Discovering Harbours? Reflection on the State and Development of Landing Site Studies in the Baltic Sea Region

Abstract

For the study and understanding of the structure and use of the ancient landscape and the maritime aspects of society, landing sites are one of the most sought after and discussed antiquities in the cultural landscape. Methodologically, in locating the places for landing, looking at their context, such as the prehistoric landscape, has been given a high priority throughout the history of research and landing sites are presumed to have existed in the vicinity of several material and non-material indicators of maritime presence. However, as the category of landing sites and their nature have not been properly defined, such indiscriminate designation based purely on circumstantial evidence poses serious problems. This paper evaluates research into landing sites in the Baltic Sea region, scrutinising terminological and methodological approaches used and suggests a way forward.

Do Ships Shape the Shore? An Analysis of the Credibility of Ship Archaeological Evidence for Landing Site Morphology in the Baltic Sea

“…The start of special surveys dates to the second half of the 20th century, but landing site studies came into their own only in the mid‐1980s. The systematic survey of landing sites took as its starting‐point the already existing picture of the societies of the Late Iron Age and early Middle Ages (Ilves, 2009: 158). It also concentrated mainly on this period which was characterised by the sea as an increasingly important way of transportation and by a highly maritime society.…”

“…When discovered, however, they were often overlooked or made excuses for. No efforts were made to specify what should distinguish the notion of a landing site (Ilves, 2009: 158ff). In some cases, however, the gap in knowledge concerning expected archaeological features at landing‐areas was acknowledged during the investigations of coastal sites.…”

“…In this way, every site close to the former coast can be considered to be a landing site. This has also led to considerable confusion in the literature on the subject (for more detail see Ilves, 2009).…”

“…This view is also used to support the argument that it is almost impossible archaeologically to locate early and smaller landing sites. This circumstance, together with the fact that there is as yet no proper archaeological definition of a landing site (Ilves, 2009: 159), has led to fierce speculation about their location in different regions around the Baltic Sea (Carlsson, 1991; Ulriksen, 1998; Urtans, 1999; Mägi, 2004; Dobat, 2007). In this article, using material from the Baltic Sea region (see Fig.…”

Maritime Havens in Earlier Prehistoric Britain

“…There is a fine distinction between them, for the term ‘haven’ implies a sheltered mooring which could have been employed over a period of time. ‘Landing places’ played a more ephemeral role and for that reason they are more difficult to identify (Ilves 2009). Historical archaeologists have also studied the social and economic significance of these locations (Loveluck & Tys 2006), and their work investigates the relationship between inland communities and people who lived by the sea.…”