Of Old Knidos Kos Marmaris
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ELIZABETH S. GREENE, JUSTIN LEIDWANGER, & NUMAN TUNA ince 2011, a team from Brock site served as a hub for communication University and Stanford Universi- and trade with links to Halikarnassos, Sty has been conducting survey and Simi, Kos, and Rhodes. he late 4th cen- excavation, in collaboration with Middle tury saw fundamental shifts in the urban East Technical University (METU) fabric at Burgaz, with more rudimen- and INA, in the shallows at Burgaz in tary workshops and industrial facilities southwest Turkey. he settlement here, replacing earlier civic and domestic spaces complete with four built harbors, lour- throughout the city center. his transfor- ished especially during the Archaic and mation is concurrent with, and almost Classical periods (ca 700-350 BCE), but certainly connected to, the founding of remained in use throughout antiquity. New Knidos on the tip of the Datça Pen- Located just east of the modern town of insula, a site probably best known for its Datça, the site has long been identiied 4th-century Aphrodite cult statue carved as the settlement of the Knidians before by Praxiteles. Travelers from around the their move to the tip of the peninsula, Greek world made pilgrimages to the city where extensive habitation at Tekir— to visit the nude statue, so awe-inspiring about 30 km to the west—can be traced that the goddess upon viewing herself is only from around the 4th century. While said to have wondered (Greek Anthology the nature of the connection between the 16.160), “Where did Praxiteles see me two sites has sparked scholarly debate, naked?” he Aphrodite stood as a symbol most current accounts of the region of the cultural internationalism of the accept the notion of two related settle- new Knidian city: a civic and religious ments, and the identiication of Burgaz center and a maritime hub of Hellenistic as ‘Old Knidos’ seems well supported in cosmopolitanism marked by its double readings of the historical evidence. harbors. Burgaz initially prospered because of its Although our interests focus on the proximity to fertile agricultural land as earlier socioeconomic activity at Burgaz, well as its ready access to the sea. In its the complementary relationship between foundation and initial development, the Old and New Knidos relects an evolving local, regional and international maritime centrality that speaks to our project’s Opposite: Aerial view of Harbor 1 in the fore- overall research aims. hrough collabora- ground and the large Harbor 4 in the distance; running between the two parallel to the shore tive ieldwork that juxtaposes evidence can be seen remains of the seawall. from the terrestrial and underwater areas B odrum Peninsula TURKEY HALICARNASSUS EXCAVATING THE HARBORS YASSIADA ŞEYTAN DERESI PABUÇ BURNU OF OLD KNIDOS KOS MARMARIS Datça Bozburun INA Afiliated Scholars continue their collaborative exploration Peninsula NEW KNIDOS BURGAZ Peninsula of ancient Greek harbors on Turkey's Datça peninsula in (Old Knidos) BOZBURUN order to document the area's changing maritime landscape SYMI BY ELIZABETH S. GREENE, JUSTIN LEIDWANGER, & NUMAN TUNA SERÇE LIMANI PHOTO: PHOTO: N. TUNA. 8 INA QUARTERLY 40.4 WINTER 2013 WWW.NAUTICALARCH.ORG 9 EXCAVATING THE HARBORS OF OLD KNIDOS ELIZABETH S. GREENE, JUSTIN LEIDWANGER, & NUMAN TUNA of the site, we explore how the changing decades of underwater investigations ranean and Aegean worlds. lowest levels belonging to the late maritime landscape of Burgaz relects have revealed shipwrecks from the Bronze Our project explores the breadth of mari- Classical and early Hellenistic eras a series of fundamental socioeconomic Age through the Byzantine period and time socioeconomic interaction, including (4th and 3rd centuries BCE). shifts along the Datça Peninsula, from the beyond. Excavated wrecks in the region the fundamental stages that came before Large rocks throughout the area— city’s rise as an Archaic maritime center, include those at Şeytan Deresi, Pabuç and after the distribution of commodities and in some places quantities of roof to the late Classical relocation of the civic Burnu, Yassıada, Bozburun, and Serçe through shipping. How and where were tiles—likely point to the collapse of core, and its ultimate decline at the end Limanı. hese projects have demonstrated goods produced? How were cargoes and the harbor structures, perhaps associ- of antiquity. clearly that the southeast Aegean was for shipments organized and by whom? To ated with a sea level change after the Looking farther seaward, the project is centuries an important point of transit, what degree are literary descriptions of Hellenistic era, as preliminary geo- poised to answer questions at the heart of where ships carried goods for distribution maritime loans and the busy socioeconom- physical analysis indicates. In 2013, INA’s long-term explorations along the around the region and internationally, ic lives of ports and harbors mirrored in geophysical coring in and around L1 Bodrum and Datça Peninsulas, where particularly between the eastern Mediter- the archaeological record? And when goods was initiated by Beverly Goodman- reached their destinations, how did the Tchernov from the University of harbors at Burgaz and other cities facilitate Haifa. Results from these cores may their redistribution and consumption? help to clarify the formation pro- What was the relationship between harbor cess of the harbors and provide a installations and the nearby settlements? How did the positioning of port cities change depending on shipping trends, AUTHORS The project is poised to answer questions at the heart of INA’s long-term explorations along the Bodrum and Datça Peninsulas. ELIZABETH S. GREENE Associate Professor, and what happened to those sites left Brock University behind? he phenomenon of wandering cities—what we might think of as ‘por- table ports’—is a curious but not unusual occurrence in antiquity, where pragmatic economics may have served as critical mo- tivators behind urban relocations. row at only 10-15 m, igures that would low-lying ields. HARBOR 1 (L1) suggest a very modest capacity. he A primary focus of our project has been JUSTIN LEIDWANGER he shift from civic to industrial activity extremely shallow depth—at present no the excavation of a trench in L1 along the Assistant Professor, is relected in the town’s harbors, con- deeper than 3 m—and the general topog- northern harbor mole in L1 and extend- Stanford University nected to the settlement by a series of raphy in the area suggest that consider- ing toward the seawall. All ceramics were paved streets. he closest harbor, desig- able sedimentation may have pushed the collected for quantiication by ware and nated Harbor 1 (L1 for ‘Liman 1’ on the shoreline outward and reduced an area fabric, as well as more detailed study of plan), probably served the settlement in that originally extended into the adjacent diagnostic sherds for dating purposes. its earliest stages. An excellent natural Sherd counts reveal a high proportion harbor, it ofers good mooring space Opposite page: Map of Burgaz showing the of amphora material in comparison during the prevailing northwest meltem general layout of the four harbors and the ex- to cooking pots or domestic common winds. Today, the basin’s maximum cavations in the city center. This page from top: wares, as would be expected from a dimensions are barely 65 m across by 60 Late Classical and early Hellenistic workshops harbor context. Ceramics recovered NUMAN TUNA excavated by METU in the southeast sector of Professor, Middle East m from shore, and the entrance channel the site; Yael Braun and Nairouz Qubty take a from the trench are all fragmentary, with Technical University between its two moles is relatively nar- K. KRUSELL TUNA; BOTTOM: N. PHOTO: TOP & METU; TUNA MAP: N. core in the waters just outside L1. the majority of datable sherds from the 10 INA QUARTERLY 40.4 WINTER 2013 WWW.NAUTICALARCH.ORG 11 EXCAVATING THE HARBORS OF OLD KNIDOS ELIZABETH S. GREENE, JUSTIN LEIDWANGER, & NUMAN TUNA shipwreck were investigated at approxi- structures here include moles and two military harbor in which hucydides include Middle East Technical University, mately 4 m of depth just inside the north- probable towers: one located at the end (8.43) suggests ship repair took place dur- Brock University, Stanford University, INA, SUGGESTED READING ern mole of L4. Diagnostic features of at of the northeast mole, the other near the ing the Peloponnesian War. the Social Sciences and Humanities Research least 25-30 Late Roman 1 (LR1) and Late midpoint of the southwest mole. Both Conversations with local residents have Council of Canada, the Canadian Foun- Roman 2 (LR2) amphoras—similar to the towers are approximately square, with underscored the need for full documenta- dation for Innovation, and Texas A&M Bean, G.E. and J.M. Cook. 1952. “The Cnidia.” Annual of the British School two types that dominate the 7th-century dimensions ranging from 7.5 m to nearly ERSON tion of the harbor structures, shipwreck University. hanks are due to the Turkish at Athens 47: 171-212. Yassıada shipwreck cargo—lie exposed on 9 m. he architectural style, preliminarily remains, and other underwater cultural Ministry of Culture and Tourism and its the seabed, and some additional material explored through test excavations in 2013, heritage in light of destructive winter representatives on the project, as well as the Demand, N. 1990. Urban Reloca- was uncovered beneath the ine sand. Oral exhibits strong parallels with the city walls storms and the inevitable expansion of Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeol- tion in Archaic and Classical Greece. reports suggest that this collection was and suggests that these features incorporat- tourism in the area. One of the many key ogy. Critical logistical support was provided Norman. once larger and included intact examples. ed into the walls of L2 may be associated diferences between our work at Burgaz by Tuba Ekmekçi and Volkan Demirciler.