Stratification and contamination in ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks

Uluburun shipwreck stowaway house mouse: molar shape analysis and indirect clues about the vessel's last journey

“…Because shipwrecks are not sealed deposits, they can suffer from later contamination (Parker, 1981). The greenish encrustation on the mandible (Fig.…”

Magnetic detection of ship ballast deposits and anchorage sites in King Herod's Roman harbour, Caesarea Maritima, Israel

“…Reinhardt and Raban, 1999). Ballast deposits also occur as discrete stone piles and mounds on the seabed, marking the location of shipwreck sites (Parker, 1981;Keith and Simmons, 1985;Ballard et al, 2000;Callahan et al, 2001;Bertrame and Gaddi, 2002;Raveh and Kingsley, 1992;Kingsley, 2003;Royal, 2006). These are formed when wooden hull structures are destroyed during wrecking or lost to decay and erosion processes, and where preserved, can provide a record of the hull contents.…”

“…Thick ballast stone layers have also been documented from a number of ancient harbour sites in the Mediterranean (e.g. Caesarea Maritima, Alexandria, Dor) Kingsley, 2003;Stanley and Bernasconi, 2004;Reinhardt et al, 2006) but have largely been disregarded as a potential archive of archaeological information, as there is a general perception that ballast layers are essentially ex-situ deposits, lacking proper stratigraphic and archaeological contexts (Parker, 1981;Lamb, 1986). Ballast deposits and associated pottery materials, however, can be preserved as in-situ layers under favorable environmental conditions; for example in low energy environments, such as sheltered harbour basins and in natural embayments where waves and currents are insufficient to erode or rework coarse deposits.…”

Alchemy or Science? Compromising Archaeology in the Deep Sea

“…The majority, it was argued, would have occurred at the coast due to topographic hazards and the assumed coast-hugging strategies of early seafarers. Although Parker (1981) has demonstrated that there is far more archaeological potential in shallow wreck sites than was once thought, this pessimistic view of deepwater potential has been modified by a constant stream of new finds. As one wreck after another was discovered on the Skerki Bank in 1997, not only were we gaining a series of undisturbed, less filtered, highresolution assemblages, but accumulating longitudinal data for seafaring in the ancient Mediterranean never before available.…”