THE HELLENISTIC TRANSPORT AMPHORAS FROM THE EXCAVATION AT THE HARBOUR OF PHALASARNA: new data for the study of the economy of Crete before the Roman conquest. Final Report Dr. Pasquale Valle A brief history of the site of Phalasarna - Research objectives During the antiquity Phalasarna was the westernmost harbour-town of Crete, located on the impervious promontory of Kutri and the nearby coast. Its geographical position that was a propitious one, given that Phalasarna was located on the shortest sea route between Egypt and Greece, favored the occupation of the wider area since the Minoan period. During the expansion of Alexander the Great, the Persians financed the construction of the powerful naval base in their attempt not to leave the island of Crete an easy prey to the Macedonian conqueror. The new harbour, which was almost completely artificial, represents a large-scale engineering structure due to the advanced techniques that were followed for its construction. (Fig. 1) The imposing fortification of the harbour and the remaining structures of the acropolis allowed to Captain Spratt of the Royal Navy to identify them with the ruins of Phalasarna in 1851. The excavation campaigns that begun in 1986 by Elpida Hadjidaki and Frank Frost, are still in course and are proving to be of vital importance to the matters of broadening the knowledge regarding both Hellenistic Crete and Phalasarna. The aim of this research project is to analyze systematically the large quantity of the amphora material of the Hellenistic period that comes from the excavation campaigns of 2011 and 2012 at the ancient harbour of Phalasarna. The aforementioned excavation campaigns were focused on various areas both inside and around the harbour and revealed a big quantity of pottery that concerns the entire stratigraphic 'palimpsest' that extends from the site's fortification to its destruction from the Romans. In the case of Phalasarna we deal with a unique archaeological context, since, due to the tectonic uplift it has undergone (the harbour is currently found at circa 6.6 meters above sea level), it presents a particular stratigraphy. The latter constitutes a privileged observatory for the study of the economy as far as the aspects of production, consumption and maritime trade are concerned, in this specific and well-defined historical period. Fig. 1 - Hypothetical reconstruction of the harbour (courtesy of Dr.
List of completed work schedule: During the stay at Kissamos, near the storage room of the local Archaeological Service where the under examination archaeological finds are held, all the planned operations were successfully carried out: - Individuation and removal of the amphora sherds from the pottery boxes - Recording and cataloguing of the diagnostic artefacts in a digital database - Washing, drawing and photographic documentation of both the artefacts and the epigraphic elements - Fabric analysis by means of a digital microscope and subsequent classification of the sherds - Individuation and photographic recording of the diagnostic artefacts from the stratigraphically associated fine wares, such as black glazed pottery and terra sigillata. Consequently, a digital graphic documentation by means of Autocad software was carried out (namely the drawings and the 'artefact record forms') for every amphora sherd (Fig. 2). The next step was the actual typological analysis of the amphora sherds through their comparative study in order to establish a relative dating. Furthermore, a chronological framework was provided for the stratigraphic units that contained amphora sherds through the individuation of the fine ware diagnostic ones. The excavation context where the percentage of the amphora fragments is higher is the area of the seafloor sediments (cargo residues etc.) near the quay of the harbour. The analysis of the findings has produced results that exceeded our expectations. Object: fragmentary rim with a handle, two contiguous items Topees I; Togii 1, BA TTpoKupaia; crrpu) ja 2 Origin: western Anatolia, Ephesus? Typology: Nikandros Group Chronology: around the middle of the I century B.C. The transport amphorae attest the import activity of Phalassarna already from the 5 th century BC. From the 2 nd century AD onwards it seems that the imports increase and include also several new production centres from the Aegean as well as the Western Mediterranean Sea. Most of the transport amphorae date to between the end of the 2 nd and the first half of the 1 st century BC, namely when the destruction of the harbour took place. The imported amphorae cease to arrive after that date. However, locally produced amphorae that date between the end of the 1 st and the 3 rd century AD begin to appear. Paste group: 1 References: M. Lawall, Archaeological context and Aegean amphora chronologies: A case study of Hellenistic Ephesos," in J. Eiring and J. Lund (eds.), Transport amphorae and trade in the eastern Mediterranean. Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, vol. 5. Fig. 2 - 'artefact record forms' sample
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Quays (sector I - excavation pits 1, 2, 3) - Fig. 4 The excavated section is located next to the quays, at the side that was exposed to the water. The excavated strata were constituted by the obliterated remains of the structure and the seafloor sediments (cargo residues etc.). The superficial stratum contained elements that associate it with the tsunami deposit of AD 68 and it covered both the remained structures and the lower stratum, which has been interpreted as a part of the harbour's seafloor sediments. The latter (the lower stratum) can be associated with the destruction layer of the 67 BC as well as the layer of silt and sand deposit that succeeded it, after the abandonment of the harbour. Most of the ceramic findings, although Fig. 4 - Harbour quays (courtesy of Dr. Elpida Hadjidaki) washed out from the seawater and in part residual, can be dated between the 2 nd and the 1 st century BC. It should be noted that there is a large number of amphorae produced in the Rhodian Peraia and Western Anatolia.
Furthermore, there is a large group of amphorae that belong to the so-called "Nikandros group". Some of these vessels are typologically similar to the amphorae found at the renowned shipwreck of the nearby Antikythera Island. Currently it is believed that the production centre of those amphorae should be placed at the area of Ephesus. However, besides their shape similarities, the amphorae found at Phalasarna differ from those of the Antikythera shipwreck in terms of fabric. For this reason, it was decided to run a petrographic analysis on the "Nikandros group", in order to be able to identify the area of their origin. The production area (sector III - excavation pits 1, 3, 3 a, 10, 11, 12) - Fig. 5 This is a Hellenistic winery, which is constituted by various production units such as press beds, collection tanks and storage spaces, related to the several stages of the wine production. The area, which has not yet been entirely investigated, was re-used during the Roman period, albeit with important structural modifications, as well as the decommissioning of some of its spaces. Most of the amphorae come from the stratigraphic contexts that are related to the obliteration levels of the winery's storage units. The presence of several Cretoise amphorae in association with Late Italian terra sigillata vessels (among which the shape CVArr, 1191 stamped in planta pedis 'C.P.P.' of Arretine fabric) allow us to date the aforementioned obliteration at the second half of the 1 st century AD. Furthermore, judging by the big quantity of the residual material washed out by the seawater and by the presence of marine fauna elements, the soil that constitutes the obliteration level can be associated with the 68 AD tsunami deposits, something that narrows further the dating (of the obliteration) to the last third of the 1 st century AD. With regard to the residual pottery there is a presence of a significant quantity of Hellenistic amphorae that are most probably of local production. However, since the research is still on-going, it is at present impossible to determine with certainty the provenance of the aforementioned amphorae. Other amphorae that are also present in this context are attributable to the production areas of South Ionian koine, the Rhodian Peraia, the Knidian peninsula, Kos, Chios and, in a small part, to the Ionic-Adriatic area. The residual material not only covers a vast geographic area regarding its origin, but it is also dispersed over a wide chronological range, from the 5 th to the end of the 1 st century BC. East excavation pit (sector IV - excavation pit 1) - Fig. 6 This is a small pit that revealed some walls of uncertain function. The two diagnostic elements, which are a residual sherd of a Chios "straight neck" amphora rim and a Late Koan pointed bottom dated to the end of the 1st century BC, come from the upper layers and are associated with the Hellenistic occupation of the area. Fig. 6 - East excavation pit (courtesy of Dr. Elpida
Fig. 5 - Production area (courtesy of Dr. Elpida Hadjidaki)
Results This research has revealed: - The import of commodities and, in particular, wine, already from the 5 th century BC. - The involvement of Phalasarna in the commercial dynamics of the Hellenistic Aegean Sea already from the 3 rd century BC. The presence of luxury products (such as decorated fine ware pottery) and goods (such as wine) contributes to the study of the social dynamics at the polis of Phalasarna. The aforementioned information is also an indication that favours the theory according to which Crete was directly involved in the Hellenistic trade networks. That was probably owed not only to the strategic nautical position of the island that was a comfortable intermediate stop, but also to the fact that Crete was also a commercial destination per se. - The presence of amphorae which come from the renowned production groups of the areas of Western Anatolia, ("Nikandros group"), Kos and Knidos; an indication for the existence of a trade route that connected the Aegean area with the Libyan coast and Cyrene and also involved the Western coast of Crete. Of particular importance are the "Nikandros group" amphorae that were probably produced at the area of Ephesus. Those vessels share the same amphora typology with those discovered at the renowned shipwreck of Antikythera, which have not yet been studied in depth. - The presence of Hellenistic Cretan amphorae; something that fuels further the discussion regarding the intra-insular circulation of goods and commodities as well as the relations between the city-states that were involved in the exchanges. - The presence of locally produced amphorae of Roman date, made after the destruction of the harbour town of Phalasarna; an element that unlocks new research scenarios regarding the production units that were installed by the Romans at the area of Phalasarna. Archaeometric analysis Although it is presumed that part of the Hellenistic amphorae are of local production, the small sample does not allow us to carry out the archaeometric analysis. Our focus was instead turned onto another large amphora group of the so-called "Nikandros group", for which we had enough samples. The area of origin of these vessels is the Western Anatolia, most likely the Ephesus region. The sherds that are attributed to the "Nikandros group" belong to several amphora typologies, some of which do not correspond to any of the already published ones. This is why it was decided to focus the archaeometric analysis on ten sherds attributed to the "Nikandros group". At this point it has to be noted that a similar research on the amphorae of Ephesus, conducted by Dr. T. Bezeczky of the Institut fur Kulturgeschichte der Antike, is currently underway. The study of the amphorae from Phalasarna will certainly benefit from the results of that particular research. INSTAP Study Center for East Crete agreed to handle the analysis procedures. However, due to the technical requirements as well as to the sampling permits needed from the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, the results of the archaeometric analysis are expected to be available in the first semester of 2017. Dissemination of research results. The collected data will be presented at the 12 th International Congress of Cretan Studies that will be held in the city of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, from the 21 st to the 25 th of September. (http://www.12- iccs.gr/index.php/ 12ICCS/ICCS2016) The anticipated results Fig. 6 - of East the excavation petrographic pit analysis (courtesy will of be Dr. disseminated Elpida in the near future, as soon as they become available.
Future plans The present research resulted in the production of the as yet largest data collection regarding the identification of typologies and the accurate dating of transport amphorae in Hellenistic Crete. The preliminary outcomes are very promising in terms of the potential of further clarifying various aspects of the economic life and the commercial networks of the Cretan city-states during the Hellenistic period. However, in order to carry out a more in-depth study of certain aspects, it is necessary to include a greater number of data from various geographical areas of the wider region. Phalasarna is a privileged observatory for the Hellenistic pottery from a historical and a stratigraphic point of view; for this reason precisely it was designated as the starting point of this research project. In the years to come and along the same lines, it is hoped to be able to expand the knowledge on the Hellenistic economy of Crete to other important contemporaneous sites of the island. Acknowledgements This research was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the director of Phalasarna excavations Dr. Elpida Hadjidaki who entrusted me with the study of the material, as well as the cooperation of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania (former 12 th Ephorate) that provided the necessary study permits. I am grateful to both of them.