforce the work they are built on, and provide improved digital tools for future research. Results are assessed alongside historic and archaeological documentation of medieval and modern activity in the region, including invasive and destructive actions around the Bay of Novy Svet. In addition, the historical record has suggested that a 13th century wreck in the bay may be a Pisan ship burned there by the Genoese after a battle in 1277. While no proof of correlation has been found to date, extent datasets do not preclude the possibility, and support it to some extent. Therefore, this thesis also presents a framework for describing and discussing the 13th century Pisa Ship and its potential actions within historical and maritime landscape contexts. Current research and conservation efforts are presented, hopefully serving as a platform for increasing those efforts locally and internationally in the future. ii For Clifford Arthur Albertson, Julie Anne Albertson and William George Albertson of course it was a perfect day for it and For Dr. Sergey Zelenko, Ms. Yana Morozova, Mr. Nikita Zelenko and all the members of the Novy Svet teams over the years Ἀρχόμενος σέο, Φοῖβε, παλαιγενέων κλέα φωτῶν μνήσομαι1 1 Rieu 1959, 35, 109. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all and including all, I would like to thank the global community of friends and families that I have had the honor and pleasure to share my life with over the years. Learning about our common anthropological past is by nature a multinational, multicultural endeavor – one that should bring us together as a global community and help us remember and celebrate our shared heritage. To these individuals, but above all others to my family, Dr. Vaclav Paris and Captain Craig Clark, USAF, I would like to re-express the dedication of an intrepid adventurer who penned my exact sentiments 133 years ago, and thank them who variously, in their own profound, sublime geniuses, have “inspired in me that love of natural history and true sport which enabled me to pass so many hours of thorough enjoyment in wild countries far from home.”2 ℘ Captain H.C. St. John, R.N., Ret. More specifically, I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. C. Wayne Smith, and my committee members Dr. Filipe Castro and Dr. Dan Schwartz for their guidance, support and advice during the course of this research. 2 St. John 1880, iii. iv I would also like to thank the Centre for Underwater Archaeology (CUA) at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev (TSNUK) and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) for their initial and continued support of my research; the faith and help of their personnel were indispensable to the success of this project. In particular I would like to acknowledge Dr. Sergey Zelenko, Yana Morozova, Nikita Zelenko and Officer Slava of CUA, and Dr. George Bass, Dr. Deborah Carlson and Tamara Hebert of INA. The friends, companions and mentors to whom I owe so many great adventures, moments and lessons are too many to name in full, and you know who you are in any case. But in particular, though in no particular order, I would like to thank Dr. Jessi Halligan for absolutely everything, Dr. Donny Hamilton, Dr. Pulak and Dr. Castro for their inspiration, Chad Gulseth, Rodrigo Torres, Nick and Sarah Budsberg, Justin Parkoff, Jim Jobling, Dr. Helen DeWolf, John Hamilton, Bill Charlton, Sheila Mathews, Josh Keene, Marion Coe, Dave Hoffman, David Brankovits, Dr. Tom Iliffe, Brett Gonzalez, Tamara Thomsen, Tuba Ekmekçi, Bilge and all staff at the BRC, Chris Cartellone, Ralf Singh-Bischofberger, Laura White, Chris Dostal, Lilia Campana, Dr. Dan Davis, Dr. Michael R. Waters, Morgan Smith, Neil Puckett and Sunshine Thomas, Ed Green, Dr. Kris Trego, Deniz Güney Akkor, Andrey Kulagin, Eugene Archangelski, Sergey Spluhin, Yuri Ivanov, Sergey Ivanov, Alexandra Bashenkova, Katerina Valenterova, Peter Fix, Amy Borgens, Max Pschorr and Rugger. v I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Anthropology department staff, particularly Cindy Hurt, Rebekah Luza and Marco Valadez, who are tireless in their advocacy for their students, and without whose help I could not have completed my work. Finally, I would like to thank the CUA, INA and CSFA teams that I have had the great pleasure to work with over the course of this research. We, like our adventurous predecessors, have drawn gossamer webs across the world, bridging countless barriers with bonds of friendship and mutual scholarly inquiry, bonds that are nearly invisible, and yet are of some of the strongest substance in the natural world. vi NOMENCLATURE TAMU Texas A&M University INA The Institute of Nautical Archaeology CUA The Centre for Underwater Archaeology TSNUK Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev Nm Nautical Mile: 1,852 m, 6, 076.11 ft. Kt Knot: One nautical mile per hour. (1.852 kmh, 1.151 mph) [ ] Indicate additions by the author vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. iv NOMENCLATURE ........................................................................................................ vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Thesis Structure: Maritime Perspectives on the Shipwrecks of Novy Svet .................... 5 CHAPTER II THE JUNIPER COAST: MAPPING THE HISTORY AND THE HAVEN OF NOVY SVET .............................................................................................. 11 Novy Svet in Perspective: A Bay Called Paradise ........................................................ 13 Archaeology Beneath the Bay ..................................................................................... 30 The Shield of Poseidon: The Seas as Protectors of Our Multicultural Heritage ......... 41 Charting the Unknown: Mapping the Novy Svet Research Site ................................. 47 The Bathymetric Map ............................................................................................... 58 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER III A PALIMPSEST OF SAND: NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FROM TWO MILLENIA OF SEAFARING IN THE BAY OF NOVY SVET ................................................................................................................................ 63 Anchors in Time: The Anchor and Brail Ring Assemblages ....................................... 65 The Ceramic Assemblage ........................................................................................... 91 Wooden Remains ...................................................................................................... 94 Concretions ............................................................................................................... 98 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 102 viii From Palimpsest to Print ......................................................................................... 105 CHAPTER IV CITY OF SEAFARERS: THE MARITIME HISTORY OF PISA FROM ITS FOUNDATION THROUGH THE DAWN OF THE RENAISSANCE . 107 The Hydrographic Context of Pisa .......................................................................... 110 The Pisan Coast: A Network of Riverine, Lacustrine and Littoral Harbors .............. 114 A Comparative City on the Tuscan and Ligurian Littoral – The History of Luna through the Fall of the Western Roman Empire ...................................................... 117 The Survival of Pisa in Post-Roman Italy ................................................................