archaeomap - Regione Siciliana

Transcripción

ARCHAEOMAP
Edited by S. Tusa & G. Brancato
Achaeomap - Archaeological Management Policies
Project Coordinator
Sebastiano Tusa
Project Manager and relation with EC
Giacoma Brancato
Directorate General for Research
Directorate I - Enviroment
Unit I 3 «Enviromental technologies and pollution prevention»
Project officer
Michel Chapuis
Scientific Coordinator
Mustafa El tayeb - Sebastiano Tusa
Scientific Director
Salvatore Alessandro Giannino
Administrative and documentary management area
Maria Concetta Dell'Aira
Comunication area, Web area and Public Relations Office
Salvatore Emma
Archaeological area
Nicolò Bruno
Philippe Tisseyre
Sustainable development area
Manuel Bellafiore
Roberto Morinilli
Translations
Monica Bove
Graphic and pagination
Vincenzo Cucchiara
Carmelo Sebbio
Photos
Partners archives
© Novembre 2009
All Right Reverved
The ARCHAEOMAP coordination project has
been funded by the European Commission
under the "Scientific Support to Policy"
Programme of the sixth EU Framework
Programme for Research and Technological
Development (contract n° 044376).
Archaeomap : archaeological management
policies. - Palermo : Regione siciliana,
Assessorato dei beni culturali e dell'identità
siciliana, Dipartimento dei beni culturali e
dell'identità siciliana, 2011.
ISBN 978-88-6164-166-2
1. Archeologia – Paesi mediterranei.
930.09822 CDD-22
SBN Pal0235339
CIP - Biblioteca centrale della
Regione siciliana “Alberto Bombace”
Table of contents
Introduction
by Sebastiano Tusa
07
Summaries
11
Chapter I
The “ARCHAEOMAP” project
1.1
Chapter II
Chapter IV
Bibliography
Archaeological Management Policies
by Giacoma Brancato and Sebastiano Tusa
The pilot sites
23
2.1
The sea of Egadi
by Sebastiano Tusa
25
2.2
Villefranche-sur-Mer
by Dominique Tailliez
41
2.3
La fachada maritima da Ampurias
by Xavier Nieto
43
2.4
Sinis
by Francesco Cubeddu, Sergio Frau and Mario Tozzi
71
2.5
L’épave de la Lomellina
by Max Guerout
83
2.6
The Megalithic Temple Complex of Kordin III, Malta
by Jonathan Borg
95
2.7
Pharos Island of Alexandria, Egypt
by Alaa El-Din Mahrous Mahmoud
2.8
Applying a Conservation Prioritization approach to Submerged
and Coastal Heritage Sites
by Darren Andrew Fa,Geraldine Finlayson and Clive Finlayson
2.9
Chapter III
17
Tyre - South Lebanon
by Assaad Seif in collaboration with
Alexandre Sursock, Sami el-Masri and Imma Plana
101
107
117
The O.N.G. contribution to the diffussion of culture
131
3.1
The Bourbon Arsenal of Palermo
by Pietro Maniscalco
133
3.2
Importanza della conservazione del patrimonio culturale e la diffusione
delle informazioni
by Rita Cedrini
Guidelines for sustainable development of coastal and
underwater archaeological sites
137
143
4.1
Sustainable development
by Salvatore Giannino
145
4.2
Environmental Initial Analysis for underwater and coastal sites
by Giacoma Brancato and Manuel Bellafiore
152
4.3
Indicators for Integrated coastal management (ICOM)
165
171
Introduction
10
Introduction
Experience and teaching from Archeomap
Underwater and submarine archaeology is widely discussed and big scientific,
economic, recreative and cultural interests are born around this discipline that can be
considered one of the latest arisen from the historical-archaeological sciences.
Research on deep sea, besides giving life to dreams and driving consistent economic
interests, over its implicit attractiveness reserving original as well as unusual surprises
and potentialities, it remains above all a discipline of historical character strictly linked to
human history and to its relations with the sea.
Sailing or warring sea ships were a little and closed universe gathering a highly
representative sample of the society of their age and of the history of that times.
It's with underwater archaeological research that there is the possibility to contribute,
sometimes decisively, in the analysis of trade, of transports and of the ancient port system
management.
Underwater archaeology has started to take significant steps forward when, in the
post war period, it invented the air aqualung. As from that time, a lot of initiatives, tours de
reconnaissance and researches carried out in different parts of the world can be counted.
The results are encouraging and the present wide interest over this sector of the
historical research demonstrates it. Nevertheless, a lot has still to be done. Archaeomap
is part of a process of innovation in methodologies and techniques applied
in the sector of underwater and naval archaeological research. Under the UNESCO
aegis, it aims at homogenizing the national levels of efficiency and efficacy reached in
research, safeguard and in turning the underwater cultural heritage into better account.
It aims at putting into practice and at diffusing the best practices of 2001 UNESCO
Convention for safeguarding the underwater cultural heritage. It aims at reaffirming the
professional role of the experts establishing a clear separation between underwater free
time practice and voluntary service from one side and professionalism on the other one.
At the same time it aims at recovering the fundamental role of the volunteers giving
emphasis to the moral contents of their contribution. Moreover, Archaeomap wants to
stigmatize as extremely negative every tentative to make profit from underwater cultural
heritage stimulating and intensifying the struggle against the seekers of treasures and the
“grave robbers of the sea”.
The big possibilities that the technology developed in the field of researches and of
the oceanographic activities offers are drawn in the archaeological research with
unquestionable successes. Nevertheless it is necessary both greater attention and more
investments within the framework of a greater coordination among different scientific
sectors still far off and private areas of intervention that have developed a wide
experience at national and international level.
Archaeomap contributes with seriousness and competence, as well as with
incisiveness and determination, at increasing the research scientific level, at optimizing
the safeguard and at making more efficacious the improvement of the underwater cultural
heritage taking into consideration that it is not an inexhaustible or a renewable source.
What is important is to assure the moral rigour and the professional ethic that must
stand below every single operation linked to the management of the underwater cultural
heritage: this through some principles that Archaeomap has worked out and compared
sharing them with the different national experiences.
The boundless underwater museum needs attention and professional rigour that
have to be built thanks to comparison and international cooperation sustained by
theexciting experience gained with Archaeomap.
009
Archaeomap - Archaeological Management Policies
PARTNERS
Soprintendenza del Mare
Via Lungarini,9 - 90133 Palermo - Italy
Phone: +39 091 6172615
Sebastiano Tusa
e-mail: [email protected]
www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/sopmare
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
7, Place de Fontenoy - 75732 - Paris
Phone: +33 (0) 145684163
Mustafa El Tayeb
www.unesco.org
Comitato Pro Arsenale Borbonico
Via C. Colombo 134 - 90142 - Palermo - Italy
Phone: +39 3356102379
Pietro Maniscalco
www.arsenaledipalermo.it
UNISOM
Consorzio Universitario per l'Ateneo della Sicilia Occidentale
e il Bacino del Mediterraneo
Via Niso, 15 - 91100 - Trapani - Italy
Phone: +39 0923 437749
Roberto Bertini
e-mail:[email protected]
www.unisom.it
International Institute for the Study of Man
Piazza Verdi, 6 - 90100 - Palermo - Italy
Phone: +39 3483361414
Rita Cedrini
Liaisons Mediterranée
4, rue El Moez - 1004 - Tunis
Phone: + 21 671570937
Ridha Tlili
Departement of Underwater Archeology Egypt
Supreme Council of Antiquities
Fakhry Abdel - Nour Street, 4 D
Abbassia - Cairo - Egypt
Phone: +203 522 6242
Alaa El - Din Mahrous
www.grm.gov.eg
Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna
Notre Dame Gate, St. Edward's Road
CSP 08 - Vittoriosa - Malta
Phone: +356 21 800992
Mario Farrugia
www.wirtartna.org
Association pour la Sauvegarde du Patrimoine Maritime de
Pavillon Baudouin les Voutes de la Darse
06230 - Villefranche-Sur-Mer - France
Phone: +33 (0) 493763720
www.darse.org
Uninettuno - Università Telematica Internazionale
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 39 - 00186 - Roma - Italy
Phone +39 06 6920761
Maria Amata Garito
e-mail:[email protected]
www.uninettuno.it
Gibraltar Museum
18-20 Bomb House Lane - Gibraltar
Phone: +(350)20074289
Clive Fimlayson
www.gibmuseum.gi
Associazione Archeo-Antropologica Approfondimenti
Interdisciplinari Operativi
Via Vincenzo Sulis, 43 - 09124 Cagliari - Italy
Phone: +39 06 55301809
Sergio Frau
CNRS
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
3, rue Michel-Ange - 75794 Paris - France
Phone: +33 (0)4 9376 3745
Jean Mascle
www.dr20.cnrs.fr
CNRS of Lebanon
Sports City Boulevard, Bir Hassan - Beirut - Lebanon
Phone: +9614-981885
Alexandre Sursock
www.cnrs.edu.lb
Fondazione Athena Sviluppo
Corso Venezia 18 - 20121 Milano - Italy
Phone: +39 011 5694451
Giampaolo Natoli
Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya
Passeig de Santa Madrona 3908038 - Barcelona - Spain
Phone: +34972204637
Xavier Nieto
www.mac.cat/cat/Seus/CASC
GRAN - Groupe de Recherche en Archeologie Navale
Passage de la Corderie - 83100 - Toulon - France
Phone: +33 (0)4 6735 9201
Max Guerout
www.archeonavale.org
010
Summaries
Summaries
CHAP.
1
The “ARCHAEOMAP”
project
CHAP.
2
The pilot sites
1.1 Archaeological Management Policies
by Giacoma Brancato and Sebastiano Tusa
2.1 The sea of Egadi
by Sebastiano Tusa
ARCHAEOMAP was a coordination action supported
by the European Commission under the Sixth Framework
Programme, contributing to the implementation of the specific
Priority Scientific Support to Policies within the thematic area
Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems,
Key Action The protection of cultural heritage and associated
conservation strategies. ARCHAEOMAP project aimed at
developing balanced, interrelated policies with an integrated
coastal zone management focus. Through the analysis of ten
Mediterranean archaeological pilot sites it proposed an
interdisciplinary research aiming at improving a sustainable
development methodology for coastal and underwater
archaeological sites management. The project aimed at
enabling managers and end-users of archaeological costal
and underwater sites at improving the relationship with the
marine environment. ARCHAEOMAP centred its interest in
sustainable development, stressing importance of
conservation and rational utilisation of coastal zone
resources, also under the socio-economic aspect. The
realized network of pilot sites will be a vehicle for knowledgesharing, research and monitoring, education, training
and participatory decision-making aiming at protecting
environmental resources and cultural diversity. The pilot sites
also served as learning and demonstration sites in the
framework of the United Nations Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development (2005-2014/DESD). Piloted by an
International Committee, ARCHAEOMAP provided contextspecific opportunities to combine scientific knowledge and
forms of governance using an inter-disciplinary methodology.
The International Forum that has took place in Paris in the
spring 2009, has been the most important media window of the
project to diffuse and disseminated the new methodology
developed by the ARCHAEOMAP project.
Cala Minnola early roman wreck was selected as
pilot study to show the management model that was assumed
by Soprintendenza del Mare for entire sicilian under water
cultural heritage. Cala Minnola wreck is situated in Levanzo
and was dug during the past few years. All the recovered cargo
was left on the bottom of the sea. They were around 100
amphorae still laying in the sea to be visited by scuba divers.
Moreover on the site a video control system was settled in
order to control the area, but also to let people watch to the
amphorae from a museum. The same system was settled in
Gadir wreck in Pantelleria, but this last can be seen also on the
web. In the same area of Levanzo it is possible to visit also the
site in which the famous battle between the Romans and the
th
Carthaginians was fought the 10 of march of 241 b.C. Severl
a lead anchors are still visible on the place where the Roman
fleet was mooring before the attack to the Carthaginian fleet
not far from Capo Grosso in Levanzo. The battle was fought
north of Capo Grosso on the way between Marettimo and
Bonagia where the Carthaginian fleet was directed in order to
help the army of Amilcare sieged on Erice.
2.2 Villefrance-sur-Mer
by Dominique Tailliez
Villefranche-sur-Mer, port militaire et
commercial de la ville de Turin jusqu'en 1815 a la
chance de voir concentré sur un espace unique les
principales lignes directrices du projet ARCHAEOMAP.
Tout d'abord le port royal de Savoie est le seul à
posséder encore intact un bassin de construction de
galères du XVIII siècle. Ensuite le site accueille
aujourd'hui un Observatoire Océanologique de
renommée internationale du CNRS et de l'Université
Paris VI, Pierre et Marie Curie, mais aussi des ateliers
de charpente maritime de grande qualité. Enfin, la rade
de Villefranche-sur-Mer présente un grand intérêt
écologique, scientifique et archéologique, comme en
témoignent le grand nombre d'épaves et la biodiversité
des espèces marines étudiées. Ce n'est donc pas sans
raison que Villefranche-sur-Mer a été choisie comme
site pilote du réseau ARCHAEOMAP en Méditerranée.
Et que le programme Méditerranée de l'UNESCO a
disposé, jusqu'en 2006, d'une antenne régionale mise à
disposition par la Municipalité au cœur de sa Citadelle
pour le développement des projets de coopération
internationale qui allie patrimoine maritime, diversité
culturelle et biodiversité.
013
2.3 La fachada maritima da Ampurias
by Xavier Nieto
2.5 L’épave de la Lomellina
by Max Guerout
The localisation of the ancient harbor of
Ampurias was already known since XIX century. At that
period there was the idea that the space between the
Palaiàpolis and the Neàpolis was the ancient harbor.
The discovery of a second harbor in the area of Riells-La
Clota and of many underwater structures East of the
Neàpolis made clear that the situation could have been
much more complex and that a general topographical
study was necessary. The study was devoted to the
knowledge of the relationship between the Greek and
Roman town and the sea. A particular attention was for
the quality of masonry in relation with its function in a
marine structure. The quality and the shape of the
ancient harbor was based on its function as a structure
that played an important role in the city life. The
knowledge of this important structure was based not
only on the historical date and sources, but also on the
land and underwater archaeological data recovered
thank to a systematic survey of the area that was done
either traditionally and by the use of electronic
equipment. This was also useful to understand which
was the shape of the Ampurias territory in ancient times.
The wreck of a Renaissance vessel, sunk in the
middle of the bay of Villefranche Sur Mer (France) has
been the object of ten excavation campaigns from 1982
to 1991. Many manuscripts found in the archives
allowed to identify without any hesitation the “Nave”
(ship) Lomellina, sunk during a hurricane on September,
th
15 , 1516. Being the Genoese origin sure, the collected
information allows us to give an important contribution to
the knowledge of a certain type of construction, which
represents the backbone of the Genoa Republic's fleet,
which was able to guarantee the transport of the heavy
3
merchandise (more than 1t/m ) in seagoing trips without
any load breaking. The framework's state and the
analysis of structure and general characteristics of the
vessel allowed to single out a kind of vessel which
seems to be typical of the Mediterranean area and
differs so much from the contemporary boats, built
according to Atlantic traditions. Besides many
equipment pieces, armament represents one of the
richest properties. Particularly, the discovery of a gun
still mounted on its carriage allows us to make a
comparison with the very rare contemporary models
found in Great Britain or in Denmark.
2.4 Sinis
by Francesco Cubeddu, Sergio Frau and Mario Tozzi
2.6 The Megalithic Temple Complex of Kordin III, Malta
by Jonathan Borg
The double typology of the 20 thousand
Sardinian Nuraghes dated back to the second
millennium BC - almost still intact those ones standing
on the rise, often buried in the mud those ones in the
plains – invites to study with rigour and with suitable
equipments the reasons standing below such evident
diversity. In concrete it is a question of putting the basis
to verify if such a situation – the most emblematic: the
Nuraghi Palace of Barumini, discovered by Giovanni
Lilliu 30 metres under the mud – has been caused by a
sea invasion. Is the Sinis a Pompei of the Sea? Was the
Isle of Atlantide the Isle of Sardinia? Strong, real and
unhappy as it is Caucaso, the Rock of Prometeo, his
brother trapped in Orient, tells the Beginning of Greeks?
Through the geology and ad hoc air surveys it will be
possible to outline with increasing precision the passing
phase between first and second millennium that, still
today, gives rise to a lot of questions among the
archaeologists.
The prehistoric megalithic temples of Malta
(mid 4 to 3rd millennium BCE) always foster a sense of
intrigue by those who visit them. They are a vivid
testimony to the ingenuity of the people who created
them. However archaeologists still fail to fully
understand these prehistoric people especially when it
comes to comprehend the relationship these people
had with the sea. Kordin III is one of these megalithic
complexes that received very little attention since its
discovery and excavation about 90 years ago. However
recent scholarship, mostly adopting a
phenomenological approach, has shed more light on
this little known archaeological site. These studies
together with an assessment of other known
archaeological sites in the vicinity as well as a closer
look to some of the artefacts from this site indicate that
the sea was never far away from the minds and eyes of
the people that built Kordin III.
th
014
Summaries
2.7 Pharos Island of Alexandria, Egypt
by Alaa El-Din Mahrous
rapid site evaluation and illustrate its application using
Gibraltar's submerged and coastal sites as a case
study.
Alexander the Great with a narrow causeway
linked the island of Pharos to the main land. This
causeway divided the coast of Alexandria into two ports,
the Eastern Great Harbor and the Western Harbor or
Eunostos. The naval and commercial vessels were
guided into port by the celebrated Alexandria light
House which stood on what is now the site of Quit Bey
Fort. After the pioneer work of Gaston Jondet, the chief
Engineer of the Department of ports and light houses
from 1911 to 1915 and Kamel Abul-Saadat (1961) the
Egyptian pioneer in Alexandria underwater archaeology
and a UNESCO mission in 1968, following which Honor
Frost published a preliminary report with some drawings
which revealed the importance of the site, the centre d'
Etudes Alexandrines (CEAlex) in co-operation with the
Department of underwater archaeology/Supreme
Council of Antiquities (DUA/SCA) rediscovered the
submerged site to the east of Qaitbay fort. At depth from
6 to 8 meters, in an area of 2.25 hectares more than
5000 pieces were located including statutes, sphinxes
and columns of different shapes, capitals and bases of
columns and parts of obelisks. They are dated to Grecoroman period but there are artifacts from the pharaonic
period. The cultural heritage faced lot of risk due to the
development of coastal areas and there is need to
respond appropriately to the possible negative impact
on underwater cultural heritage. Moreover there is a
need to present it for the education and the enjoyment of
the public. The idea is to make the site of pharos as a
cultural heritage park. The idea is to develop a plan for
the conservation and in situ management of the site.
2.9 Tyre - South Lebanon
by Assaad Seif with Alexandre Sursock, Sami el-Masri
and Imma Plana
The present document is prepared within the
framework of the EU project ARCHAEOMAP:
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES. The
project falls within the jurisdiction of the sixth framework
program scientific support to policies Area 3.6 “The
protection of cultural heritage and associated
conservation strategies”.
The objective of
ARCHAEOMAP is to develop balanced, interrelated
policies with an integrated coastal zone management
focus. […] It aims to protect environmental resources
and bio-cultural diversity, to support socio-economic
development through cultural tourism. ARCHAEOMAP
proposes an interdisciplinary research agenda and
capacity-building aiming at improving the relationship of
Mediterranean people with their marine environment.
Its targets are to assess the ecological, social and
economic dimensions of maritime culture loss and the
reduction of this loss. The project uses its network of
pilot sites as vehicles for knowledge-sharing, research
and monitoring, education and training, and
participatory decision-making. […] Some
ARCHAEOMAP's pilot sites are inscribed in the
UNESCO World Heritage List.
The study of these
pilot sites introduces innovation through its modern
approaches aimed at conservation and sustainable
development. Tyre has been inscribed upon the World
Heritage List in 1984 on the basis of criteria III and VI of
the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Criterion III:
Tyre is one of the earliest metropolises. Criterion IV: The
name of Tyre is associated with the production of purple
die, with the Phoenician expansion and the founding of
trade posts in the Mediterranean basin.The inscription
on the UNESCO World Heritage List gave this site a
universal value therefore it belongs to all humanity and
to future generations. Our role is to protect it and
preserve it without compromising its authenticity and
integrity. For that reason all actions we undertake that
meets our needs of the present must not conflict with the
spirit of the convention and compromise the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
2.8 Applying a Conservation Prioritization approach
to Submerged and Coastal Heritage Sites
by Darren Andrew Fa, Geraldine and Clive Finlayson
In order to have an objective management plan
there exists a need for well-structured databases and
inventories that will inform management decisions. The
development of these has been one of the main aims of
the ARCHAEOMAP Project. However, often
information-heavy databases can become
cumbersome when the need arises for a rapid and
flexible evaluation of sites. Here we present a
complementary model of a quantitative technique for
015
CHAP.
3
The O.N.G. contribution
to the
CHAP.
4 sustainable
Guidelines for
diffusion of culture
development of coastal and
underwater archaeological sites
3.1 The Bourbon Arsenal of Palermo
by Pietro Maniscalco
4.1 Sustainable development
The Arsenal is located towards the end of Via
dell'Arsenale and it borders with the Fincantieri
Shipyard and the fabulous villa of Marquis De Gregorio.
The vessels of the Royal Navy and private shipbuilders
were built in the area behind the building. Today this part
of the city is a true open-air museum which needs to be
revalued. In the area around the Arsenal stand Villa De
Gregorio, the Florio shipyards, the English Cemetery,
Montalbo Palace and many more buildings of great
interest. The Arsenal was built between 1621 an 1630
on the project of the architect Mariano Smiriglio, a great
figure in Italian Mannerism. The two-storey building has
a regular form; in the upper part of the façade there is the
Bourbon coat of arms with an eagle head and the
inscription: Philippi IV Hispan, utriusque siciliae regis III,
auspiciis augustis, navale armamentarium inchoatum,
perfectum MDCXXX. The Arsenal of Palermo was the
place where the xebecs and galleys that helped on the
fight against the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean
Sea where built. In fact, Sicilian ships played a leading
role in many sea battles.
The ARCHAEOMAP extrabudgetary project
rd
was established by a resolution of 33 UNESCO's
General Conference in 2005 (DR/37) inviting the
Organization to support a regional action plan for the
sustainable development of the Mediterranean's marine
heritage, as a follow-up to the 2002 World Summit on
Sustainable Development. UNESCO was asked to set
up an international committee to study the contribution
of science and culture to sustainable development in the
Mediterranean Region. This was done by providing
guidelines and methodologies, technical advice and
guidance on formulation, implementation, monitoring,
and a review of policies and plans concerning national,
regional and global Mediterranean activities.The
Mediterranean is a nexus of cultural, environmental,
political and social divergences, making it an ideal
proving ground for exploring options for the future and
constructing pilot projects whose goal is to develop
regional and global operational initiatives. Sustainable
development is not merely a scientific, technological or
economic question—it is a response to a planetary
social and ecological crisis.
3.2 The International institute for the study of man
by Rita Cedrini
4.2 Environmental Initial Analysis for underwater
and coastal sites
by Giacoma Brancato and Manuel Bellafiore
International Institute for the study of man takes
part into the project: “ARCHAEOMAP” focusing on the
double importance represented whether from the
preservation of cultural heritage or from dissemination
of information. Cultural heritage is all created from man
in the course of its history, not only the objects which
reflect cultural answers to its requirements but also the
Weltanschauung, the view of world and life of
community which is the very structure of any society. In
other words “heritage” as an identity which doesn't born
tout court, but it's built over time through cultural
segments, the features, preserved after the
dominations have gone away or the occasion/collision
with other populations are ended; segments maintained
because functional to own organization and able to build
the specificity which can be found within a region. In this
light, it has been favored the use of space in everyday
living, originating buildings which are related to customs
and way of life and which determine styles and artistic
designs
The Initial Environmental Analysis is performed both
to identify significant environmental aspects that affect
the site and to determine the indicators. The analysis
includes a description of the site, its location, description
of all activities within it, the analysis of environmental
issues, their quantification and determination of the
significance of them. The Initial Environmental Analysis
is a crucial activity for the determination of indicators
and the resulting definition of the objectives of
sustainable development of the site. The Archaeomap
project concerns both coastal and underwater
archaeological sites, so this template of analysis was
meant to be applied to these two type of sites. The
template are linked together, the order of application is
the following: 1) EIA phase 1 for both coastal and
underwater archaeological sites; 2) EIA phase 2 for
underwater sites; 3) EIA phase 2 for coastal sites.
016
cap. I
The Archaeomap project
CHAP.
Archaeological1.1
Management Policies
Archaeological Management Policies has been a coordination action that was
st
st
carried out between the 1 of November 2007 and the 31 of October 2009. It has involved
the following 15 partners belonging to 6 European and non European countries and the
UNESCO:
§
Regione Siciliana - Dipartimento Beni Culturali e Ambientali - Soprintendenza
Del Mare, Italy (SOPMARE)
§
UNESCO - Secteur des Sciences Division de La Politique Scientifique et du
Développement, International Organisation (UNESCO)
§
Comitato Pro Arsenale Borbonico di Palermo, Italy (ARSENALE)
§
Consorzio Universitario per l'Ateneo della Sicilia Occidentale e il Bacino
del Mediterraneo, Italy (UNISOM)
§
International Institute for the Study of Man, Italy (INTERINSTITUTE)
§
Association Pour La Sauvegarde Du Patrimoine Maritime De Villefranche
Sur Mer, France (ASPVM)
§
Liaisons Mediterraneennes, Tunisia
§
Universita Telematica Internazionale Non Statale UNINETTUNO, Italy
(UNINETTUNO)
§
Archaeological Museum of Florina, Greece
§
Centro d'Arqueologia Subacquatica, Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya,
Spain (MAC)
§
Fondazione Athena per lo Sviluppo, Italy (ATHENA)
§
Associazione Archeo-Antropologica Approfondimenti Interdisciplinari
Operativi, Italy (AAAAIO')
§
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Geosciences Azur (UMR
6526), France (CNRS)
§
Groupe de Recherche en Archeologie Navale, France (GRAN)
§
Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, Malta (WIRTARTNA)
And with the fundamental contribution of:
§
Supreme Council of Antiquities - Departement of Underwater Archeology
(DUA) - Maritime Museum of Alexandria – Egypt
§
Graeco Roman Museum, Egypt
§
CNR of Lebanon, Lebanon
§
Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar
The activities of the project were dedicated to the review of information on current
practices related to the management of archaeological underwater and coastal sites in
the Mediterranean basin, and to the definition of sustainable development guidelines
based on the suggestions of the UNESCO and on the UNESCO “Convention on the
Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage”, adopted by the UNESCO General
Conference on 2 November 2001.
The project publication do not represent the official position of the Commission on
the respective topics, and they have not to be considered as official recommendations or
as best available techniques, but as a source of information and references in the
implementation of the management of archaeological underwater and coastal sites. The
responsibility to choose the actual specific procedures for implementation is just up to the
authorities of the Member States.
The first work package was dedicated to the state of the art in characterisation of
019
archaeological coastal and underwater sites management in the Mediterranean area and
to the discussion of good practices and sustainable development strategies elaborated
by the International Committee. During the kick off meeting the different institutions and
organizations partner showed their working methods, highlighting the characteristics
potentially available to the project as best practices, and the available standards for each
method. The result of this first meeting has shown that in most of the countries
participating to the project environmental and sustainable management of coastal and
underwater archaeological sites was not compulsory by law therefore it was not
systematically carried out. Only the European partners follow European standards for
environmental protection, which have not been particularly designed for coastal and
underwater archaeological sites management and are not always appropriate. In detail,
only the Soprintendenza del Mare respect the European law for environmental
protection, the UNESCO Convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage
and, now, the 2009 "Carta di Siracusa on Biodiversity".
The second part of this WP, the final meeting, was dedicated to the elaboration of some
standards applicable to the sustainable development of coastal and underwater
archaeological sites, to the presentation of the ARCHAEOMAP final report (illustrating
pilot sites network, study cases and their relative research programs to manage natural,
cultural and socio-economical resources for an integrated coastal zone protection in the
Mediterranean basin) and to the presentation of UNINETTUNO distance-teaching
module.
The second work package was dedicated to “The contribution of Culture to
sustainable development around the Mediterranean basin” and to “The contribution of
Science to sustainable development in the Mediterranean area”. This review has shown
that Mediterranean coastal and underwater cultural heritage is strictly linked to its own
natural environment and for this reason the ecosystems and biodiversity protection is as
important as the same cultural heritage. In addition, this property represents an economic
resource for local people and a source of economic and social development. However,
coastal zones are for this reason under permanent pressure for the needs of tourism. This
situation leads to constant degradation of natural and cultural resources linked with social
conflicts and environmental degradation. On the other hand, as scientific contributions
have shown, both cultural and natural heritage need to be protected from human
intervention (linked to climate exchange and chemical and technological risks) and from
natural risks (linked to volcanic eruption, earthquake, tidal wave, hurricane/cyclone,
flood, slides) .
The contribution to sustainable development of coastal and under water archaeological
sites started with the considerations of complexity and mutual interaction of these factors.
This WP has provided a concrete support to the UNESCO “Convention on the Protection
of the Underwater Cultural Heritage” held in Paris and connected to the ARCHAEOMAP
Forum. During this Forum the pilot project sites and the management systems of
underwater sites included in it have been presented, as example of practical application
of the 2001 “Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage”.
UNESCO has organized the International Forum in springtime 2009 in order to
disseminate experiences of the Archaeomap project by means of a symposium and a
training workshop. International and national experts in natural, cultural and underwater
heritage of the Mediterranean participated in the forum, during which UNESCO
020
presented the World Heritage Convention (1972) and the Convention on Underwater
Cultural Heritage (2001). The symposium presentations and discussions have been very
interesting as they represented a dialogue opportunity between scientists and
representatives of other public organizations.
The third work package was dedicated to the results elaboration and to the
preparation of editorial publication and long distance teaching module.
Many topics have been discussed related to different disciplines, from the management
of coastal and underwater archaeological sites to the scientific aspects related to seismic
hazards and tsunami events in Mediterranean Basin, from the disaster prevention to the
conservation of biodiversity, from the Instruments for Education and public awareness of
the Mediterranean people to the advanced sensing systems for permanent monitoring,
so the review to prepare the final publication had to be very selective. At the Paris Forum
were also treated some aspects linked to the Education, the expertise and the Global
Environmental transition for the Master Courses.
Regarding the distance teaching module, video lessons of the partner's
representatives have dealt with issues of pilot sites management, with aspects of
involvement of NGOs in the management of cultural sites and the diffusion of cultural
aspects related to them, and with aspects of sustainable development.
The fourth work package was dedicated to dissemination activities and included
the preparation and updating of a project web site, a project brochure, CDs, DVDs, TV
documentary and a final publication. The brochure and CDs were printed in 1.000 copies,
the DVDs in 5.000 copies, the final publication in 11.000 copies.
The targeted recipients for the project information package are Member States Culture
Ministries, universities and research institutes as well as national and international
conferences and meetings.
The project website has been updated as soon as a deliverable was approved, and the
approved reports are already available in the website: www.archaeomap.eu.
In addition to this, the members of the team have presented the project through brochures
in various international events related to archaeological sites and cultural promotion, for
the whole duration of the project.
This final publication gives in our opinion a good overview of the state of the art of the
practices related to the management of coastal and underwater archaeological sites in
the Mediterranean area, and can be a very useful instrument for cultural authorities to
implement sustainable development polices, as well as a good information source for
operators, consultants, scientists and other stakeholders.
The fifth work package was dedicated to UNESCO technical and scientific
coordination. During the two years of the project UNESCO has coordinated, together with
the Region of Sicily, the International Committee of the Archaeomap project, has
developed the scientific contents of the project in cooperation with all partners, has
developed and established recommendations and guidelines related to preservation,
valorisation and management of natural, cultural and submarine maritime heritage and
has assisted project partners in all scientific and cultural matters, has undertaken
missions to advise partners in the preservation, valorisation and management of their
natural, cultural and submarine maritime heritage, and participating in meetings and
021
working groups thereof, supported the Region of Sicily to develop international
multimedia communication about Archaeomap pilot sites: multimedia portal, editorial
publishing and module. It created a long term development network among Archaeomap
partners in order to increase the resources of local organizations for managing and
developing the rich natural, cultural and underwater heritage, and to have a visible and
tangible impact on their role in the social and economic development of the
Mediterranean area. Furthermore UNESCO has provided an ideal framework for mutual
comprehension, a common protocol for transmitting knowledge and some input to look
for further funds for the development of new European Projects to support research and
training activities.
The last technical work package of the project aimed at structuring and reporting
the information which has been collected and presented in the previous work packages,
in order to make easy for users to identify the required information thus supporting the
decision making process. The result was a final publication introducing the pilot sites and
the main topics, with links to the recommendations and guidelines of the UNESCO.
The first two work packages have included the organisation of project meetings
and an International Forum at the UNESCO House.
They took place as follows:
- Kick-off meeting, 7 December 2007, Palermo
- Second project meeting, 6-7 March 2008, Gerona
- Third project meeting (MTA meeting), 15-17 December 2008, Rome
- International Forum, 24-27 March 2009, UNESCO House, Paris
- Final meeting, 28-29 October 2009, Palermo.
022
chap. II
The pilot sites
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.1
The sea of Egadi
Underwater cultural heritage management of wrecks and battle site.
Foreword
The ARCHAEOMAP project area selected for the archaeological sites sustainable
development guidelines drawing up is the Egadi Islands one and in particular Cala
Minnola roman republican wreck site (fig.1).
This area, according to different factors, represents a wide and well defined
microcosm representing entire coastal and insular Sicilian territory with its typical
features, influences and logistics.
Egadi Islands are situated at the westernmost part of Sicily. The archipelago is
made by three major islands: Favignana, Levanzo end Marettimo and of some minor
ones.
Far away from Sicily, Marettimo is placed as an imaginary cusp of a sea triangle
that, between Capo Boeo (Marsala) and Trapani promontory, it tapers in the middle with
Levanzo and Favignana up to the highlands ramification, the ever present central
Mediterranean keeper.
According to the analysis of few archaeological data collected before 2000-2001
research campaigns in the sea between the Archipelago of Egadi and the Sicilian coast, it
was already possible to infer the great scientific interest and remarkable evocative
significance of the area.
Historical data from classical sources have already put in evidence the important
role played by these places in the ancient history of the Mediterranean, during the well
known episode of the Egadi battle between Romans and Carthaginians in 241 b.C.
Nevertheless, that outline was vague and scarcely detailed and lacking in
adequate documentation.
Surveys carried out by G.I.A.S.S. (now Soprintendenza del Mare) together with
CEOM and the Guardia di Finanza, followed by recent researches carried on in
cooperation with the RPM Nautical Foundation, give the run down of the underwater
archaeological situation. Moreover they have also contributed to sketch out areas to
include in a didactic-touristic route and to select sites for scientific studies to carry on with
archaeological excavations and more detailed research activities.
The so far collected results show that the whole area situated between the
promontory of Cofano and Marsala is really attractive and important under the scientific
point of view in consideration of the intrinsic features of the underwater archaeological
emergencies. This area is also complementary with the archaeological contest of the
opposite islands coast and shows high environmental and landscape value.
By the way this territory has become the place for the first experience of
underwater archaeological site management for tourist destination. The experience has
been successful both in the heritage safeguarding and in meeting tourists favor.
We suggest to give a look to the monograph titled “Il mare delle Egadi”, published
by the Soprintendenza del Mare (2005) in order to go into the subject of marine culture
resources management in the Egadi islands.
The historical/archaeological contest
Before summarizing the historical/archaeological peculiarities of the underwater
cultural features that have been identified during research it is worth to speak about
025
1
historical and archaeological profile of the coastal areas starting from the archipelago.
Here, differently from the rest of Sicily, the most important painstaking
archaeological attraction is not represented by the classical ancient ruins but by the high
number of caves excavated by sea erosion in the limestone cliffs of Favignana and
Levanzo during Pleistocene. Marettimo (fig.2), due to its different geo-lithological
conformation, does not offer the same kind of evidence. The far most island offers a rich
and spectacular sample of caves as well but, being at the sea level and so still under
formation, they have no archaeological interest. On the other side, the caves of the other
two islands, reveal a past of human settlements: numerous and diffused, they date back
to the Final Pleistocene or to the Upper Paleolithic (starting from around 12.000 years
b.C.), following the presence of Middle Pleistocene fauna with elephants and other
species now extinct. Caves are mainly concentrated near the Faraglione of Favignana or
along the north-west coast of Levanzo.
Their high value under paleontological and archaeological point of view places the
two islands of the archipelago among the most significant prehistoric provinces in
Europe, as the French areas of Périgord and of Ariège are. The importance of these
caves is not exclusively due to the presence of the well known expressions of rocky art, as
in the Grotta di Cala dei Genovesi, but to their stratified sediments as well.
The rare excavations carried on have put in evidence the presence of hunter
communities since the Upper Paleolithic: very skilful in creating flint tools, these
communities developed primary farming and herding activities. These socio-economic
changes occurred in connection with a big geographical change. It is sure that up to the
latest glaciations (Würm) Levanzo and Favignana belonged to the coast of Trapani.
On the archaeological ground, this situation, verifiable also through the study of the
local bathymetry, is reflected in the images carved on the walls of the Grotta del
Genovese of Levanzo (fig.3) where animals like the wild horse and ox, typical of
grassland, are represented. With the end of Pleistocene, around 10.000 years b.C., a cut
off of the link with Sicily occurred and the present insularity has become a constant factor.
By the way during this second phase we find schematic painting representing
anthropomorphic figures and fishes dating back to Neolithic and Copper age (fig.4). It is
interesting to remember that in Grotta d'Oriente, at Favignana, a Mesolithic tomb with a
buried body with the head covered with something like a parure of shells has been
discovered. Rare comparisons could be done with the famous Grotte dei Balzi Rossi
near the border between Italy and France.
026
2
1. Egadi islands and Sicily
2. Areal view of Marettimo
The pilot sites
3. Grotta del Genovese
(Levanzo)
This discovery informs on the relevant role played by the
sea both as resource and as element linked to the magicreligious imaginary since primordial times.
Beside some isolated archaeological findings and
some profaned tombs dating back to the middle and old
bronze age, traces of human life in the archipelago during
the most recent prehistoric ages are rare. Nevertheless
the settlements of Torretta and of Calamonaci at
Favignana prelude interesting developments.
The period of the first Phoenician-Punic
colonization is equally obscure. Archaeological evidence
do not know anything similar to the neighboring Mozia
(fig.5). Also for this period archaeological research
backwardness has to be paid. Archaic materials found
give evidence of a human presence dating back to VIII-VII
b.C: then those coastal settlements or “emporia” that
typically characterized the first Phoenician-Punic trade
activities are expected to be found. As far as following
periods are concerned, considerations on the archaic
period count. Nevertheless meaty evidences prove the
presence of wide Hellenistic–Roman settlements in all the
three islands of the archipelago. In particular, a wide rural
settlement provided with a big catchment basin has been indicated, together with other
ones, in the southern tableland of Levanzo. The above mentioned settlement seems to
have great significance with its rooms floored with mosaics. Probably it is a “villa”, a seat
for agro-industrial activities of control and management, probably diffused all over the
island.
Linked to this latest one, in good repair, there is the very interesting plant for fish
processing ("garum" production) that finds its place on Punta Altarella. At Favignana the
wide area of San Nicola-Torretta is surely noteworthy: here a long diachronic evidence
that goes from prehistory (middle bronze age) till '600 of modern era can be registered.
Over the context allocation, the interest for the area is due to the strong rocky character of
the structures in its inside. In fact there are ruins that refer of stoneworking and of intaglio,
one of the main activities carried on by insular till present time.
The understanding Favignana without a contact with human stones creations is
impossible. The magnificent quarries structures can be understood having a look to past
time. Starting from Prehistory till modern era, passing through the different seasons of
Phoenician-Punic, early Christian and Renaissance hypogeism, San Nicola – Torretta
area gives the idea of the millenary tradition of stone intaglio. Nowadays deterioration
conceals the relevance of hypogeums excavated in the rock and the skilful architectural
articulations carved in Grotta del Pozzo, Grotta degli Archi and Grotta della Stele.
It is a relevant example of hypogeic architecture that links Sicily to other
Mediterranean areas (from Tunisia to Cappadocia).
In the same area, traces of a plant for fish processing and of a nymphaeum carved
in the rock, both of them dating back to roman period, can be found. But very interesting
archaeological evidence for their historical and cultural implications, can be found in the
above mentioned Grotta del Pozzo, Grotta degli Archi and Grotta della Stele. In the first
027
one, the Punic inscriptions indicate that, between IV and I century b.C., the artificial cave
was used for oriental cults practice. In the second one, traces of an “arcosolio” type tomb
of the first Cristian era times have stood up well over the centuries (fig.6). In the third, an
inscription in vernacular neo-Latin reveals Cristian cults practice up to XIII century.
Some other cavities, at present still used as sheepfolds, have been used as
meeting places during post-medieval era: evidence of this is given by the Grotta dello
Stemma where a depiction of an heraldic elements is visible in a bas-relief (fig.7).
From archaeological information is possible to infer the presence of settlements
that since late Hellenistic period has increased during Roman period when also the most
distant of the Egadi – Marettimo - offers remarkable evidence. Ruins of the so called
“Case Romane di Marettimo”, placed near a real gem of Byzantine religious architecture
that is the outlying little church (fig.8), reveal the presence of a military settlement also
used as rural productive structure. Setting the sea archaeological evidence in this contest
does not means simply putting it in a network together with what in the Archipelago of
Egadi we have described. It also means to keep in mind that we find ourselves not so far
from the most western cusp of Sicily where some of the most important and well known
ancient cities, such as Erice, Drepanum, Mozia and Lilibeo, that played a leading role in
Mediterranean history, are placed.
Sea archaeology and the Egadi battle
Underwater archaeological sites of Egadi have brought to light finds from
Hellenistic and Roman period, particularly those ones belonging to the late Hellenism
and to the Early Empire (III century b.C. – II century a.d.). The features of a lot of sites
reveal the same ones as areas of frequent anchorage; from evidence supplied, other
sites can be classified as wreck sites.
Sometimes remains are partially visible, other times remains can be perceived
through isolated ancient traces dispersed in the sand or among the rocks; in any case the
evidence is of unmistakable wreck, the most ones dating back to the period before Egadi
028
4. Neolithic and copper
age paintings in the
Grotta del Genovese
(Levanzo)
The pilot sites
6
5
5. Areal view of Phoenician
town of Motya with
the submerged road leading
to the Sicilian shore
6. Grotta delle stele
(Favignana)
7. Grotta degli stemmi
(Favignana)
7
battle and the era of Roman presence in the Mediterranean area. It is this one the period
during which these seas are frequently ploughed as it coincides with the Carthaginian
trade and military power at its height glory, when it incorporates, in a sole dominion, North
Africa and West Sicily. Between IV and III century b.C. the Carthaginian eparchy created
a system and a network among North Africa, Sicily and Sardinia giving rise to a marine
force controlling the Mediterranean: a power based on the strict link between Cartagine
and Sicily with flourishing Punic cities as Mozia, Lilibeo, Selinunte, captured after 409
b.C., Erice, Panormo, Solunto. The North African territory and West Sicily became a
whole, closely connected through a dense network of political, military and trade links.
This geographical mainstay had its vital core in the sea connection linking Sicily
channel, Pantelleria and the Egadi Islands: this is the reason for which a lot of PunicHellenistic traces can be found in the seas of Egadi, Pantelleria and Sicily Channel.
In that period in that sea an intensive trade and military traffic took place, creating a
backbone of a power trapping the whole Mediterranean in an apparently impregnable
vice like grip. In the same way, Romans understood that their destiny of dominant power
over Mediterranean could be carried out only breaking up this axis between North-Africa
and West Sicily.
For this reason the battle, crucial for the whole Mediterranean destiny, took place in
one of the focal points of this system of links: the Egadi Islands.
The demonstration of vulnerability of that link would have put Romans in the
029
condition to achieve a twofold result. On one side it would
have weakened the opponent side in its power core; on
the other one it would have mined the enemy under the
psychological point of view, showing the vulnerability in
one of the points of its maximum strength.
As it seems to be simple explaining the underwater
archaeological presences in the Egadi and the location of
a battle that in strict time, on 10 march 241 b.C. decided
the destiny of the world of those times, it is equally simple
to explain, on the ground of these historical
considerations, the presence of archaeological traces of
the republican and imperial period too. Also Rome with its
well established economic and cultural system, made its
fortune thanks to a dense north-south network, from and
for Africa. In consideration of this, it is also given a
justification to the archaeological traces found on Egadi
Island and on Pantelleria, as well as to the power and to
the vivacity of roman Lilibeo, a real link between Italy and Africa for the whole roman
period till the barbarian invasions.
Deductions coming from our underwater archaeological research campaigns
confirm what is emerging from the intensification of archaeological activities in Egadi and
above all in Pantelleria and Lilibeo/Marsala. Recent researches trace a very rich picture
made of prosperous trade, of a strong building industry and of a valuable handicraft
activity that characterize the centuries under the Roman Empire rule in the
Mediterranean.
Within the framework of that historical period reconstruction, sea and land are
strictly linked in an indissoluble way as terrestrial archaeology data help to understand
those ones of underwater archaeology and vice versa.
These archaeological-historical deductions have to be addressed towards the
popular translation of what scientific research has dug up and brought into light from land
and sea. In other terms the didactic/touristic offer outlined with the present study cannot
leave out of consideration the interest over the period in which sea frequentation in this
area was at its culmination: an evocation of a period during which the Egadi were the hub
of that time world, first as core of the Carthaginian power, then as fulcrum in the
Carthaginian and Roman conflict and subsequently, again, as the core of the power of
Rome in the Mediterranean.
It is clear that under this point of view the Egadi Battle plays an important central
role both for the event strong evocative power and for the historical centrality within the
logical sequence of this Mediterranean area.
From the historical analysis and from the reconstruction of the battle kinesics, we
have assumed that over the various periodic daydreams of improvised “treasure diggers”
and amateurs archaeologists, it could not exist a real cemetery for the ships lost during
that fateful 10 march 241 b.C. when both battle arrays counted their losses, both for the
limited losses and for the battle dynamics that parceled out in many “hand-to-hand
struggles” among single ships.
The research carried out and of which is given here an account, gives a wide
evidence of this. The same, from the historical sources throughout analysis carried on by
030
8. Byzantine church
(Marettimo)
The pilot sites
Maria Ida Gulletta.
In order to go into the study of the battle thoroughly, we have taken into
consideration three determinant factors that have lead to the conclusion here proposed
and that represents also the basis to transfer during a visit what has been deducted during
the research activity.
The three factors are respectively the news on the past archaeological findings, the
reconnaissance carried out during this study and the exegetical study in depth of the
historical sources on the battle.
Going to Egadi and talking with local fishermen and scuba divers, once wariness
has been overcome, the story to listen to has become a legend. It is possible to listen to
the narration about the discovery of a lot of lead anchors near the eastern border of
Levanzo, in the sea from Punta Altarella and Capo Grosso (fig.9) which, unfortunately, at
that time, were taken for their melting in order to obtain sounding lead. From tales it is
possible to infer a supposed regularity in their positioning in the sea: this, both in terms of
distance from the coast and in terms of deepness.
This has lead to think that the above mentioned anchors have been abandoned
rapidly, cutting ropes at moment of the mortal combat that Lutazio Catulo, the victorious
roman admiral, launched to the navy of Annone, the admiral of the Carthaginian convoy
arriving from Marettimo and directed towards Drepanum where the Carthaginian
garrison's rescue was falling under siege.
This hypothesis was in contrast with some other considerations based on the
underwater archaeological point of view and with the interpretation of historical sources
made by eminent ancient historians.
In itself, the presence of numerous anchors can be the consequence of repetitive
anchorages due to the particular places conformation. If we think that the loss of anchors
was and is frequent, it is possible to understand that, with a one year loss (standing on
underestimated statistical level), only few hundred years were sufficient for creating a
cemetery of anchors in the deep sea.
Moreover, having a look to available sources, historians remarks put in evidence a
never mentioned Phorbantia (Levanzo), on the contrary well known to ancients. All the
sources referred to Aigussa (Favignana) and Hiera (Marettimo) instead; the first one as
place of departure for the Roman ambuscade and the second as leg of navigation for the
Carthaginian ship before the unlucky journey towards the Sicilian coast.
Then, it was difficult to link up the anchor stocks findings with the battle. Moreover,
the difficulty in locating the place of anchorage as that one where the battle took place
came from other considerations.
As the Carthaginians sailed, it was logical the presumption that the large
Carthaginian fleet got lost in the wide sea and that the defeat came from the disturbing
surprise of the roman attack, unexpected also because launched with boldness in
adverse conditions as direction faced the blowing wind one (coming from West).
The limited dimension of the battle can be inferred from the estimation of the total
losses suffered by opposing parts (only 62 boats on a total of 1200 involved during the
whole first Punic-Roman battle).
Finally, analyzing the possible wreck scattering, it was inferable that the area of
hypothetical of archaeological finding became indistinct because of the wind direction
changing during the post meridian hours (from East) that surely led the wood towards
west as to the area of the ambuscade.
031
The possible scene of the battle was difficult to identify as from the studies and their
sources, the destination of Carthaginians, generally indicated in Drepanum, was
indefinite, while it was sure that the site fortified by them was Monte Erice. It was not
clear if the selected landing place were in the current Trapani harbor or in an unspecified
place of the northern coast spreading from Trapani to North (up to Monte Cofano).
In confirmation of the impossibility in sketching out this framework only with the
textual analysis and the topographical considerations there is also the prudence that
influential historians (from Holm to De Sanctis, from Pareti to Rizzo) have used in dealing
with this subject.
Reading Polibio and other ancient historians without the support of the terrestrial
and the underwater archaeological sources, it was not possible to give full details on the
battle dynamics, preventing from going over a general identification of this area in the sea
of Egadi as the real scene where the battle took place. For the same reason, it was not
possible to give a definitive place to the political-military moment that both parties were
living.
The study in depth of both topographic-archaeological and historical issues has led
to different conclusions creating, above all, that essential critical and dynamical link
between written and archaeological sources.
From the essay of Gulletta, it is possible to infer that the indication given by Polibio
on the ambush place before the attack with “Aigussa in front of Lilibeo” can be well
identified with Levanzo and not with Favignana. (Maria Ida Gulletta, "Navi romane fra gli
Specola Lilybitana e le Aegades Geminae. Note per una ricostruzione della battaglia
delle Egadi, in “Il mare delle Egadi” - S. Tusa, Palermo 2005).
This, by virtue of a rereading of Polibio's passage made in the light of the
subsequent Livio's text for which a specification of the intended “Aigussa” arose from the
need to differentiate it from the largest one (Favignana).
Acting with cleverness, Gulletta explains that if the “Aigussa in front of Lilibeo”
were the “Aigussa that can be found in front of Lilibeo” the need of such a topographic
clarification from Polibio could be explained only with the need of indicating not the bigger
and the most well-known one that gives the name to the archipelago (Favignana), but its
twin, the little Aigussa, the Phorbantia di Tolomeo, the Levanzo linked to the ancient
memory of stormy seas all along the Rodies and Phoenicians routes directed towards the
Tirreno. Bearing in mind what above specified, now we focus the attention on the
definition of the long Carthaginian navigation destination. It is well known that Annone's
fleet, supplied with food, left Cartage with the principal aim of breaking the siege that was
forcing the compatriots on the peak of San Giuliano (Erice), providing the same ones with
victuals and other supplies of goods: they were exhausted because forced in a long
isolation caused by Romans camped at the slopes of the same mountain.
In order to understand better the siege on San Giuliano and above all its
topographic dynamics for a better definition of the possible place of attack decided by
Annone's fleet, it was necessary to know the topographic-archaeological conditions of
this mountain, till now not known in detail.
In consideration of this, we have availed ourselves of the collaboration of Antonio
Filippi that knows the places into deep and that has reconsidered writings as well as
results produced on the matter till present time in the light of a reconnaissance of the
mountain, identifying the archaeological emergencies that have allowed us to suppose,
with more accuracy, the siege dynamics and, in consequence of this, the landing to which
032
The pilot sites
9. Capo Grosso
(Levanzo)
Annone was aiming at.
During the first Punic war Erice was a well known
city in the religious ecumene as seat of the important
shrine dedicated to Astarte/Venere. Due to the war it
became the Carthaginian military fortress.
Starting from 260 b.C. Asdrubale had moved his
habitants towards the coast of Drepanum with the
intention of reinforcing the coastal defenses but the peak,
tightly kept in Cartaginian hands, induced Romans, in 249
b.C., to besiege the western and southern side breaking
the link between the military fortress on the peak and
Drepanum port of call. There, nearby Pizzo Argenteria
and Rocce del Calderaro, Romans created a fortified
system, barring the link above.
Therefore, Carthaginians, in the intention of keeping the link with the sea, fortified
the northern side of San Giuliano mountain raising a fortress near San Matteo plain
(where an archaeological research carried out on surface brought into light Punic pieces
of pottery dated back to III century b.C.) with the aim of protecting the coastal landing
place located in Crocifissello in Bonagia bay. Thank to this landing place rising above San
Matteo, besieged Cartaginians were supplied with provisions. This was the landing place
towards which the Annone's fleet was directed to during on 10 March 241 b.C.
Romans, conscious of the impossibility of turning the battle to their own advantage
through an exhausting, unproductive and, by that time, long trench warfare, took the
decisive and winning decision to lead the war on the sea. By this way the first Punic war
ended in their favor.
Deductions from the archaeological topography of San Giuliano mountain lead to
exclude that landing place of Drepanum was the destination of Annone as, even if
possible both landing and discharge, it would have been impossible to reach, from west
side, the Cartaginian fortress besieged at Erice, as mountain climbing was barred by the
strong Roman garrisons stationing on Pizzo Argenteria and on Rocce del Calderaro.
Having understood that the route followed by Annone was between Marettimo
and Bonagia lead to some reconsiderations both on the sources rereading (possibility
that Levanzo and not Favignana were the island cited by Polibio as the area where
Romans fleet was close to) and on the reminiscences of the anchors discoveries in
Levanzo. The three elements, reconsidered in the light of a joint interpretive perspective,
acquire an incontrovertible logic that allows a more detailed battle reconstruction and,
above all, more in compliance with those few data made available by underwater
archaeological research, recently carried on for the present study. In consideration of
what above detailed, we have favored the reconnaissance of the eastern coastal area of
Levanzo (Cala Minnola, Punta Altarella, Secca Scaletta) and the sea area in front of Capo
Grosso (the northern end of Levanzo). The archaeological findings circumstances,
together with recoveries made during fifties, sixties and seventies, leads to classify, with a
high degree of certainty, this site as one of the possible anchorage places of Roman fleet
before the attack launched to Carthaginians on 10 march 241 b.C. So many anchors
found in the site (fig.10) cannot be justified with practical reasons due to landing, recovery
to escape a storm, loading-unloading, etc. As a matter of fact, the place of discovery is
situated in one of the stormiest trails of sea of the whole archipelago of Egadi. It is near
033
10. Lead roman anchor near
Capo Grosso (Levanzo)
11. Dynamics of Egadi battle
10
11
034
The pilot sites
an high and inaccessible coast and above all in a trail of sea crossed by strong streams
and lashed by sudden winds from which arose out rough and dangerous seas.
Consequently no other reasons, different from the strategic/military ones, can be found to
justify the presence of so many anchors in this area.
The day of 10 march 241 b.C. crosses the mind with the image of the Roman fleet
hidden to lay an ambush to the Carthaginians coming from Marettimo and directed
towards the coast of Erice (fig.11).
From this position it is possible to exercise a control over the trail of sea between
Marettimo and the other two Egadi Islands: protected by Levanzo dimensions and for this
hidden for those who comes from West and in a very good position for launching an attach
to the Carthaginian fleet both if on the way running at the north of Levanzo (the most
probable one) and if on the southern one, crossing the channel between Levanzo and
Favignana.
Further researches carried out by the Soprintendenza del Mare in cooperation
with RPM Nautical Foundation (fig.12) where is supposed the battle has taken place
(north-west of Levanzo) have lead to the spotting of findings that have represented the
incontrovertible evidence of what supposed. Among the archaeological findings
discovered, we remember the bronze ram recovered on June 2008 (fig.13), most likely
pertaining to a Roman ship, that follows that one sequestered by Carabinieri in Trapani
and found in the same zone (fig.14). In the same battle framework there is also a bronze
helmet (Motefortino type) probably belonging to a Roman soldier fallen during that battle
(fig.15), and a third ram recently discovered.
Research with side scan sonar and a remotely operated vehicle equipped with a
video camer have given a contribution to make clear the role of this sea space in the inside
of imperial routes thanks to the discovery of other wreckages. From the analysis of data
collected it is possible to reinforce the hypothesis that the route followed by Carthaginians
ships were that one running at north of Levanzo and not that one of the channel between
Favignana and Levanzo. Moreover, the aim of the fleet was to give support to the Punic
garrison blocked at Erice that, as demonstrated above, could not be reached from
Drepanum (now Trapani) but from the side of Valderice – Bonagia (Crocifissello and
fortress of San Matteo kept by Cartaginians). Therefore, it is more logical that the
Carthaginian fleet were directed towards Bonagia doubling, on north, Capo Grosso,
12. RPM research vessel
(Hercules)
035
where Romans ships were hidden and to which the
anchors at present days identified, refer to. The
deductions on the Roman fleet place of anchorage and
the consequent area in the inside of which the battle took
place, if on one side answer to some historical questions
on the battle itself, on the other one, do no reply to the
questions over the location, in the sea bed, where the
ships sunk. This question has already obtained a reply
when we pointed out the impossibility of discovering a
cemetery of sunk ships. On one side, the number of ships
fallen lost during the battle is small: only 62. On the other
side, in consideration of the battlefield conformation and
of wind direction changes during the conflict, as well as in
consideration of the strong streams that cross this sea, it is sure that, after driftage, the
destroyed ships sank going far from the battlefield north of Levanzo. Moreover the well
known Punic ship recovered during sixties and seventies by Honor Frost and today
exhibited in Marsala at the Museum of Baglio Anselmi, almost surely sunk in that decisive
day, has been found on south, some miles far from the battlefield (fig.16). Also the so
called “sister ship”, the boat identified nearby had to belong to the battle period.
Consequently, this would confirm the wide dispersion of wrecks. As it is known, the two
above mentioned hulls were found not so far from the seashore of Isola Longa near Punta
Scario. This would demonstrate that from Levanzo (at north) but probably further on, up to
the channel between Favignana and Sicily (on south) wrecks probably occurred.
Neverthless, the result obtained has a double value.
On one side it puts forward solid arguments in favor of the battle and identifies, in
the eastern coast of Levanzo, the area reached by the Roman ships that delivered the
mortal attack to the Carthaginian fleet and in the area in the North of Capo Grosso of
Levanzo, the battlefield. On the other side we have been able to trace a system of
archaeological underwater routes concerning the eastern coast of Levanzo (from Cala
Minnola to Capo Grosso): here careful explanations can put the visitor in contact with all
significant evidences partially linked to that event.
13
The battle of Egadi
On 10th march 241 b.C., a strong libeccio lashes the western peak of western
Sicily. That wind herald an epochal political change in the Island that will definitively place
the same one in the “western” field where stands out the austere Roman profile.
13. Bronze Egadi ram found
few miles north-west of Levanzo
14. Bronze Egadi ram seized
by Carabinieri in Trapani
14
15. Roman bronze helmet
of Montefortino type
15
036
The pilot sites
16. Remains of Punic warship
wreck (Museo del
Baglio Anselmi, Marsala - TP)
The battle of Egadi is one of those historical and historiographical events that from
Polibio onwards have nourished the debate over the Punic wars, the causes, and the
consequent geo-political turning point.
The anomalous situation that the Carthaginians, besiegers and besieged in Erice,
gets worse with the Roman fleet arrival and the consequent occupation of the waters in
front of Drepana and of the roadsteads of Lilibeo. The whole island western coast is cut
off from every communication with Carthage; Lilibeo, fundamental sea and land junction
of Punic Sicily, is a blind alley in the twofold Roman block.
The Punic reaction aims at setting free Amilcare's troops immobile in Erice, in
order to find a solution to war carried out on two fronts, with an action aimed at blocking
the ports and at demolishing the land sieges.
A vast force prepares itself to plough through the waters of the Sicily Channel. Big
and nevertheless loser still before setting sail, because of a clash that Poblio already
evidences as unequal: the image of Lutazio Catulo that trains seamen for the battle
without a break is the expression of the Roman state of fervor, of a power grown in the
obstinacy, with clear goals, in the tenacity, in the capacity to absorb techniques, men and
strategies and that by copying the secrets of naval mechanisms it seems to have acquired
the inheritance of the most famous navy of all times.
The ships of Annone, warships exceptionally working as cargo boats for facing the
needs of the troops besieged in Erice, sail from Carthage directed towards Hiera
(Marettimo), necessary stopping place for continuing the navigation towards the three
landing places of the island western coast, that a cabotage, normally difficult for the sandy
roadsteads, would have put into risks for the presence of the enemy in the waters of
Drepana and Lilibeo.
Lutazio Catulo, sensed the Punic ships route that, from Hierà, escaping the coast
patrolled between Drepana and Lilibeo, would have pointed to Erice, widening the ray of
navigation towards the north-eastern access of the present Torre di Bonagia: it was
necessary to cut the route for turning into Romans favor that strong libeccio that even if
favorable to enemies sails it would not have lightened the heavy load made of provisions,
in case of attack launched by surprise.
037
For the first time, Egadi enter into the history of Sicily: islands, scattered as “goats”
among the channel waves, fragments of a seaside from time to time Sicilian or African,
islands of the wind and of the untrustworthy billows that ancient etymologies related to the
stormy Egeo, making a circle round the places of a goodness and on stories of survivors.
The identification of Aigoussa polibiana with the current Favignana, as ambush
place for the Roman fleet and place of the disaster for the enemies ships is today lesser
expected than it was in the historical literature on Punic wars; complicated rebuilding of a
double navigation through the channel Levanzo-Favignana and the orientation of the
battle between Favignana and the “Stagnone” of which refers the well known wreckage of
Marsala, clash with the need of two routes that can be perfectly rebuilt: the Punic one,
Hierà-Erice, directed towards the open sea for reaching a particular landing place, with
difficulty could have been chosen for the complicated direction – due to enemies
patrolling and to the sandy roadsteads – determined by the penetration of the channel
between the two islands and then the changing in route towards Drepana and then Erice.
Romans of Lutazio Catulo, on the other side, had the need of a surprise attack that
intuited the enemy route, should have been made fruitless because of the delay that, the
descent towards Favignana and the penetration of the channel in the direction of
Marettimo, should have implied; moreover a strong wind from South-West could be, with
difficulty, defined pròs antion “opposite” with regard to Roman ships in the channel, in a
direction perpendicular as well as with the protection of the islands.
The Aegades geminae (Sil., 6, 685) Levanzo e Favignana, that prehistory wants
linked with an end of land and those Specola lilybitana that allow the leaking out of the
Punic name of the Erice, in the latest act of Sicily philo-Carthaginian, are the key for an
alternative hypothesis on the battle places: it is the tradition converged in Livio, this time,
shedding into light on a polibian topographic detail always read in a univocal manner.
The Roman post that Polibio places at “Aigussa di fronte a Lilibeo” can be
generically intended as placed at Favignana, even if the island is in front of the northern
tip of the port, the present day Torre San Teodoro, exactly in opposition to Capo Lilibeo.
The livian text - Aegates insulas Erycemque ante oculos proponite, quae terra
marique per quattuor et viginti annos passis sitis - with a toponymy too much far from facts
for being significant, but probably for this chronologic distance not accidental in the
associations, invites to a rereading of the most available complete version on the battle of
241 b.C.: if the the “Aigussa di fronte a Lilibeo” were the Aigussa that is in front of Lilibeo
such a topographical clarification from Polibio can be explained with the need to indicate
that is not the biggest and the more well-known island, that one that gives the name to the
archipelago (Favignana) but the Aigussa, the twin island, the smallest one, the
Phorbantia of Tolomeo, Levanzo linked to the ancient
memory of stormy seas along the Phoenician and Rodi an
routes towards the Tirreno.
The line covering the route Carthage-Erice ideally
joins three points: Hierà, then the Aigussa of the hero
Forbante and the Specola Lilybitana from which Romans
probably sighted the enemies ships. It is probably at the
north of Levanzo, where the archaeological findings
dating back to fifties reveal the wide and regular presence
of anchors, trace of a broken mooring cut simultaneously,
on the back of Capo Grosso cliffs, that Lutazio Catulo
038
17. The amphora cargo of
Hellenistic wreck of Cala Minnola
(Levanzo)
The pilot sites
hided his fleet, changing battle array strategy with respect to the traditional hollow wedge
and turning stems directly against the Punic fleet and the wind.
By that time, the route Hierà-Erice was blocked-up and the disaster unavoidable,
Aphrodite had already turned the eyes towards the Urbe and the new temple. For the
sons of the twin Astarte, only unexpectedly wind blowing from North-East cleared away
the latest most ancient and ancestral trace of their presence in Sicily: Venus Ericina had
already appeared.
The management of the underwater archaeological sites in the Egadi Islands
The archaeological study that has been carried out, supported by the frequent
underwater reconnaissance has been coupled with an analysis conducted by the team of
economists of the University of Catania managed by Ilde Rizzo. Research was aimed at
defining the relation between costs and benefits in case of an investment for the creation,
in some of the identified sites, of parks or of archaeological underwater itineraries to visit.
The analysis and its results are encouraging: in fact it comes out the cheapness of
this operation for the booming underwater tourism that it generates. A first itinerary has
already been created in the area of the wreckage of Cala Minnola (fig.17) and a second
one in the area of the anchors of Capo Grosso.
18. Schematic view of TV control
system of Hellenistic wreck of
Cala Minnola (Levanzo)
039
In the area of Cala Minnola the first remote control TV switch system has been
created: by using four cameras live images from the deep sea floor and from the water
above are sent back directly to Favignana, at the entrance of the city hall (fig.18).
It is worthwhile for us to cite a passage of the long and articulated economical
analysis on the feasibility of the project for the creation of parks and archaeological
underwater itineraries.
Projects benefits are based on fruition, improvement and conservation demand of
the archaeological finds as well as on the related research and education demand. For
benefits calculation, three different categories have been singled out:
· people availability to pay for archaeological underwater itineraries fruition, i.e
consumers surplus;
· benefits for services producers (diver centers) coming from the archaeological
itinerary, i.e. the producers surplus;
· touristic expenditure for the benefits of the economy on the whole.
To the above mentioned benefits it is necessary to add those ones coming from
preservation.
As far as benefits coming from research and personal cultural enriching are
concerned, the same one are difficult to value: this because of the difficulties in the
definition of the beneficiaries and of their related availability to pay for the same ones. For
this reason these benefits have not been included in the calculation.
A sensitivity analysis has been carried out too: situations of uncertainty on both the
graduality with which benefits will be produced in full within the estimated measure and on
the demand weight have been taken into consideration.
Even in case of significant changing in the most relevant parameters, the project
continues to present positive net benefits.
The study defines a management model for the proposed intervention.
An original integration between public and private has been pointed out: in this
case, some activities management, for their nature and for the fact that produce collective
benefits, has been committed to the public institutions, while other activities have been
assigned to privates.
040
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.2
Villefranche-sur-Mer, 2500 ans d'histoire!
Depuis la nuit des temps, la rade Villefranche-sur-Mer est une étape
incontournable pour toutes les civilisations de la mer.
Dès l'Antiquité, Etrusques, Grecs et Romains sont venus mouiller les ancres de
leurs puissantes galères dans cette rade immense située au pied des Alpes.
Protégé des vents d'Est exclusivement, ce qui n'est pas rien, ce lieu de mouillage
fut, au fil des siècles, une escale fort prisée par les navires en provenance des grandes
puissantes maritimes de la Méditerranée.
Toutefois, le Mistral fait de temps en temps une apparition lourde de conséquence
en bloquant au mouillage tous les navires sans qu'ils puissent s'échapper à la voile ou à la
rame de cette nasse géographique formée par le cap Ferrat et le cap de Nice. Bien que
rare, le vent le plus redouté reste le vent du Sud, le terrible Libeccio qui a causé, au fil des
siècles, de terribles dégâts aux installations portuaires du port de la Darse et de la Santé.
Environ 12 grandes épaves antiques et modernes gisent en rade de Villefranchesur-Mer.
L'apogée de ce lieu se situe vers les XVI et XVIIe siècles.
C'est à cette période de l'Histoire que la puissante forteresse villefranchoise et de
ses multiples pièces d'artillerie dominent l'ensemble des lieux. Car la rade de
Villefranche-sur-Mer est le seul débouché à la mer du Duché de Savoie. Villefranche
étant le port de guerre du Comté de Nice comme en témoignent encore de nos jours les
diverses constructions architecturales toujours en place.
Pourquoi tant de vestiges sous les eaux ?
Une fois les ancres mouillées et les voiles affalées, les marins s'affairaient dans les
cales afin de dresser le bilan de la casse occasionné par le mauvais temps sur les riches
cargaisons embarquées. Bien souvent sous forme de vaisselles diverses et précieuses,
les cargaisons malheureusement brisées, étaient alors balancées par dessus bord.
Quelques siècles plus tard, ces vestiges des temps passés resurgissent lentement du
sable ou de la vase à la plus grande joie d'une bande de passionnés au service de
l'Histoire.
Les plongeurs-archéologues d'Anao, l'aventure sous-marine (Fédération
monégasque des activités subaquatiques, membres de l'Association pour la sauvegarde
du patrimoine de Villefranche-sur-Mer) poursuivent depuis 1991 l'étude des lieux.
D'importantes fouilles sous-marines sont régulièrement entreprises afin de tenter
de décrypter des milliers de données scientifiques collectées au fond des eaux de la rade.
Des fouilles officielles patronnées par le Ministère de la Culture et son Département des
recherches archéologiques subaquatiques et sous-marines.
Vaisselle de toute la Ligurie sans oublier les villes de Rome, de Pise et les fragiles
verreries de Venise... Mais également de toute la Provence, de Grèce, d'Espagne et
même d'Afrique du Nord viennent ainsi témoigner de la richesse de ces échanges
commerciaux entre les peuples.
041
1
2
Un brassage culturel à travers les siècles qui s'explique par une concurrence
commerciale acharnée de l'ensemble des capitales tournées vers la Méditerranée.
Assiettes multicolores et finement décorées, bols, écuelles, vases, jarres, mais
également lampes à huile vernissées, boulets de canon en pierre, silex pour les armes à
feu, objets en bronze, dés à jouer, balles en plomb, ardoises finement taillées, pipes en
terre de formes diverses... font partie de ces milliers de vestiges sauvés des eaux et
restaurés minutieusement afin de dresser un bilan archéologique détaillé des lieux.
Ce patrimoine archéologique est consultable sur internet: www.clubanao.org
Un espace dédié à l'archéologie sous-marine sera inauguré en mai 2011, à l'entrée
de la citadelle de Villefranche-sur-Mer. Cette exposition de matériel archéologique
retracera par l'objet l'histoire des lieux. Un musée de la mer est également en cours de
réalisation, à Menton. Là, les visiteurs pourront découvrir la richesse archéologique de
cette rade à travers des milliers d'objets présentés au grand public. L'aventure sousmarine continue!
Eric DULIERE
Président d'Anao, l'aventure sous-marine,
Vice-Président de l'A.S.P.M.V.
Chef de mission, instructeur en archéologie sous-marine.
Président de la commission d'archéologie de la F.M.A.S.
En hommage à Dominique Tailliez, président-fondateur del'Association pour la
sauvegarde du patrimoine maritime de Villefranche-sur-Mer, aujourd'huidisparu.
"Il a su transmettre sa passion afin de sauvegarder ce site historique unique en
Méditerranée". Merci à lui.
1. Le Port Royal de la Darse
(Association pour la sauvegarde
du patrimoine maritime de
Villefranche-sur-Mer)
2. Le Port Royal de la Darse
(Association pour la sauvegarde
du patrimoine maritime de
Villefranche-sur-Mer)
042
The pilot sites
CHAP.
La fachada 2.3
marítima de Ampurias
Estudios geofísicos y datos arqueológicos1
Introducción
1 - Durante los años 2003 y 2004 los
trabajos se han beneficiado de su
inclusión en el proyecto ANSER
(Anciennes Routes Maritimes
Méditerranéennes). FEDER,
programa INTERREG IIIB MEDOCC.
Ya en 1823, en el primer plano general que se publicó de las ruinas ampuritanas
(De Passa 1823) y que se publicaría nuevamente, con pequeñas modificaciones, en
1879 (Botet y Sisó 1879) se indicaba la ubicación del puerto y del “malecón”
designándolo como muro del puerto, y desde entonces quedó fosilizada la idea de que el
espacio, actualmente colmatado de tierra, que se extiende entre la Palaiápolis y la
Neápolis era el espacio portuario que había hecho posible las actividades náuticas de la
ciudad.
El descubrimiento de un segundo puerto ampuritano en la zona de Riells – La
Clota (Nieto/Nolla 1985) y el hallazgo submarino de varios centenares de bloques de
piedra trabajados en la zona de las Muscleres Grosses a levante de la Neápolis
(Nieto/Raurich 1998), hizo evidente que la realidad portuaria de la ciudad de Ampurias y
el aspecto de su fachada marítima habían sido más complejo de lo que se pensaba y que
para su estudio era imprescindible un conocimiento más preciso de los cambios
topográficos acaecidos.
Este proyecto de estudio de la fachada marítima de Ampurias (fig. 1), al que
todavía quedan varios años para su finalización, presenta dos características
específicas: una es la inclusión del territorio submarino y la otra es tener como objetivo
final el conocimiento de los condicionantes que actuaron sobre las actividades náuticas
de las ciudades griega y romana de Ampurias.
Desde el punto de vista estructural existe una cierta tendencia a evaluar la calidad
de la obra utilizando parámetros de resistencia que en ocasiones incluso se extrapolan
desde concepciones de ingeniería actual, cuando probablemente sería más correcto
hacer el análisis desde la idoneidad de la obra para la función que ha de desarrollar en el
momento concreto en que fue realizada. Un embarcadero de troncos y planchas de
madera puede ser la mejor y más idónea solución, en función de las necesidades
existentes en ese momento y en ese lugar, pero esa solución técnica puede quedar
obsoleta y ser inadecuada unos pocos años más tarde en función de decisiones
geoestratégicas, comerciales o técnicas que hagan variar la cantidad o las
características de las embarcaciones que utilicen ese embarcadero.
El análisis arqueológico de la obra no puede realizarse únicamente a partir del
conocimiento histórico del yacimiento arqueológico terrestre adyacente. El mar es la
mejor y más utilizada vía de comunicación y el barco es una máquina en movimiento que
presenta unos condicionantes (dimensiones, estiba, rutas, reparaciones etc.) que
hacen necesarias unas infraestructuras que pueden superar las necesidades concretas
del núcleo de población vecino, por lo que parecería más acertado afrontar el estudio de
la franja litoral desde la óptica de un espacio geográfico marítimo amplio que desde una
visión geográfica terrestre reducida.
Una obra relacionada con la navegación, ubicada en esta franja litoral, suele ser
compleja, cara, en muchas ocasiones de uso público y frágil ante la fuerza del mar, por lo
que se impone una alianza con el medio natural, originándose una adecuación de la obra
a las posibilidades topográficas y climatológicas de la zona, por lo que una obra poco
explicable desde una óptica actual, puede ser la más idónea teniendo en cuenta las
posibilidades técnicas y económicas y en especial la orografía de la zona, en el momento
de la construcción.
043
1
2
4
3
5
11
6
7
10 8
9
1a
1b
Metodología de Trabajo
El método de trabajo que se viene empleando en este proyecto incluye un estudio
de la antigua documentación planimétrica y fotográfica, una detallada prospección visual
del terreno tanto terrestre como subacuático, la prospección geofísica de detalle y la
excavación arqueológica subacuática a la que esperamos que se añadan en el futuro las
excavaciones puntuales en tierra. Para el desarrollo de los trabajos el MAC-CASC ha
contado especialmente con la colaboración del MAC-Empúries, del CEREGE – UMR
6635 que se ha encargado de las prospecciones geofísicas terrestres, del Dr. Aureli
Álvarez del laboratorio de Cristalografía y Mineralogía de la Universitat Autònoma de
Barcelona, para el estudio de los bloques de piedra y de Lluís Sants y Narcís Garcia del
equipo de topografía de la Direcció General del Patrimoni Cultural. Para las
prospecciones geofísicas en tierra se ha utilizado el ABEM-SAS-4000 (fig. 2) con el que
se han realizado 17 perfiles de resistividad eléctrica, utilizando un juego de 64 electrodos
de acero inoxidable. El dispositivo de adquisición, en términos de localización de los
electrodos de inyección de corriente y de los electrodos de medida de potencial, sigue las
configuraciones Wenner (fig. 3). La configuración Wenner ha sido escogida por ofrecer
la mejor relación de señal por resonancia. Los electrodos de medidas de potencial están
situados entre los electrodos de inyección de corriente (Dahlin/Zhou 2004). Utilizando
seguidamente la ley de Ohm, con un factor de corrección que tiene en cuenta la distancia
respectiva de los electrodos, es posible calcular una resistividad aparente del subsuelo
por cada medida. La distancia entre los electrodos de inyección de corriente eléctrica
aumenta la profundidad de investigación. Este procedimiento se repite sobre un conjunto
de permutaciones que comprenden los 64 electrodos del dispositivo de medición. La
duración de adquisición de un perfil compuesto por 64 electrodos es de alrededor de una
hora y media (sin contar el tiempo de instalación del dispositivo que es más o menos
equivalente). Una vez concluída la adquisición, los datos son transferidos a un ordenador
para su tratamiento con el programa informático RES2DINV (imagen teniendo en cuanta
los efectos de la topografía) (Loke/Barker 1996). Se obtiene entonces una imagen del
subsuelo en términos de “resistividad verdadera”, la cual es interpretable en términos de
estructuras (restos arqueológicos, superficies de utilización, cavidades, naturaleza del
substrato por ejemplo). El valor de la resistividad eléctrica de una roca depende del
contenido en agua, de la carga iónica del agua (de su mineralización), y de la plasticidad
del material. Solo los perfiles de resistividad verdadera (y no los perfiles de resistividad
aparente) han sido interpretados y presentados en este trabajo.
044
1 a/b.
Vista aérea y plano de
Empúries.
1- Palaiápolis
(Sant Martí d'Empúries)
2 - Puerto natural
3 - Neápolis
4 - Museu d'Empúries
5 - Ágora
6 - Mirador formado con las
tierras procedentes de la
excavación de la Neápolis
7- Muscleres Petites
8 - Muscleres Grosses
9 - Roca champiñón, único
resto visible de la prolongación
hacia el norte de las Muscleres
Grosses
10 - Piscina
11 - Malecón
The pilot sites
(a)
(b)
2
3
Algunos de los fenómenos que han influido en el cambio de la topografía de la fachada
marítima de Ampurias y sus consecuencias arqueológicas
2. Sistema de adquisición de
información (ABEM –
Terrameter SAS – 4000)
empleado en las prospecciones
geofísicas.
El dispositivo se conecta a 64
electrodos de acero inoxidable
que se clavan en el suelo y se
unen con dos cables blindados
para evitar los efectos de
inducción.
3. Configuración de los
electrodos para una adquisición
de tipo Wenner (a) y dipolodipolo (b).
A y B son los electrodos de
inyección de corriente y C y D
son los dos electrodos de
medida de potencial eléctrico.
La configuración Wenner ofrece
la mejor relación, señal por
resonancia, entre los diferentes
tipos de configuraciones de
adquisición, pero es
especialmente sensible a las
estructuras tubulares. La
configuración dipolo-dipolo
ofrece una menor relación,
señal por resonancia, pero se
muestra sensible a las
estructuras verticales como por
ejemplo los planos de fallas
verticales.
Establecer la línea de costa para cada momento histórico es un problema
complejo, tanto porque son muchos los factores que influyen en los cambios de la línea,
como porque estos pueden ser diferentes en zonas contiguas, muy pequeñas
geográficamente y además pueden ser de escasa relevancia geológica, pero de alto
interés arqueológico. Por ello los cambios pueden pasar desapercibidos en estudios
geológicos efectuados sobre zonas geográficas amplias, lo cual hace necesarios
estudios de microgeografía.
Arqueológicamente es necesario conocer la distancia que separa un resto
arqueológico del mar en el momento de su construcción, lo cual permitirá entender su
función. De entre todos los factores que pueden hacer variar esta distancia, nos interesa
resaltar dos: el avance o retroceso de la línea de costa debido a fenómenos de erosión o
sedimentación u otros y la variación de la línea de costa debido a la subida o a la bajada
del nivel del mar. A continuación repasaremos algunos fenómenos que han influido en el
cambio de la topografía de la línea costera ampuritana y que creemos que han tenido
repercusiones arqueológicas:
Las variaciones del nivel del mar en Ampurias
Para algunos el nivel del mar en el Ampurdán en época antigua se encontraba más
alto que en época actual (Marqués/Julià 1983a, 162). Al contrario, más recientemente se
ha propuesto que hacia el 2000 BP el mar se encontraba 2 m. más bajo que hoy en día
(Marzoli 2005, 67). Esta autora sigue los resultados de trabajos anteriores (Roqué/Pallí
1996, 31) que concluyen que el mar, que se encontraba a 2 m. por debajo del nivel actual,
comenzó a subir antes del 2000 BP para bajar, hacia el 1900 BP, hasta situarse a unos
decímetros por debajo del nivel actual. Otros autores consideran que estos cambios en el
nivel del mar no han sido tan importantes ni en el Maresme (Serra/Sorribas 1993), ni en
Narbona (Gayraud 1983, 57), ni en general en todo el Mediterráneo noroccidental
(Laborel et alii 1994 y 1998). Afortunadamente la excavación arqueológica de la plaza
Jules Verne en Marsella, que ha puesto al descubierto parte de la infraestructura
portuaria griega y romana de la ciudad, ha proporcionado datos geológicos, biológicos y
arqueológicos suficientes para poder establecer con precisión las variaciones del nivel
045
del mar en época histórica (Morange/Laborel/Hesnard 2001). Para el puerto de Marsella
se propone que desde época griega el nivel del mar ha estado más bajo que en época
actual y en concreto se situaba, hacia el año 575 a.C. a unos -65 cm. con respecto al nivel
actual (NGF), mientras que en época romana se situaba hacia -50 cm. (+/- 10 cm.) con
respecto al nivel actual (NGF).
Para establecer el nivel del mar en Ampurias nos inclinamos a aceptar los datos
derivados de la excavación de Marsella, tanto porque la cantidad y la variedad de fuentes
de información en las que se basan nos ofrecen garantías, como porque los datos
disponibles parecen apuntar hacia una estabilidad tectónica en la zona ampuritana
durante el Holoceno.
Descartamos que el nivel del mar se encontrara a 2 m. por encima del nivel actual
debido a que de haber sido así diversos restos arqueológicos habrían sido de
construcción submarina, por ejemplo una tumba excavada en la zona de la Clota Grossa,
datada entre el 90 y el 70 a.C. (Casas 1982) y que se encuentra a sólo 169 cm. por
encima del nivel actual del mar (Nieto/Nolla 1985, 281). También se encontrarían
sumergidos los pavimentos de las importantes construcciones ubicadas al suroeste del
“malecón” de Ampurias y que se encuentran a menos de un metro por encima del nivel
actual del mar (Sanmartí 1995). Como otros autores (Sanmartí 1995, 168) consideramos
que desde el asentamiento griego en Ampurias hasta hoy se ha producido, en términos
generales, una escasa elevación del nivel del mar, que hoy podemos situar grosso modo
entre los 60/70 cm. como máximo. Más adelante, al hablar del fenómeno de las “rocas
champiñón” aportaremos nuevos datos que corroboran la escasa variación del nivel del
mar durante el periodo histórico que tratamos.
No podemos olvidar que el nivel del Mediterráneo experimenta a lo largo del año
una variación estacional que se puede situar, en esta zona, en torno a los 15 cm.
4 a/b.
A lo largo del siglo XX se ha
producido una importante
transformación del paisaje
emporitano como consecuencia
de la creación y fijación de
dunas mediante vegetación. La
Neápolis, que en la segunda
década del siglo XX todavía
presentaba un contacto con el
mar ha quedado separada
física, administrativa y en
ocasiones científicamente del
mar y del “malecón”.
La aportación natural de arena
Aunque la aportación eólica de arenas ha sido permanente y detectable tanto en el
puerto natural entre la Palaiápolis y la Neápolis como en el resto de la zona, la
modificación topográfica más visible debida a esta causa, se inició en los años treinta del
siglo XIX cuando los ingenieros forestales decidieron fijar la arena de la zona mediante la
creación de dunas (Ferrer 1895). Como consecuencia la Neápolis se separó de su
fachada marítima mediante una barrera de vegetación y arena que cubre parte del
4a
046
4b
The pilot sites
yacimiento arqueológico (fig. 4). Al mismo tiempo se
consolidó una carretera entre el mar y la fachada este de
la Neápolis que, además de destruir algunos vestigios
arqueológicos (Sanmartí et alii 1996, 245) enterró otros
bajo el pavimento, al tiempo que fijó un talud artificial que
separa la ciudad griega del mar.
La aportación artificial de arena
Diversos sondeos arqueológicos subacuáticos
efectuados en la zona, tanto en el lado sur de las
Muscleres Grosses como en el norte (Nieto/Raurich
1998, fig.10) han puesto de manifiesto otro proceso de
variación del paisaje, en este caso submarino. La estratigrafía submarina en la zona
norte de las Muscleres se puede resumir diciendo que se ha acumulado un estrato de
entre 2 y 3 m. de espesor formado en las últimas décadas por la arena aportada
artificialmente para regenerar las playas adyacentes, arena que, como consecuencia de
los diversos temporales que arrastran mar adentro la arena depositada en la playa, ha
acabado en el fondo del mar, cubriendo el yacimiento arqueológico. Bajo este estrato de
arena de aportación moderna existe otro también de arena, de unos 40 cm. de espesor,
formado por las arenas naturales de la zona. Es en estos estratos, y especialmente en el
superior, donde pueden encontrarse algunos, aunque escasos, materiales
arqueológicos procedentes de la excavación de la Neápolis.
La aportación fluvial de sedimentos
5. Estrato de arcillas
enormemente compactas, con
un espesor que puede llegar a
1 m., depositado sobre lo que
fue el fondo del mar en época
romana.
En el medio subacuático, por debajo de los dos estratos de arena que acabamos
de comentar, el yacimiento se encuentra perfectamente sellado por un estrato
sorprendentemente compacto y uniforme formado por arcillas y limos, con abundantes
carbones. Este estrato que normalmente tiene un espesor de 1 m., en la zona entre el
“malecón” y las Muscleres (fig. 5), pierde potencia hasta ser de unos pocos centímetros
de espesor en las zonas perimetrales de esta área. Un estrato con estos materiales
arcillosos, aunque de menor potencia, se encuentra también en el puerto natural entre la
Palaiapolis y la Neápolis (Marqués/Julià 1983b; Marzoli 2005). Estos estratos son típicos
de los espacios cerrados en donde se sedimentan los materiales de granulometría
extremadamente fina aportados en suspensión por el agua de los ríos.
Una cuestión enormemente interesante es establecer cuándo y por qué se
produjo esta enorme aportación de limos y arcilla con carbones. Creemos que esta
colmatación es posterior a época romana, ya que bajo el estrato de limos aparece un
estrato de arena y Posidonia oceanica que corresponde al nivel del fondo del mar en
época romana, a tenor de los materiales arqueológicos romano republicanos que
aparecen en este estrato, que en el sondeo 2 (Nieto/Raurich 1998, 68) se encuentra a
una profundidad de -6,40 m. con respecto al nivel actual del mar.
Durante la campaña de 1997 se extrajeron tres muestras de la Posidonia oceanica
localizada debajo del potente estrato de arcilla y situada en el nivel que consideramos
que fue el fondo del mar en época romana. Estas tres muestras fueron analizadas para
su datación por C14 por Beta Analytic INC, University Branch (Miami, Florida). Ya desde
el propio laboratorio de estudio se avisó que las muestras presentaban una importante
047
amplitud cronológica, lo cual es normal en las muestras de posidonia. Por otra parte
14
conocemos los problemas que plantea la datación de la Posidonia oceanica por C por
lo que esta datación debe ser aceptada como orientativa y con precaución.
La muestra 121917 dio un resultado de 1580 +/- 80 BP (Conventional radiocarbon
age). El resultado calibrado ha dado una fecha de calendario para este material orgánico
comprendida entre el 330 al 645 DC cal. (2 sigma, 95% de probabilidad). Los años de
intercepción entre la curva de calibración y el año radiocarbónico han sido el 465 DC
cal., 475 DC cal., y 515 DC cal. El resultado calibrado a partir de 1 sigma, y con un 68%
de probabilidad comprende un arco cronológico entre el 410 DC al 590 DC cal.
comprendida entre el 135 al 450 DC cal. (2 sigma, 95% de probabilidad). El año de
intercepción entre el año radiocarbónico y la curva de calibración ha sido el 340 DC cal. El
resultado calibrado a partir de 1 sigma, y con un 68% de probabilidad comprende un arco
cronológico entre el 240 DC al 410 DC cal.
comprendida entre el 415 al 650 DC cal. (2 sigma, 95% de probabilidad). El año de
intercepción entre el año radiocarbónico y la curva de calibración ha sido el 555 DC cal. El
resultado calibrado a partir de 1 sigma, y con un 68% de probabilidad comprende un arco
cronológico entre el 450 DC al 615 DC cal. A partir de la realización de estos tres análisis
se han podido cotejar los resultados comparándolos entre ellos y conseguir así reducir la
amplia horquilla cronológica que ofrecen las muestras por separado. Así pues, si
ponemos los tres resultados en común, se obtiene una fecha calibrada comprendida
entre el 415 al 450 DC cal., siendo la muestra 121919 la que da el TAQ y la muestra
121918 el TPQ. La tercera muestra también se encaja perfectamente dentro de esta
datación.
Con referencia a esta datación conviene resaltar:
1. No se excavó la pradera de Posidonia oceanica, pero los materiales arqueológicos
visibles bajo y entre la capa superficial de la pradera muerta eran todos de época romano
republicana.
2. El sondeo que se efectuó en el estrato de arcillas formado, quizás, con posterioridad a
inicios del siglo V d.C., medía 2 m. por 1 y afectó a una potencia de 1 m. En los dos
metros cúbicos de arcillas extraídas no apareció ni un pequeño resto arqueológico, por lo
que no parece que, durante el periodo de formación de este estrato, hubiera una
actividad náutica en el puerto capaz de depositar material arqueológico en el fondo del
mar, al menos en este lugar.
3. Sobre esta capa de arcillas y limos no se detectan cantidades importantes de material
arqueológico en posición primaria.
4. Esta enorme cantidad de sedimentos debió extenderse por toda la fachada marítima
de Ampurias depositándose en espacios cerrados, pero con espesores diferentes en
función de la dinámica del mar, por lo que no es extraño que los encontremos tanto en el
puerto natural entre la Palaiápolis y la Neápolis como en la zona al noroeste de las
Muscleres Grosses.
El porqué de este enorme depósito de arcillas procedente de la erosión del paisaje
terrestre, escapa de nuestro ámbito de estudio, pero es sugerente remitirnos a trabajos
realizados en el Penedès, Garraf y al norte del “Pla de Barcelona”, en donde se detectan
048
The pilot sites
estratos con una fuerte reducción de los valores polínicos de los taxones arbóreos,
paralelamente a un aumento de cenizas que indican claramente una intensificación de
los incendios (Esteban et alii 1993, 650). En los estudios polínicos se detecta la
desaparición de la olivera, la viña y casi totalmente los cereales. Los autores sitúan el
proceso de deforestación y consiguiente erosión del terreno y arrastre de sedimentos por
la lluvia y los ríos a lo largo de los siglos VII/VIII d.C.
Se ha propuesto que este proceso vendría motivado por un auge de la actividad
ganadera extensiva, que utilizaría como pastos tanto los sectores interiores como las
propias llanuras litorales. Este proceso de deforestación creó una actividad erosiva
causante de la extensión de las planicies deltaicas de los ríos Besòs i Llobregat así como
la colmatación de diversas zonas lagunares cercanas a la costa (Riera/Palet 1993,
Esteban et alii 1993). Un problema especialmente complejo es el de los cambios
paisajísticos al norte de Sant Martí d'Empúries, motivados por los meandros que forma el
Fluviá al final de su curso y que han ido cambiando de posición a lo largo de la historia.
Durante el tiempo que el río desembocaba junto a la cara norte del promontorio de
la Palaiapolis, junto al curso final del río se extendía una zona pantanosa (Marzoli 2005).
El proyecto que estamos desarrollando todavía no ha actuado en esa zona, por lo que no
podemos añadir ningún dato a los que aporta la bibliografía existente.
Los trabajos arqueológicos
La fachada marítima padeció un nuevo cambio importante como consecuencia de
la metodología arqueológica aplicada durante el siglo XIX y principios del XX, ya que
durante esa época las tierras procedentes de la excavación eran transportadas en carros
o vagonetas y arrojadas al mar, generalmente frente al ágora (fig. 1, 5), originándose en
aquel lugar una plataforma, actualmente utilizada como mirador y de más de 50 m. de
longitud. La conexión urbanística del ágora y la stoa con el mar quedó bajo toneladas de
tierra (fig. 1, 6). Junto a la tierra fueron arrojados pequeños objetos arqueológicos, que
los embates del mar han dispersado por la zona, pero sin llegar a constituir un problema
importante de contaminación arqueológica, ya que el estrato que los contiene es
fácilmente detectable durante las excavaciones arqueológicas subacuáticas.
Otro cambio antrópico importante en la topografía de la fachada marítima
ampuritana se debe a la construcción, a partir de 1915, del museo e instalaciones
complementarias, que aprovecharon, primero el convento y después la iglesia de los
monjes servitas. Obras que culminaron en 1947 y que comportaron la realización de un
importante muro de contención para construir la terraza sobre la que se asienta el museo
(fig. 1, 4). Esta terraza y el muro, del que actualmente emerge perpendicularmente una
parte de la antigua muralla de la Neápolis, cubren la zona de contacto de la Neápolis con
el puerto natural, en donde suponemos que debió existir un pequeño acantilado.
La explotación de las rocas litorales como cantera
Las necesidades edilicias planteadas por la evolución urbanística de Ampurias
supusieron la explotación de varias canteras (Sanmartí 1994 y 1995) y por una lógica
cuestión de economía se explotaron aquellas afloraciones rocosas que estaban más
próximas al lugar de construcción (Álvarez/De Bru 1983), algunas de ellas en la fachada
marítima de la ciudad y de entre las que nos interesa resaltar las ubicadas en la roca
sobre la que se alza el “malecón” (fig. 1, 11) y en las Muscleres Grosses (fig. 1, 8).
049
Se ha realizado el estudio petrográfico de treinta y cinco muestras extraídas de los
bloques encontrados bajo el agua y procedentes de las diversas construcciones que
conformaron el puerto artificial, lo cual ha permitido constatar el origen local de la piedra
utilizada, en concreto de las canteras ubicadas junto al mar. Sabemos2 que para la
construcción del muro que existió sobre la parte actualmente sumergida de las
Muscleres Gosses (fig. 15, 12), se utilizaron piedras procedentes de las Muscleres
Petites (fig. 1, 7), de les Muscleres Gosses, del “malecón” (fig. 1, 11) y de Sant Martí
d'Empúries (fig. 1, 1).
Para la construcción de la torre ubicada en la fachada sur del puerto (fig. 15, 9) se
utilizaron piedras de las canteras de las Muscleres Petites, del “malecón”, de las
Muscleres Grosses, de Sant Martí d'Empúries y de la cantera identificada en el municipio
de l'Escala y conocida por Mar d'en Manassa (Sanmartí 1994).
Los bloques trabajados localizados en la llamada “piscina” (fig. 1, 10), proceden
del “malecón” y de Sant Martí d'Empúries. A tenor del resultado de los análisis y de la
cantidad de bloques localizados bajo el agua, hemos de concluir que la variación del
paisaje rocoso en la fachada marítima de la Neápolis debió ser importante. En otro orden
de cosas y con las precauciones debidas, la constatación de que muchos de los bloques
utilizados proceden de la roca del “malecón” sugiere la posibilidad de que la construcción
de estas obras del puerto artificial, sea anterior a la construcción del “malecón”.
6. Se observa el plano de
fractura originado al
desgajarse un trozo de roca.
Esta rotura fue posible debido
a la oquedad que se originó a
nivel de mar y que confirió a la
roca una forma de visera.
Cuando la visera fue los
suficientemente grande y
pesada cayó al mar. Como
testimonio del tamaño original
de la roca y de este proceso
de erosión ha quedado ante la
roca una plataforma plana
apreciable en la superficie del
mar.
Las “rocas champiñón”
Es un fenómeno muy particular y de localización geográfica concreta en la Costa
Brava, hasta el punto que Yvette Barbaza en su obra sobre la costa rocosa de Girona
titula como: “Les rochers-champignons de l'Escala”, uno de los subcapítulos de su obra
(Barbaza 1971, 82). El substrato rocoso que forma la fachada marítima de Ampurias
forma una orografía irregular, que da lugar a los promontorios sobre los que se asentaron
la Palaiápolis y la Neápolis y a los acantilados que se extienden entre los dos núcleos de
ocupación humana. Estas rocas, con el mismo perfil irregular, forman el substrato
submarino de la fachada de Ampurias, dando lugar, como en tierra, a depresiones y
crestas rocosas que en ocasiones afloran a la superficie marina formando escollos que,
de manera aislada o como barreras paralelas a la costa, configuran la topografía de la
zona. A lo largo de los siglos se ha producido un proceso que dividimos en tres fases,
durante las cuales factores mecánicos, biológicos y químicos han actuado sobre estas
rocas erosionándolas en la línea de contacto con el mar, produciendo oquedades, cada
vez mayores, generándose una visera que al ir aumentando de longitud y peso acaba por
desgajarse de la roca a la que pertenece y cae.
En la primera fase, cuando la roca es de gran tamaño, los desprendimientos de la
visera, son parciales y de este modo la roca va
disminuyendo su superficie y creando, una plataforma
lisa (trottoir à Lithophyllum tortuosum, según Barbaza),
(fig. 6) al tiempo que en el fondo del mar se depositan las
rocas procedentes del medio aéreo. El proceso se repite
y continúa y en una segunda fase cuando la superficie de
la roca aérea ya es de escaso tamaño, la erosión se
produce todo alrededor y se genera una roca en forma de
champiñón (fig. 7).
050
2 - Trabajo de final del Curso de
Postgrado en Arqueología Náutica
Mediterránea, realizado por Xavier
Aguelo bajo el título: Els blocs del
port romà d'Empúries.
The pilot sites
7. La erosión, a nivel del mar
ha generado una oquedad
todo alrededor de la roca ,
confiriéndole la forma de “roca
champiñón”. Cuando la
erosión en la base continúe
aumentando el tamaño y peso
de la visera, se desgajara la
visera, adquiriendo el conjunto
un aspecto como el de la roca
de la figura 6. Posteriormente
al continuar la erosión en a
base llegará un momento en
que aquello que se fracturará
será la columna que sujeta la
roca, por lo que esta caerá al
fondo del mar como se aprecia
en la figura 8.
Creemos que la roca que se
aprecia en esta figura es la
única parte aérea que queda
de la prolongación hacia el norte
de las Muscleres Grosses (ver
figura 1, 9).
La última fase del proceso llega cuando el
pedículo de la roca con forma de champiñón sigue
experimentando una progresiva disminución de su
diámetro y al no poder soportar el peso de la umbrela, se
rompe y la “roca champiñón” cae al fondo del mar (fig. 8),
con lo que desaparece todo vestigio aéreo de la
afloración rocosa que existió y queda una superficie
plana junto a la superficie del mar.
Este fenómeno lento, pero constante, es muy
frecuente en la fachada marítima ampuritana y se detecta
hoy día, en superficie, en todas las rocas en contacto con el agua, ya que presentan
oquedades a nivel de mar y también se detecta bajo el agua al localizar numerosas rocas
en forma de champiñón con el pedículo roto y que nos indican que una vez estuvieron al
aire libre.
Este fenómeno nos aporta información para conocer la evolución del nivel del mar
en los últimos siglos, ya que para producirse el resultado que acabamos de comentar se
requiere una estabilidad del nivel durante siglos. Observando la profundidad a la que se
encuentran las plataformas submarinas que se forman en la parte inferior de la oquedad
de las rocas, comprobamos como en aquellas “rocas champiñón” que están todavía en
proceso de formación y en aquellas de donde proceden las ya rotas y caídas al fondo del
mar y que aparecen en contacto con restos arqueológicos de época romana, la
diferencia de altitud es escasa, lo cual nos hace pensar que las cifras propuestas para
Marsella son correctas y que en el caso de Ampurias el nivel del mar en los últimos dos
mil años no ha debido subir más de 60/70 cm.
Este fenómeno, estudiado por Barbaza (1971), aparte de cambiar de forma muy
sensible el paleopaisaje costero ampuritano, ha producido la desaparición de cualquier
vestigio de ocupación humana que hubiera sobre esas rocas. Por su trascendencia para
los estudios arqueológicos centraremos el estudio del efecto de las “rocas champiñón”
en dos zonas concretas:
1. La afloración rocosa sobre la que se construyó el “malecón”.
Esta afloración rocosa presenta en su cara este, hacia mar abierto, importantes
oquedades que indican que el proceso continua, encontrándose en la fase 1 que hemos
descrito. Delante de las rocas visibles, hacia mar abierto, se observan en el fondo del
mar tanto rocas sumergidas, en posición primaria, como rocas caídas, por lo que la base
rocosa cuando se construyó el “malecón” debía ser bastante más ancha que en la
actualidad. Esta circunstancia hace imposible que ese lugar fuera utilizado para la
aproximación de embarcaciones. Además el “malecón” se encuentra abierto a los
vientos de norte y levante que todavía harían más difícil el amarre de embarcaciones
(fig. 9). En el extremo norte, el que mira a Sant Martí, existen algunas rocas aisladas,
dispersas y sumergidas a una profundidad que hace imposible que hayan sido aéreas
en los dos últimos milenios. En la cara oeste, la que mira a la Neápolis, siempre son
visibles las rocas que sobresalen de la arena y que adquieren una gran extensión
después de un temporal de levante, que al arrastrar la arena, permite ver una amplia
superficie de rocas que hacen también imposible que por ese lado pudiera acercarse una
embarcación hasta el “malecón” (fig. 10).
2. La zona de las Muscleres Grosses.
Sabemos que de los dos grupos de rocas que forman las Muscleres Grosses uno
051
8
ha reducido su parte aérea en una longitud, hacia el norte, de unos 90 m., y el otro, el
más exterior, ha perdido unos 25 m. de su parte aérea (Nieto/Raurich 1998, 63).
Gran parte de las Muscleres Grosses se encuentra actualmente bajo el agua,
formando una cresta rocosa al pie de la cual, en su cara oeste, se han localizado los
restos de varias “rocas champiñón” y centenares de bloques trabajados de piedra (fig.
8), algunos con marca de cantero, que proceden de una construcción que existió sobre
la parte aérea de las Muscleres Grosses ahora sumergida, (Nieto/Raurich 1998).
Recientes estudios de muestras extraídas de estos bloques nos han permitido identificar
las canteras de las que proceden los bloques. El 65% de las muestras analizadas
demuestran que los bloques fueron extraídos de las Muscleres Grosses y el resto
proceden mayoritariamente de Sant Martí d'Empúries, de les Muscleres Petites y de la
3
roca sobre la que se construyó el “malecón” . La ubicación de los bloques trabajados de
piedra puestos al descubierto por la excavación arqueológica subacuática nos permite
saber que ese muro tuvo una longitud de al menos 150 m.
9
3 - Agradecemos al doctor Aureli Álvarez
del Departamento de Cristalografía y
Mineralogía
de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
el que haya llevado
a cabo este estudio que forma
parte del trabajo de licenciatura
que está desarrollando el
Sr. Xavier Aguelo.
La adecuación del paleopaisaje de la fachada marítima ampuritana a las necesidades
humanas
Es bien conocida la capacidad del hombre, dependiendo de sus posibilidades
técnicas y económicas, para modificar el paisaje con el fin de adaptarlo a sus
necesidades. En esta adaptación rige un principio lógico de economía de esfuerzos y de
gasto económico. De esta manera el entorno físico influirá sobre las decisiones a tomar.
En Ampurias el ejemplo más claro es el del “malecón”, cuyas dimensiones, sus
límites, el ángulo con respecto al viento y las olas, incluso su forma y volumen vinieron
condicionados, en gran medida, por las posibilidades que ofrecía el afloramiento rocoso
sobre el que se construyó. Esto es aplicable a las obras en toda la fachada marítima y
especialmente a las realizadas dentro del agua, ya que no adaptarse a las ventajas
topográficas hubiera supuesto realizar obras extremadamente costosas. Es por lo tanto
necesario, en el momento de estudiar las obras llevadas a cabo en la fachada marítima
ampuritana, discernir entre aquello que hubiera sido deseable y aquello que era posible
con los condicionantes topográficos y los medios disponibles.
A la luz de lo dicho hasta ahora intentaremos aproximarnos a los procesos
tendentes a adaptar el paleopaisaje de la fachada marítima de Ampurias a las
necesidades humanas en cada momento y para ello trataremos individualizadamente
diversas unidades geográficas, que creemos que forman parte de un mismo proceso
052
8. Roca champiñón ya
desgajada de su parte aérea y
caída
al fondo del mar, en donde se
situó, en posición invertida,
sobre los bloques de piedra
trabajada que formaban el
muro construido sobre la roca.
Esta roca que perteneció
a la parte aérea de las
Muscleres Grosses se localiza
junto a la de la figura 7
(ver figura 1, 9).
9. Cara este del “malecón”.
Esta construcción, por estar
totalmente abierta a los vientos
dominantes y por las rocas
existentes, no pudo ser un
lugar destinado al atraque
de embarcaciones.
The pilot sites
histórico. En este trabajo cuando nos referimos a la
profundidad de un elemento con respecto al nivel actual
del mar tomamos como referencia el nivel oficialmente
aceptado que es el de Alicante y por otra parte para una
correcta interpretación arqueológica hay que tener en
cuenta que, tal como se ha comentado, el nivel del mar
estuvo más bajo que actualmente, por lo que para
interpretar correctamente los datos que ofrecemos, hay
que restar de la profundidad actual y dependiendo del
momento histórico unos 60 ó 70 cm.
El puerto natural
10. Cara oeste del “malecón”.
Las afloraciones rocosas a
sotavento de los vientos
dominantes impiden que este
espacio fuera utilizado como
refugio para las embarcaciones.
Proponemos esta denominación para designar al espacio portuario
tradicionalmente reconocido en Ampurias entre la Palaiápolis y la Neápolis (fig. 1, 2).
Podríamos haberle denominado el puerto griego, pero sería enormemente inexacto
tanto como adscripción cultural como cronológica ya que nada hace pensar que no fuera
utilizado con anterioridad a la llegada de los masaliotas y posteriormente en época
romana. Nos parece más apropiada esta denominación ya que además nos permite
contraponerla a la de puerto artificial que utilizaremos para denominar a la zona portuaria
que se construyó a levante de la Neápolis, tal como veremos más adelante.
Actualmente es una depresión dedicada a tierras de cultivo en donde existió una
ensenada limitada al norte por el promontorio de Sant Martí de Empúries, al oeste por un
importante acantilado y al sur por la elevación de terreno sobre la que se construyó la
Neápolis, mientras que todo su lado este estuvo abierto y expuesto a los vientos de
levante y tramontana que son los más peligrosos de la zona, lo cual en principio le
convierte en un lugar poco idóneo para el fondeo de las naves (Nieto/Raurich 1998, 5960). A tenor de los vestigios arqueológicos localizados en Sant Martí d'Empúries, que
puede adscribirse al Bronce final II –IIIa o la primera etapa de transición de la Edad del
Bronce a la del Hierro en el Ampurdán, la ocupación humana se detecta desde un
momento anterior al 850-800 a.C. para hacerse claramente estable a partir de la primera
Edad del Hierro (Esteba/Pons 1999, 87-88), dentro de la segunda mitad del siglo VII a.C.,
momento en el cual ya se localizan en la zona algunos productos de importación del
ámbito fenicio y etrusco (Castanyer et alii 1999, 125 y ss.) que indican la existencia de
contactos marítimos, directos o indirectos, pero que sin duda debieron realizarse
aprovechando el puerto natural adyacente. Estos primeros contactos comerciales se
consolidaron paulatinamente gracias al comercio foceo, intensificándose y
diversificándose y marcan un punto de inflexión a finales del siglo VI a.C. con la plena
presencia masaliota en la zona, momento a partir del cual y especialmente a partir de la
ocupación de la Neápolis, que cierra por el sur el espacio de la ensenada, la actividad en
el puerto no dejó de intensificarse. El siglo IV a.C. debió suponer un momento álgido
para la economía ampuritana teniendo en cuenta que es en ese periodo, algo antes de
mediados de la centuria, se construye la muralla que protegió la ciudad por el sur
(Sanmartí et alii 1988, 195; 1992) y lo más probable es que esta capacidad económica
haya que ponerla en relación con la actividad comercial en su puerto.
El desembarco romano en el 218 a.C. y el papel jugado por la ciudad en la
estrategia romana generó una nueva dinámica y una capacidad económica, que
arqueológicamente es detectable por los profundos cambios edilicios que se producen
053
en el siglo II a.C., pujanza que tiene su momento de inflexión hacia el cambio de Era. No
se ha realizado ninguna excavación arqueológica en este puerto, si exceptuamos los
trabajos llevados a cabo en 1983, consistentes en una gran zanja que atravesando
perpendicularmente el paseo actualmente existente entre la Neápolis y la Palaiápolis
tenía como objetivo descubrir un posible muelle o una barrera rocosa que, actuando de
barrera de los sedimentos, habría posibilitado la colmatación del puerto y la formación
de la actual elevación del terreno bajo el paseo.
En aquel momento no se tuvo la fortuna de encontrar ningún vestigio. Sin embargo
las prospecciones geofísicas realizadas por el CEREGE en 2003 (fig. 11) ponen de
manifiesto (ver perfil 28, fig. 12) la existencia en esta zona de rocas aisladas que tienen
su cima a una profundidad de 5 m. por debajo del nivel actual del mar. De estas rocas
conocemos, gracias al perfil 28, su ubicación y su longitud norte-sur, pero no la esteoeste, por lo que esta medida que hemos representado en la figura 15, 1, es hipotética.
Estas rocas, por sí mismas, dada la profundidad a la que aparecen, no
supondrían un obstáculo importante a la navegación, ya que para las grandes
embarcaciones romanas, con capacidad superior a las 6.000 ánforas, como son las de la
Madrague de Giens y Albenga, se calcula un puntal alrededor de los 4,5 m.
(Pomey/Tchernia 1978) lo que comportaría un calado de unos 3 m.. Sin embargo, en
caso de mala mar, estas rocas si que podrían ser un inconveniente, incluso para
embarcaciones menores, ya que producirían el rompimiento de la ola y una zona de mar
anormalmente alterada. A la ya comentada mala orientación del puerto con respecto a
los vientos dominantes, y a los inconvenientes originados por la presencia de estas rocas
hemos de añadir el escaso calado que presentaba esta ensenada en una buena parte de
su extensión.
Los perfiles 11, 18 (fig. 13) y 19, 20 y 23 (fig. 14) nos aportan dos informaciones
esenciales: la ubicación de la paleocosta y la profundidad de la ensenada, con respecto
al nivel actual del mar, por lo tanto el máximo calado de esta ensenada, pero no podemos
olvidar que el nivel del mar durante la antigüedad estaba más bajo, conforme a las cifras
que ya hemos propuesto. Para hacer más evidentes los datos, hemos unido con una
línea (fig. 15, 2) las informaciones disponibles sobre la ubicación de la paleocosta y con
otra (fig. 15, 3) la actual línea batimétrica de -3m., que correspondería aproximadamente
a 2,30-2,40 m. en la antigüedad. Hemos elegido la batimétrica de -3 m. considerando que
calados menores no serían aptos para embarcaciones de gran porte y porque creemos
que en profundidades menores se produciría el efecto de rotura de ola que estamos
acostumbrados a ver en las playas, lo cual haría realmente complicado el fondeo de
embarcaciones. Se dibujan así unas amplias zonas de calado inferior a los 3 m., siendo la
más extensa la que recorrería todo el fondo de la ensenada, en el oeste, al pie del
acantilado y que adquiriría su anchura máxima al sudoeste (fig. 15, 4), al pie de la
terraza del actual museo.
Hacia el este (fig. 15, 5) aparece una zona altamente interesante debido a que en
ese lugar el promontorio rocoso sobre el que se construyó la Neápolis forma un pequeño
acantilado (fig. 16), que ya fue excavado por Gandía en el año 1921 (Mar/Ruiz de Arbulo
1993, 75-76, fig. b de la pág.71) y situado curiosamente al final de la calle que partiendo
del ángulo noroeste del ágora, se dirige hasta el puerto, pareciendo indicar esta
distribución urbana la necesidad de de conectar la plaza pública con esa zona concreta
del puerto. Es precisamente ese lugar el único de la fachada septentrional de la Neápolis
en donde la profundidad del mar debió superar, aunque escasamente, los 3 m.
054
The pilot sites
11
12
14
15
13
11. Ubicación de los perfiles
geofísicos realizados en el
año 2003 en la fachada
marítima de Empúries por el
CEREGE-UMR 6635 y
presentados en este trabajo.
con respecto al nivel actual. Esta zona de buen calado es
pequeña,
en realidad un fondo de saco, ya que hacia el
30
24
este, ens en donde se encuentra el malecón, no existía
29
mar, como se desprende de los datos aportados por el
18
25
perfil 16 (fig. 21). Creemos que la zona del pequeño
28
acantilado que estamos comentando, por existir calado
19
suficiente, por estar comunicada con el ágora y por ser el
23
20
lugar mas protegido del puerto en caso de flojos vientos
de levante, pudo ser el embarcadero más idóneo de la
Neápolis, aunque totalmente inadecuado con vientos de
6
1
tramontana. Al norte del puerto, ocupando toda la
fachada sur de la Palaiápolis (fig. 15, 6) y prácticamente
todo el istmo hasta el promontorio rocoso sobre el que se
construyó la ciudad romana, se extiende otra amplia
zona de profundidad inferior a los 3 m. En este lugar,
como hacen evidente los perfiles 25 y 29 (fig. 17) existía
una amplia plataforma terrestre y todavía hoy son visibles importantes afloramientos de
la roca natural (fig. 18) que ponen en entredicho la insularidad de la Palaiápolis. En este
lugar al sureste de la Palaiápolis se conoce desde el plano publicado por Passa en 1823
la existencia de estructuras arquitectónicas a nivel de playa y personalmente onocemos
la existencia de un posible y pequeño muro submarino que corre en dirección este-oeste
(Nieto/Raurich 1998, 57). Desde el texto de Estrabón, se vino considerando a la
Palaiápolis como una isla, lo cual ha dado lugar a pensar que en algún momento de la
historia el río Fluvià desembocó entre el asentamiento griego y tierra firme. Estudios
geológicos recientes descartan la insularidad de la Palaiápolis (Marzoli 2005, 82, figs. 27,
28 y 29) considerándola una península. Hemos realizado los perfiles 24 y 30 (fig. 19) con
el fin de estudiar la supuesta insularidad de la Palaiápolis y tal como pone de manifiesto el
perfil 24, la Palaiápolis corresponde mucho más a una península que a una isla. Sin
embargo el perfil 30 que realizamos más al oeste de los efectuados por Marzoli (2005, fig.
28) muestra la existencia de de un paso (fig. 15, 7), justo al pie del promontorio y con una
profundidad superior a la del nivel del mar en época antigua. Se trata de una abertura
enormemente pequeña, alrededor de 15 m. de amplitud, que podría haber permitido el
paso de embarcaciones entre el puerto natural y el Fluviá, pero la angostura de este
paso, unido a la escasa profundidad del puerto natural en las zonas adyacentes, (ver
perfil 29 en la fig. 17) junto a las aportaciones sedimentarias del Fluviá pudieron hacer
impracticable el paso de embarcaciones o permitirlo de manera intermitente.
Resumiendo, podemos decir que en un contexto tectónico estable en el Holoceno
final y considerando para ese momento un nivel del mar de alrededor de 60/70 cm. por
debajo del actual, según los datos aportados por la excavación en la plaza Jules Verne de
Marsella (Morhange et alii 2001), buena parte del puerto natural de Ampurias, en sus
lados oeste y sur y en prácticamente toda la fachada de la Palaiápolis y su istmo
presentaba una profundidad muy escasa, lo cual, en una ensenada totalmente abierta a
los vientos de levante y tramontana produciría, como ocurre en cualquier playa, el
rompimiento de la ola convirtiendo el lugar en muy poco apto para el fondeo de las naves.
Sólo una parte de la ensenada, la situada en el centro, ligeramente hacia la Palaiápolis,
presenta una profundidad superior a los 6 m., tal como se aprecia en el extremo norte del
perfil 18 (fig. 13) y el extremo este del perfil 19 (fig. 14). Sin embargo en esta zona, en
055
momentos de mala mar se notaría el efecto de rotura de ola originado por la barrera de
escollos submarinos que se localizan bajo el actual paseo que une la Neápolis con la
Palaiápolis. Sólo dos lugares parecen ser algo adecuados para el fondeo de las naves en
este puerto natural, uno al sur del promontorio de la Palaiápolis, pero alejado de la
protección de la elevación rocosa por la playa, que ofrecería cierta protección en
momentos de floja tramontana y otro, pero sólo en caso de buen tiempo, en el pequeño y
estrecho acantilado al final de la calle proveniente del ágora de la Neápolis.
Probablemente la existencia de unas playas ubicadas en la fachada sur de la
Palaiápolis y especialmente en el ángulo sur occidental del puerto junto a la terraza del
actual museo, permitiría varar las embarcaciones pequeñas y medianas y ofrecería un
espacio adecuado de trabajo y de comercio.
Hace más de veinte años que Marqués y Julià (1983a) efectuaron una serie de
columnas geológicas que pusieron de manifiesto una estratigrafía marina regresiva,
caracterizada por sedimentos lagunares orgánicos encima de un estrato de arena.
12. Perfil geofísico 28 (ver figura 11).
A unos cinco metros por debajo del nivel actual del mar existen unas formaciones rocosas que forman una barrera intermitente entre la Neápolis y
la Palaiápolis, por debajo de la actual carretera.
Limos orgánicos
Arenas marinas
Substrato calcáreo
C4
C5
13. Perfiles geofísico 18 y 11 (ver figura 11).
Perfil 18.- Efectuado en la dársena del puerto natural en dirección norte-sur, con una separación de tres metros entre electrodos. Muestra la línea
de costa en la Neápolis, junto a la terraza del Museo y una amplia zona hacia el norte, de muy escasa profundidad, unos dos metros. El substrato
calcáreo hace pendiente hacia el centro del puerto, en donde se alcanzan profundidades de entre 6 y 8 metros. Las informaciones proporcionadas
por las dos columnas sedimentológicas, C4 y C5, proceden de Blech et alii 1998.
Perfil 11.- Muestra la ubicación de la línea de costa y la presencia de una amplia anomalía junto a los muros del extremo norte de la Neápolis y que
podría corresponder a un importante muro que correría en dirección este-oeste.
056
The pilot sites
Creemos que esta capa sedimentaria debe ser la misma excavada en el puerto
artificial ante la Neápolis y por lo tanto su formación es posterior a las primeras décadas
del siglo V d.C. Finalmente el puerto se colmató con arenas de aportación eólica. Otro
equipo, en esta ocasión del Instituto Arqueológico Alemán, extrajo una columna
sedimentaria (C5 perfil 18) de alrededor de 7 m. de longitud (Blech et alii 1998) que nos
permite saber que el puerto natural presenta una capa de sedimentos marinos
transgresivos datados entre 3.500 y 2.000 BP, recubierta por limos orgánicos lagunares
13. Perfiles geofísicos 19,20 y 23 (ver figura 11).
Efectuados en la dársena del puerto natural, en dirección este-oeste y con una distancia de 2 m. entre electrodos. Se observa como el substrato
calcáreo aparece inclinado hacia el norte y hacia el este, de tal modo que partiendo de profundidades inferiores a tres metros, junto a la Neápolis y el
acantilado que cierra el puerto por el oeste, se va ganando lentamente profundidad hacia la Palaiápolis y el mar abierto.
057
7
2
3
6
3
1
1
4
1
5
2
8
9
10
13
12
11
14
que evidencian un espacio cerrado. Recientemente Marzoli (2005), ha establecido que
existen cinco estratos importantes en el puerto natural de Ampurias: el primer estrato
con una potencia de 1,50 m., formado por arcillas de grano fino y arcillas arenosas. Un
segundo estrato, de 50 cm. de potencia, llegaría hasta -2 m. y estaría formado por arena
con granulado medio con una composición mineralógica de cuarzo, feldespato,
magnesio y minerales ferruginosos y crisolitos. El tercer estrato de 3 m. de potencia (de
los -2 m. a los -5 m.) estaría compuesto por arenas de granulado grande, con una
composición mineralógica similar a la del estrato superior. Entre los -3,55 m. y los -3,60
m. aparece una capa de arcillas de un color mas claro. El cuarto estrato que va de -5 m. a
los -5,20 m. estaría formado por un conglomerado de diferentes calcáreas junto con
fauna marina y tres fragmentos de cerámica ibérica. Este estrato tiene una cronología de
2020 +/- 70 BP cal. Finalmente existe un estrato desde -5,20 m. a -6,60 m., formado por
sedimentaciones y sustratos del mesoceno. (Marzoli 2005, 82)
Creemos posible que la capa de arcillas, en este caso de escaso espesor, que
aparece sobre un estrato de arena que a su vez reposa sobre otro con presencia de
material arqueológico pueda tener su correspondencia con la localizada entre el
“malecón” y las Muscleres Grosses en donde también existen zonas en las cuales el
espeso de esta capa de arcillas es de escasos centímetros. Por otra parte la total
abertura del puerto natural hacia levante y tramontana debió generar unos fenómenos de
sedimentación diferentes a los del puerto artificial.
Sería erróneo preguntarse simplemente si este era un buen puerto natural o no, ya
que su idoneidad dependerá de la función que se le quiera dar. Esta es una ensenada,
fácilmente defendible y controlable, rodeada de acantilados y zonas elevadas, con un
núcleo de población en cada extremo y provista de dos amplias playas, una al norte junto
a la Palaiápolis y otra al oeste y sudoeste junto a la Neápolis, que permitían sacar las
embarcaciones del agua en caso de temporal, disponer de espacio para atarazanas y
para el comercio. Este parece, en principio, un lugar enormemente idóneo para una
058
15. Algunas de las unidades
topográficas y arqueológicas
que se mencionan en el texto.
1. Barrera de rocas que
aparecen a unos 5 m. por
debajo del nivel actual del mar.
2. Ubicación de la línea de
costa en la antigüedad.
3. Línea batimétrica de menos
3 m. con respecto al nivel
actual del mar y que
correspondería a una
profundidad de agua de unos
2,30 m. en época antigua.
4. Paleocosta existente el la
antigüedad y que permitiría el
varado de las embarcaciones.
5. Acantilado puesto al
descubierto en 1921 por
Gandia y que correspondería a
un posible punto de atraque de
embarcaciones.
6. Paleocosta existente el la
antigüedad y que permitiría el
varado de las embarcaciones.
7. Posible paso, de
escasamente 15 m. de
anchura, existente entre el
puerto natural y el río.
8. Muro este-oeste,
perpendicular al extremo sur
del “malecón” y que separa, al
norte y sur, dos espacios con
problemáticas náuticas
diferentes.
9. Ubicación bajo el agua de la
torre más oriental de la muralla
del siglo IV a.C. y que cerraba
la ciudad por el sur.
10. Línea que marca la
máxima presencia hacia el sur
de las piedras que formaban
una construcción sobre la
cresta rocosa natural que se
extiende, en ese mismo lugar,
entre extremo sudeste de la
Neápolis y las Muscleres
Grosses.
11. Rocas submarinas que
actualmente aparecen a una
profundidad de alrededor de
1,8 m. y que suponen un serio
peligro para la navegación en
esa zona.
12. Extensión submarina de las
Muscleres Grosses.
13. Línea que marca la máxima
extensión hacia el oeste de los
bloques de piedra trabajada
procedentes del dique que
existió sobre las Muscleres
Gosses.
14. La llamada “piscina” en la
que se han encontrado
numerosos bloque de piedra
trabajada procedentes de un
edificio que debió existir en su
lado suroeste.
The pilot sites
actividad comercial de tipo empórico. Este mismo lugar
no permitiría la protección de grandes embarcaciones y la
llegada, descarga, almacenamiento y redistribución de
grandes cantidades de mercancías, por lo que un cambio
en la intensidad, la organización del comercio y en las
características técnicas de las embarcaciones, hicieron
inadecuado este espacio portuario.
La fachada norte de la neápolis
Es la zona que marca el límite sur del puerto
natural, la zona de contacto con la parte de la ciudad en
donde se han encontrado los materiales arqueológicos
más antiguos. Esta zona, que se extiende desde la
terraza y muro de contención del museo, en el oeste,
hasta el límite administrativo del conjunto arqueológico,
con la valla, la carretera y la duna que llega hasta el “malecón”, ha experimentado
importantes cambios en su topografía original. Consideramos que es necesario
prescindir de estos inconvenientes físicos y administrativos modernos y estudiar las
diversas unidades topográficas que existieron en este espacio.
El extremo occidental
Se trata del ángulo sudoeste del puerto, en donde la costa forma un mínimo rincón
entre los acantilados del oeste y un pequeño promontorio al este sobre el que se alza la
Neápolis. Grosso modo correspondería al espacio adjunto al muro de contención de la
terraza del museo. En este lugar la costa forma un rincón (fig. 15,4) en donde, del muro
de contención de la terraza del museo emerge hacia el norte, a la altura del puerto
natural, la muralla que cerraba la ciudad por el oeste. En esa zona el extremo sur del perfil
18 (fig. 13) y el oeste del perfil 20 (fig. 14) nos muestran la existencia de una paleocosta y
ante ella el más amplio espacio del puerto donde la profundidad era inferior a 3 m. Se
trata del espacio más inadecuado del puerto para el fondeo de grandes naves, tanto por
el poco calado como por el movimiento de la lámina de agua como consecuencia de la
rotura de la ola, hecho especialmente importante en esta área que es, desprovista de la
protección de la Palaiápolis, en donde el viento de tramontana actuaría con más
virulencia. Es también una zona sin ninguna protección contra los vientos de levante. Sin
embargo, por la paleocosta, por ser anexa a la ciudad y por su lejanía a mar abierto, es la
zona más adecuada del puerto para el varado de las embarcaciones y para la realización
de trabajos relacionados con las actividades náuticas. En esta zona desconocemos
cómo y dónde acababa la muralla oeste de la ciudad, que a tenor del resto conservado
sabemos que se introducía en esta área portuaria casi a ras de la lámina de agua. El
acceso a la ciudad se efectuaría por la calle, con una importante cloaca, que corre
paralela a la fachada del museo y que actualmente permite el acceso al bar situado en los
terrenos del puerto.
16. Foto realizada hacia 1945 y
que muestra, ya enterrado en
parte, el acantilado que localizó
Gandia en la excavación de
1921. (Archivo MAC-Empúries).
El espacio intermedio
Correspondería al espacio comprendido entre la zona que acabamos de comentar
y el acantilado situado al este y que excavó Gandía en el 1921, en este lugar el perfil 11
059
(fig. 13) ha puesto de manifiesto una importante anomalía que se encuentra cubierta por
escasos centímetros de tierra y que podría tratarse de un importante muro que discurriría
en dirección este-oeste junto a los muros de las habitaciones existentes en ese lugar.
A falta de una excavación arqueológica nada podemos decir de este muro, que por
su aparente importancia, por la dirección que sigue, por su ubicación en un extremo de la
Neápolis, sobre el puerto y por su sensible alineación con el muro que existe en la playa,
junto al malecón y perpendicular a él, cabe la posibilidad que forme parte de un sistema
de protección de la ciudad por su lado norte. Desde el punto de vista náutico no parece
que esta zona desempeñara una función importante.
El acantilado
Hacia el este y adyacente a la zona que acabamos de comentar y formando el
extremo más septentrional de la Neápolis el terreno el algo mas abrupto acabando la
ciudad en un pequeño acantilado sobre el puerto. En este lugar (fig. 15, 5) Gandía realizó
una excavación en 1921, llegando hasta el nivel de agua, que no ofreció más evidencias
antrópicas que unos recortes en la roca natural. La excavación permite comprobar que la
paleocosta cae a pico (fig. 16) y el extremo este del perfil 20 (fig. 14) nos muestra que el
mar debió tener una profundidad ligeramente superior a los 3 m. Estas dos
circunstancias juntas permitirían, en momentos de buena mar, la aproximación a tierra
de embarcaciones de mediano porte, por lo que este lugar podría haber sido utilizado
como embarcadero con una alta frecuentación humana hecho que vendría corroborado,
por existir una calle que pone en contacto este posible embarcadero con una parte tan
esencial de la ciudad como es el ágora.
060
17. Perfiles geofísicos 25 y 29
(ver figura 11).
Perfil 25.- Realizado al pie del
montículo de la Palaiápolis,
paralelo a su fachada sur.
Muestra que el substrato duro
aflora, por lo que esta zona no
estuvo cubierta por las aguas
en la antigüedad.
Perfil 29.- Efectuado
perpendicular al istmo de la
Palaiápolis en su
cara sur. El substrato calcáreo
aparece en el nivel actual del
mar o claramente por
encima,en su
parte norte (ver figura 18).
Ambos perfiles muestran que
en la cara sur de la Palaiápolis
y de su importante istmo,
existió una
amplia paleocosta, junto a la
que se extendía una zona de
muy
escasa profundidad. Era un
espacio que permitía poner las
naves a seco, pero impedía la
aproximación de las naves
para situarse a resguardo de la
tramontana.
The pilot sites
La zona de las dunas
Hacia el este de la zona anterior, el terreno actual
inicia un ligero declive hacia el mar, al tiempo que los
restos arqueológicos van quedando enterrados por la
carretera, la duna y la vegetación que en este momento
separa la Neápolis del “malecón”. Esta circunstancia nos
impide conocer la topografía y la arqueología, por lo que
sólo podremos elaborar hipótesis a partir de los restos
arqueológicos y los datos que conocemos a un lado y otro
de estos obstáculos.
La zona del “malecón”
18. Importante afloramiento
rocoso que aparece en el
istmo de la Palaiápolis y que
pone en cuestión la insularidad
del asentamiento.
Aquí la paleocosta avanza sensiblemente hacia el
este adentrándose en el mar formando un importante
saliente hasta el afloramiento rocoso sobre el que se construyó el “malecón” (fig. 1, 11).
En esta zona, al estar fuera del recinto vallado del yacimiento arqueológico, separada de
él por barreras físicas y visuales, se produce el efecto psicológico de considerarla como
algo lejano e independiente de la Neápolis, cuando en realidad bajo las dunas continúan
los restos arquitectónicos y cuando la distancia desde el “malecón” a los restos
actualmente visibles de la Neápolis es de unos escasos 100 m. (fig. 4). En este lugar el
resto arquitectónico más impresionante es el “malecón” un enorme muro de 79,40 m. de
largo por 4,80 m. de altura y 5,30 m. de ancho (Sanmartí 1995), formado por un cuerpo de
argamasa y pequeñas piedras y forrado con grandes bloques de piedra.
De su extremo sur, que acababa prácticamente donde lo hace ahora (Sanmartí
1995, 168), partía, perpendicularmente hacia el oeste, un muro (fig. 15, 8), ahora muy
arrasado, de menor tamaño pero muy similar en cuanto a la técnica constructiva, un
cuerpo de opus caementicium, forrado, al menos por su cara norte por bloques de opus
siliceum. Este muro era ya conocido en 1883 y desde entonces se ha visto en mayor o en
menor extensión en función de los movimientos de la arena que actualmente lo cubre.
Conviene recordar que en el plano de las ruinas publicado por Pella y Forgas (1883)
aparece este muro al sur del malecón y que alineado con él, hacia el oeste, el autor marca
otro fragmento de muro. Este mismo muro aparece, con más detalle y extensión, en el
plano realizado por J.Busquets (Mar/Ruiz de Arbulo 1993, 60-61) que, si es observado
con atención, permite ver hacia el oeste y alineado con el muro que estamos
comentando, otro fragmento de muro que probablemente sea el que Pella y Forgas
pudo ver y dibujar con mayor amplitud y no descartamos que pueda, aún en el caso de
que no sea el mismo, tener la misma función que el que ha puesto de manifiesto el perfil
11 (fig. 13) y que hemos comentado anteriormente.
Este muro ha perdido casi todos los grandes bloques que lo forraban, pero
esporádicamente, cuando lo destapan los temporales de mar, puede apreciarse todavía
un bloque in situ en su cara norte (fig. 20), confiriendo al conjunto un aspecto similar,
aunque en pequeña escala, al del “malecón”. Se trata de una importante construcción,
adosada a la cual, en su cara sur, aparece una serie de muros paralelos al descrito
(fig. 23) y que como aquel se pierden actualmente bajo la duna.
En esta zona hemos efectuado los perfiles 15 y 16 (fig. 21). El 15 al lado sur del
muro que estamos comentando y el 16 al lado norte, al oeste del “malecón”. Es
061
interesante comprobar que este importante muro, que corre en dirección este oeste y
que creemos que estructuralmente unía con el “malecón”, delimita dos espacios con
problemáticas náuticas distintas. Al norte, el perfil 16 muestra que el substrato calcáreo
prácticamente aflora en la actualidad por lo que considerando que el nivel del mar era
más bajo en época romana, debemos concluir que toda esa zona era tierra en aquel
momento, como lo es ahora. Al contrario, el perfil 15 muestra cómo el substrato rocoso
aparece mucho más profundo, con una fuerte pendiente hacia el ágora ampuritana y que
permite alcanzar profundidades de hasta 3-4 m. antes de llegar a la fachada de la plaza
de la ciudad griega. El ágora, la stoa y una zona con calado suficiente para la
aproximación de las naves crean un espacio especialmente adecuado para los
intercambios comerciales, especialmente tras los cambios urbanísticos operados en
esta parte de la ciudad en el siglo II a.C. (Nieto/Raurich 1998, 69) De esta zona se han
presentado en numerosas ocasiones, dibujos reconstructivos repitiendo dos errores
importantes: uno es el considerar que el llamado “malecón” continuaba unos cuantos
metros más hacia Sant Martí d'Empúries cerrando en parte y protegiendo el puerto
ubicado entre la Neápolis y la Palaiápolis. Esto es imposible por dos razones: una que la
base rocosa sobre la que se asienta la obra no continúa hacia el norte, lo cual hubiera
obligado a construir sobre una base inestable o ir a buscar la roca levantando la arena
bajo las aguas, lo cual es posible, pero costoso, pero la prueba más clara de que el
“malecón” no continuaba hacia el norte es que esta obra, realizada con argamasa y
cascajo y forrada con grandes bloques, está perfectamente rematada en su extremo
norte (fig. 22), conservando los bloques de forro, que se convierten en la prueba de que el
límite norte actual es el que siempre tuvo (Sanmartí 1995, 167).
062
(ver figura 11)
Realizados siguiendo el istmo
de la Palaiápolis, el 24 al este
y el 30 al oeste. Se observa la
afloración de los materiales
duros por encima del nivel del
mar lo cual confiere a la
Palaiápolis la característica de
una península. A pesar de ello,
al pie del acantilado de tierra
firme, los materiales duros
caen casi a pico, hasta una
profundidad de más de cuatro
metros por debajo del nivel
actual del mar,
originándose un paso muy
estrecho, de unos 15 m. de
anchura, en donde debió
existiragua.
The pilot sites
20. Del extremo sur del
“malecón” sale
perpendicularmente hacia
el oeste, un importante muro
(ver figura 15,8), actualmente
muy destruido al haber
desaparecido los grandes
bloques de piedra
que lo recubrían, al menos por
su cara norte. En la fotografía
puede apreciarse, en la
izquierda, el único bloque de
piedra que permanece in situ.
Otro error habitual es el de representar
embarcaciones amarradas al “malecón” por su cara
oeste y defender para esta obra una función de dique de
protección del espacio marítimo situado hacia tierra. Ya
hemos indicado que junto a la cara oeste del “malecón”
no existió nunca profundidad suficiente para el fondeo de
las naves, bien al contrario, por todas partes afloran las
rocas contra las que se hubiera destruido cualquier
embarcación que intentara aproximarse.
La situación hacia el sur es diferente, tal como la
muestra el perfil 15, allí en la antigüedad deberíamos
ganar nivel de agua conforme nos alejáramos del muro
este-oeste. En esta zona existen una serie de muros
paralelos, perpendiculares al mar y que aparecen
actualmente enormemente desfigurados tanto por la
destrucción originada por los temporales marítimos como por las sucesivas y
desafortunadas restauraciones que han padecido (fig. 23). Por otra parte, la duna
existente nos impide saber cuantos de estos muros existieron. Lo que sabemos es que
desde el muro este-oeste del extremo sur del “malecón” hasta el último vestigio de muro
que se pierde en la duna hay una distancia de 58 m. Estas paredes delimitan
habitaciones rectangulares para las que, con las precauciones derivadas de la mala
conservación de los restos, deducimos una anchura, para las dos mejor conservadas, de
8,77 m. y 8 m., por una longitud desconocida. Estas estancias presentan en medio unos
potentes pilares de algo más de un metro de anchura. Suponiendo que estos muros se
distribuyan regularmente y sabiendo que la distancia del primero al último de los visibles
en este momento es de 58 m., en este espacio podrían adosarse seis de estas estancias.
Volviendo a la función del “malecón” y una vez establecido que no es un muelle y
que tampoco sirve para proteger a sotavento unas naves, ya que no existía mar, podría
aducirse que esta obra podría servir para proteger el embarcadero que hemos
propuesto, ya dentro del puerto natural, en el pequeño acantilado que excavó Gandia en
1921. Sólo decir que, por la distancia existente, 100 m., por la alineación de los puntos
con referencia a los vientos dominantes y por el tamaño del “malecón”, esta obra no
podía proteger ni del levante ni de la tramontana a las embarcaciones allí atracadas.
Descartamos por lo tanto que el llamado “malecón” tenga una función náutica y
creemos que debe ser puesto en relación con el gran muro este-oeste que parte de su
extremo sur hacia la Neápolis, con el que presenta la misma técnica constructiva,
(caementicium y siliceum) y con las estancias que acabamos de describir.
La ubicación, la topografía de la zona circundante y la sorprendente longitud
exigua del malecón, 80 m., convierten a la obra en inapropiada para una función náutica y
creemos que está más bien relacionada con actividades desarrolladas en tierra firme y
que su función podría ser doble. Creemos como más probable que el malecón y el muro
este-oeste forman parte del sistema defensivo general de la ciudad y su puerto y en
primer término de las estancias ubicadas en la playa que acabamos de comentar y cuya
función se nos escapa, pero que debió ser importante en la actividad del puerto artificial,
teniendo en cuenta su calidad constructiva y sus dimensiones.
Cabe también la posibilidad, a modo de mera sugerencia, que el malecón pudiera
además realizar una función defensiva del acceso marítimo al puerto artificial.Teniendo
063
en cuenta la paleotopografía, no disponer de este muro hubiera dejado desprotegidas,
ante cualquier desembarco hostil, toda la zona situada al oeste de la fortificación, hasta la
Neápolis y toda la fachada este de la ciudad y probablemente la bocana del puerto
artificial. La necesidad de una construcción defensiva en esta zona y la necesidad de
edificarla en el único sitio posible, aprovechando la afloración rocosa, un lugar
fuertemente batido por los temporales, justificaría la robustez de la obra.
Cabe citar dos detalles constructivos del “malecón” poco conocidos. Uno es la
diferencia de altitud entre el extremo norte y sur. Caminando sobre el malecón la
superficie presenta pendiente hacia el extremo norte que se encuentra un metro más
alto que el extremo sur. Otro detalle es que la roca natural sobre la que se asienta la obra
presenta, junto al extremo sudeste del “malecón”, hasta cuatro agujeros cuadrados
correspondientes al alojamiento de los andamios necesarios para efectuar obras en el
monumento. La datación de esta fortificación ya la intentó Almagro (1962) a partir de
fragmentos cerámicos encontrados incrustados en la obra, que le permitieron fechar la
construcción entre el 195 y el 150 a.C. Años más tarde Enric Sanmartí, siguiendo la
misma metodología, localizó otros fragmentos cerámicos a partir de los que sólo pudo
constatar la falta de evidencias de época imperial y por lo tanto datar la construcción en
época romano-republicana, y dada la envergadura de la obra y la evolución histórica de
la ciudad, sugirió que esta construcción debió realizarse en un momento de pujanza
económica, hacia mediados del siglo II a.C., momento en que la ciudad experimentó
importantes cambios urbanísticos (Sanmartí 1995, 171).
La fachada sur de la neápolis: el extremo oriental de la muralla del siglo IV a.c.
La pujanza económica en el siglo II a.C. hizo posible que la ciudad se ampliara
hacia el sur, obra que supuso la eliminación en esa zona de la anterior muralla datada en
los inicios del segundo cuarto del siglo IV a.C. y la construcción de una nueva (Sanmartí
064
(ver figura 11).
Realizados paralelos al mar.
El perfil 15 al sur del muro de la
figura 20 y el 16 al norte.
Los perfiles 15 y 16 nos
muestran como el muro divide
dos espacios con
problemáticas náuticas
distintas. Hacia el norte, a
sotavento del “malecón” (perfil
16) no existió profundidad
suficiente para aproximarse, ni
tan sólo pequeñas
embarcaciones para poder
atracar o resgurdarse. Al sur
del muro (perfil 15) la costa
presenta un declive continuado
que permite alcanzar
profundidades de agua de
hasta de cuatro metros al final
del perfil, profundidad que
debió ser mayor en la fachada
del ágora
emporitana.
The pilot sites
22
22. En contra de algunas
hipótesis que pretender que el
“malecón” continuaba hacia el
norte, la presencia de
numerosos bloques de piedra,
todavía in
situ, de los que forran el
monumento, nos permiten
asegurar que el “malecón”
siempre acabó donde lo hace
ahora.. En la parte inferior de la
obra puede apreciarse
perfectamente la restauración
efectuada siguiendo un
proyecto de 1958 y que eliminó
la gran oquedad que se
observa en la
foto de la figura 4.
23. Estancias situadas al sur
del muro de la figura 20 (ver
figura 15,8) y que por su
ubicación y características
arquitectónicas debían ser un
elemento
importante de la infraestructura
portuaria emporitana.
23
et alii 1988, 1992). La muralla del siglo IV a.C., provista de torres cuadradas y con un
paramento de grandes bloques apenas desbastados pero lo suficiente para darles una
forma de paralelepípedo, se prolongaba hacia el mar quedando desde inicios del siglo
XX más allá de lo que actualmente es el recinto vallado del yacimiento arqueológico, lo
cual permitió que ya en 1911 fuera desmontada e incluso dinamitada para poder
construir el camino forestal al servicio de la fijación de las dunas.
Es por esta razón que una torre de esta muralla del s.IV a.C. quedó bajo el
pavimento de la actual carretera perimetral del yacimiento, pero pudo ser parcialmente
excavada y vuelta a tapar en 1992 (Sanmartí et alii 1996). Es de destacar que durante la
excavación del 1992 no se pudo excavar la parte oriental de la torre ya que allí habían
crecido unos pinos que la normativa forestal impidió quitar, por lo que, aparte de conocer
sólo parcialmente el ya deteriorado monumento, no se pudo saber si la muralla
continuaba en alguna dirección. En 2003 y dentro del programa de estudio submarino de
la fachada sur del puerto artificial de Ampurias se excavó un conjunto de bloques de
piedra (fig. 15, 9) que se extendían desde escasos centímetros por debajo del nivel
actual del mar hasta 119 cm. de profundidad en donde los bloques se asentaban
perfectamente sobre la roca natural. Se documentaron 135 bloques de piedra que
mayoritariamente están toscamente desbastados para darle forma de paralelepípedo,
aunque uno, el mayor, el número 100 (fig. 24), presenta todas sus caras muy bien
trabajadas, midiendo 237 cm. de largo por 108 cms. de ancho y 91 cm. de alto. Este es un
caso excepcional, situándose las medidas habituales entorno a 100x80x60 cm. aunque
las medidas son extremadamente variadas. Estos 135 bloques documentados, más
algunos cuya documentación fue imposible por estar situados debajo de los anteriores,
se extienden en una superficie aproximadamente rectangular que mide unos 17 m. de
este a oeste y 15 m. de norte a sur. La concentración de bloques es más intensa en la
zona perimetral y menos en el centro dando la impresión de que cuando estaban en su
posición original existía un hueco en el centro (figs. 25 y 26). El hecho de que estos
bloques se asienten directamente sobre la roca y que se encuentren a tan escasa
profundidad ha producido que haya desaparecido cualquier evidencia estratigráfica ya
que la zona es removida en cada temporal de levante. De hecho sobre la roca natural se
localizan botellas y latas de refresco, lo cual indica que la datación directa del conjunto es
imposible. Por otra parte la violencia de las olas ha desmontado el conjunto y aunque
065
aparecen bloques superpuestos hasta en tres hiladas
todo el conjunto ofrece el aspecto de un derrumbe (fig.
27). No tenemos ninguna duda de que se trata de una
construcción arqueológica, ya que una concentración tan
importante de bloques trabajados en una zona concreta y
el hecho de que piedras de tan enormes dimensiones
aparezcan unas encima de otras, sólo es posible debido a
una acción humana intencionada. Hacia la ciudad la
cantidad de bloques, aun siendo abundante, disminuye
pero formando una línea que desaparece bajo la arena de
la playa. El perfil 14 (fig. 28) tuvo como objetivo detectar
estos bloques bajo la arena de la playa y efectivamente la
prospección geofísica puso en evidencia una anomalía
cuya base se encuentra a unos 2 m. por debajo del nivel actual del mar. Si desde la
acumulación de bloques submarinos trazamos una línea que pase por el lugar de la
anomalía geofísica en la playa (fig.15), comprobamos que esta línea nos conduce, por
una parte, hacia el extremo sudoeste de las Muscleres Grosses y por la otra hacia el
extremo oriental de la ciudad para unirse en muralla que en el siglo IV a.C. cerró la
Neápolis por su lado meridional, con la que se une en oblicuo. Creemos que la
acumulación de bloques detectada bajo el agua corresponde a los restos del bastión
más oriental de la muralla del siglo IV a.C. y que este bastión debía estar unido mediante
un muro a la torre actualmente situada bajo el asfalto de la carretera y excavada en 1992
por Enric Sanmartí.
4 - En esta zona no se trata de bloques
más o menos escuadrados, si no de
piedras burdamente desbastadas y de
tamaños muy diversos. La documentación
planimétrica de detalle de estas piedras
no está todavía acabada por lo que en la
figura 15 sólo se han marcado algunas de
ellas, junto a las Muscleres, y una línea
(Fig. 15,10), que marca el límite sur de
aparición de estas piedras.
El puerto artificial
En 1998 publicábamos (Nieto/Raurich 1998) la existencia de un puerto, hasta ese
momento desconocido y que se ubicaba frente a la fachada este de la Neápolis y que
había aprovechado la topografía de la zona, especialmente la presencia de lasMuscleres
Grosses para su construcción. Los trabajos desde entonces se han centrado en delimitar
el perímetro de ese puerto para lo que han continuado las investigaciones en la fachada
este, en las Muscleres Grosses y en la fachada sur, quedando en estos momentos
pendiente de estudio la cara norte, tras lo que creemos que dispondremos de
información suficiente para iniciar estudios de detalle en el interior de la dársena, en la
que hasta el momento sólo se han hecho algunos sondeos, cuyos resultados más
interesantes para este artículo, los hemos expuesto al hablar de la aportación de
sedimentos por los ríos de la zona. La otra fase de estudio sería la excavación de la
fachada este, en tierra, en donde se encuentran las estancias que hemos comentado.
La fachada sur
Es en esta zona, en su extremo oeste, junto a la playa, en donde se encuentra la
torre, probablemente del siglo IV a.C. que acabamos de comentar. Hacia el este de esta
torre, en dirección a las Muscleres continúan apareciendo centenares de piedras, de talla
diferente a las de la torre, ya que son más pequeñas y en general más burdamente
desbastadas, además aparecen más desordenadas, pero formando una franja (fig.
15,10) hacia el extremo suroeste de la Muscleres, en donde estos bloques pueden verse
a ras de agua e incluso alguno en la orilla del mar sobre las Muscleres4. Toda la zona,
066
24. Bloque número 100 de la
torre más oriental de la muralla
del siglo IV a.C. (ver figura
15,9). Mide 237x108x91 cms.
The pilot sites
25
26
entre esa línea 10 de la figura 15 y debajo del istmo de arena que actualmente une las
Muscleres a tierra, aparece cubierta de esas piedras trabajadas. Los bloques se apoyan
sobre la roca natural, que aflora en este lugar formando una cresta que, desde la torre,
llega a las Muscleres a una profundidad que oscila entre los 119 cm. en la torre y los 59
cm. en las proximidades de las Muscleres, con respecto al nivel actual del mar. En la
antigüedad esta cresta era aérea o casi, en gran parte de su recorrido. Es la barrera
originada por esta cresta la que favorece que en su cara norte, de donde provienen las
corrientes y los vientos dominantes, se acumule la arena que acaba formando el istmo
que une las Muscleres con tierra firme. El conjunto, enormemente desordenado, da la
impresión de ser el resultado de la destrucción originada por sucesivos temporales sobre
una acumulación de piedras arrojadas al mar de forma desordenada para formar un
dique. Un trabajo de este tipo se realiza todavía hoy día en las obras portuarias creando
un punto de partida en tierra para ir avanzando, adentrándose en el mar, conforme
aumenta la aportación de materiales. El lugar es idóneo para la construcción de un dique
ya que aprovecha la afloración de la roca natural para conseguir una aportación menor
de materiales y permite asentarlos en una superficie estable. Por otra parte no genera
ningún nuevo inconveniente a la navegación, ya que esta zona, por su poco calado y por
las rocas submarinas existentes en la prolongación hacia el sur de las Muscleres
Grosses (fig. 15, 11) y que mayoritariamente aparecen a una profundidad de unos 180
cm. ya era una zona inadecuada para el tráfico, unido a que la proximidad de las
Muscleres Petites hacía realmente peligrosa cualquier maniobra en la zona. Este
condicionante topográfico, ventajoso en algunos aspectos, presenta un gran
inconveniente, ya que obliga a abrir la bocana del puerto artificial hacia el norte, en las
proximidades del “malecón”. Sobre el istmo de las Muscleres se realizó el perfil 13
(fig. 29) que nos muestra como el substrato duro bajo el istmo aparece a una profundidad
de entre 2 y 3 m.. Desde allí, hacia el sur la roca natural sube de nivel hasta una media
inferior al metro, como acabamos de comentar, mientras que hacia el noroeste baja
bruscamente alcanzándose profundidades de agua superiores a los 6-7 m. antes de
llegar a la altura del “malecón”, en la zona que ocupaba la dársena del puerto artificial.
25. Disposición de los bloque
de piedra que forman la torre
de la figura 15, 9.
26. Bloques de piedra que
forman la torre documentada
en la figura 25.
La fachada este
En un trabajo anterior (Nieto/Raurich 1998) y en este mismo, al hablar de las
“rocas champiñón”, hemos expuesto como las Muscleres Grosses eran, en general, y
especialmente hacia el norte, mucho más grandes, habiendo desaparecido bajo el agua,
067
como consecuencia del efecto de las “rocas champiñón”,
hasta 90 m. de su antigua longitud (fig. 15,12).También
expusimos como sobre esta parte aérea, ahora
desaparecida, existió un muro cuyos bloques
constitutivos encontramos desordenados en el fondo del
mar (fig. 8), ocupando el espacio entre las Muscleres
Grosses y la línea marcada con el número 13 en la figura
15. En la publicación de 1998, en la figura 6 marcábamos
con el número 6 una roca que todavía sobresale del nivel
del mar. Esta roca, que tiene forma de champiñón (fig. 7),
es la única parte aérea que queda de la prolongación
hacia el norte de las Muscleres. Esta roca presenta una
amplia grieta en la que aparece encajada una piedra, que
una vez analizada nos indica que procede de las
Muscleres, por lo que no podemos asegurar que sea el
único bloque que queda in situ de los que formaron el
muro que existió allí.
La zona sur de las Muscleres Grosses
Durante el año 2004 se hizo la excavación de un espacio situado en la fachada sur
de las Muscleres Grosses y coloquialmente conocido como la “piscina” (fig. 1, 10) ya que
se trata de un espacio de agua prácticamente rodeado de rocas y al que sólo se puede
acceder por su lado sur con una pequeña embarcación neumática y aún así con
precauciones ya que hay rocas sumergidas que hacen difícil el acceso. Incluso este
acceso debió ser mucho más difícil en tiempos pretéritos dado que en este lugar, en el
fondo del mar, existe una gran “roca champiñón” que cuando era aérea debía casi cerrar
el acceso a esta “piscina”.
La excavación arqueológica de la zona puso al descubierto docenas de bloques
trabajados de piedra que aparecieron concentrados en la zona oeste de la “piscina”.
Alguno de estos bloques presentan unas dimensiones considerables, un paralelepípedo
de 1,70 por 50 por 50 cm. (fig. 30), que por sus dimensiones, por su ubicación junto a la
pared de esta zona cerrada, por su posición, apoyado en la pared y por la imposibilidad
de que una embarcación capaz de transportarla pueda acceder por mar, sólo es posible
que proceda de alguna construcción, de gran entidad, ubicada sobre las actuales
Muscleres Grosses, en su parte sur occidental. Las Muscleres Grosses son la zona
ampuritana más avanzada en el mar y el extremo este del puerto artificial por lo que a
priori no podemos descartar la presencia en ese lugar de una construcción, bien de tipo
faro o bien de prestigio de la ciudad. Se han analizado dos bloques trabajados de piedra
localizados en el interior de la “piscina” lo que nos permite saber que uno procede de
Sant Martí d'Empúries y el otro de la cantera sobre la que se construyó el “malecón”.
Los condicionantes topográficos que actuaron en el diseño del puerto artificial
A modo de resumen comentaremos aquellos accidentes del relieve de la costa
ampuritana que facilitaron la construcción y condicionaron la forma del puerto artificial. El
montículo rocoso sobre el que se asienta la Neápolis pierde altura hacia el este, hacia el
mar, formando dos crestas rocosas, que ganan altura y afloran para formar: una la roca
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27. A pesar de que los
embates del mar han
desplazado los bloques
constitutivos de la torre
de la figura 15, 9, todavía
puede apreciarse su
disposición al
menos en tres hiladas.
The pilot sites
sobre la que se asienta el “malecón” y la otra las Muscleres Grosses. Estas crestas
rocosas no son perpendiculares a la costa ya que siguen una dirección sudoestenordeste, partiendo la del “malecón” del tercio septentrional de la Neápolis y la de las
Muscleres, del tercio meridional. La cresta del “malecón” ha sido siempre visible y sobre
ella se construyó la pared este-oeste perpendicular al “malecón” en su extremo sur. La
cresta de las Muscleres debió ser visible, en buena parte, en el extremo sudoeste de
aquella roca y en época antigua discurrió a escasa profundidad, unos 40-50 cm. hasta
llegar a la ciudad, lo cual fue aprovechado primero para la construcción de la torre
comentada y posteriormente para edificar un dique que unía las Muscleres con la costa.
La cresta de les Muscleres ganaba rápidamente profundidad hacia el norte, lo cual
permitía disponer entre ambas crestas de una zona con profundidades máximas de 6-7
m. De este modo, sin el istmo de arena que actualmente une las Muscleres a tierra y sin la
enorme cantidad de arena depositada actualmente en toda la fachada marítima de
Ampurias (arenamiento del puerto natural, dunas en la Neápolis), las dos crestas rocosa
El perfil 14 muestra una anomalía, ubicada en la playa y marcada con un punto en el plano de la figura 15, al oeste de la torre número 9, que
podría corresponder al muro de unión de este bastión con el que actualmente se encuentra bajo el asfalto de la carretera y que fue excavado
en 1992 (Sanmartí et alii 1996).
Este perfil parte de las Muscleres Grosses y llega hasta el ángulo sudeste de la Neápolis, recorriendo todo el istmo de arena que une las
Muscleres a tierra y la playa a levante de la Neápolis. Puede observarse la aparición de los niveles duros a una profundidad de alrededor de 2
metros, por lo que teniendo en cuenta que las excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas al sur, en la fachada sur del puerto artificial, han
mostrado la afloración de la roca natural a 59 cm. en la zona próxima a las Muscleres y a 119 cm. en la base de la torre, sabemos que el
substrato rocoso presenta una inclinacción hacia el norte, para formar la dársena de puerto artificial, en donde se alcanzan profundidades de 67 m.. Se aprecia la anomalía que probablemente corresponda al muro que se detalla en el perfil 14, en la figura 28.
069
comentadas, junto con las Muscleres Grosses, con su
prolongación actualmente submarina y el límite oriental
del la Neápolis, delimitaban un espacio apto para ser
transformado antrópicamente y destinarlo a puerto, pero
no quedó más remedio que disponer una bocana en la
cara norte. La fachada norte de este puerto no hemos
podido estudiarla todavía, por lo que no sabemos que
soluciones se adoptaron para mitigar el efecto de la
tramontana.
La datación y función del conjunto
Las obras arquitectónicas comentadas las
detectamos por sus derrumbes submarinos, formados
por grandes bloques de piedra apoyados sobre la roca
natural, situada a unas profundidades tan escasas que la acción del mar ha hecho
desaparecer cualquier conjunto estratigráfico, lo cual hace que la datación directa sea
extremadamente difícil, tal como ocurre con el llamado “malecón”.
Por otra parte, un conjunto portuario como el comentado debió prolongar su
construcción, reparación y remodelación durante todo su periodo de utilización lo cual
viene a complicar todavía más el problema de la datación de las diversas partes.
Probablemente cuando se inicien las excavaciones en extensión, tanto de la
dársena del puerto natural como del artificial, dispondremos, como mínimo, de
informaciones sobre el o los periodos de utilización de los puertos y quizás podamos
poner en relación la magnífica estratigrafía, que ya hemos comprobado que existe, con
alguno de los elementos arquitectónicos.
El puerto natural permitió el desarrollo comercial de Emporion, pero esta
infraestructura fue totalmente inadecuada ante la nueva situación creada por la
entrada de la ciudad en la órbita romana y no solamente por el probable incremento de
mercancías, sino también por una concepción diferente de la organización del comercio
y por las necesidades diferentes que planteaba la evolución técnica de las naves.
Una vez más Ampurias con tres puertos, el natural, el artificial y el de Riells-La
Clota, se nos presenta, observando su realidad arqueológica de época romana, como
una ciudad hiperdesarrollada para sus necesidades propias, dando la impresión de que
su realidad viene condicionada por decisiones geoestratégicas ajenas a la propia ciudad
(Nieto/Raurich 1998, 72-75). De momento podemos utilizar los datos que hemos
expuesto y tener presente que puerto y ciudad, aunque no sean dos realidades
históricamente totalmente coincidentes, sí que, en parte, se influyen y condicionan su
evolución.
070
30. Bloque de piedra de
150x50x50 cms. caído sobre
otros tres bloques de piedra
también trabajada y
localizados en la parte
sudoeste de la “piscina” de las
Muscleres Grosses (ver figura
15, 14). El análisis
petrográfico ha demostrado
que los bloques proceden de
diversas canteras, lo cual
unido a la dificultad que
supondría que una
embarcación entrara en la
“piscina” nos hacen pensar
que estos bloques de piedra
proceden del derrumbe de un
importante edificio que debió
existir en la parte sur de las
Muscleres Grosses
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.4
Sinis
Sinis, una Pompei del Mare? A rispondere sarà la geologia
by Sergio Frau
Il progetto di conoscenza e verifica che ci appassiona riguarda il Sinis, la piana
alluvionale di Oristano sulla costa occidentale della Sardegna. Un ulteriore e dettagliato
approfondimento è affidato alla relazione di Francesco Cubeddu, il progetto operativo di
indagine geologica a Mario Tozzi e la documentazione cartografica e geologica è raccolta
grazie al progetto Archaeomap.
L'idea e l'esigenza di affidare alle analisi geologiche la risposta sul vero Passato
Remoto della Sardegna – una sorta di Autoritratto dell'Isola, facendo parlare la sua terra, i
suoi fanghi – nasce dai convegni che l'Unesco di Parigi (nella primavera del 2005) e
l'Accademia dei Lincei a Roma (nell'autunno del 2006) hanno voluto dedicare alle mie
ricerche sul Mediterraneo e la sua prima storia, condensate in “Le Colonne d'Ercole,
un'inchiesta”, un libro arrivato ormai alla decima ristampa e a un'edizione in tedesco
(Atlantika, Parthas Verlag editore) suscitando molti qualificati consensi e, anche, molte
polemiche. In estrema sintesi, da quei due convegni è venuto fuori che, sì, tutti d'accordo
su una “prima” collocazione delle Colonne d'Ercole al Canale di Sicilia, e anche sul fatto
che il Far West dei Greci più antichi fosse il nostro Mediterraneo Occidentale (e non
l'Oceano di oggi, al di là di Gibilterra).
Anche sul ruolo di quell'Isola d'Occidente, strabiliante e sfortunata, rimasta mitica
nei ricordi dei popoli d'Oriente – e testimoniata al di là delle prime Colonne d'Ercole da
Omero, da Platone e dai testi egizi – molti, ormai, ritengono la Sardegna una candidata
assai probabile.
Quel che ancora oggi rimane incerto è la sua “fine”: quasi tutti i partecipanti ai due
convegni (vedi le trascrizioni in www.colonnedercole.it) hanno insistito sul fatto che è
necessario indagare per bene le terre dell'isola per appurare se davvero la Sardegna può
esser stata oggetto di quelle terribili catastrofi marine che gli Antichi ci testimoniano.
Questa geologica non è l'unica curiosità che questo riposizionamento delle Colonne ha
suscitato; certo, però, è la più urgente da appurare: può illuminare di luci nuove quello
strano fenomeno battezzato dagli antichisti Dark Age, che, intorno al XII secolo a.C.,
spostò molti popoli di mare sulle alture, all'interno, ben lontani dalle coste e dalle possibili
pazzie di Poseidone, Dio Mare.
IL SINIS: i Giganti abbattuti, sepolti nel fango
by Francesco Cubeddu
Il Sinis è una regione della Sardegna centro-occidentale compresa tra il Golfo di
Oristano a sud; il massiccio vulcanico del Montiferru a nord; la SS 292 ad est e il mare di
Sardegna ad Ovest. Questa zona pianeggiante di 170 chilometri quadrati riveste
particolare importanza per l'elevato numero di siti archeologici che vi si trovano.
Già popolato durante il neolitico, il Sinis ebbe un notevole sviluppo antropico
durante il periodo nuragico come testimoniano gli oltre centoventi nuraghi che ancora lo
custodiscono, una densità tra le più alte dell'isola. Il fatto non è casuale ma dovuto alla
particolare morfologia della zona che ospita numerosi stagni tra i quali quello di Cabras,
uno dei più estesi e pescosi d'Italia, ricco di vita (e di vita orientale) già nel V millennio a.C.:
vi sono state ritrovate in abbondanza piccole dee madri in pietra scolpita del tutto
identiche a quelle che, negli stessi anni, si ritrovano in Anatolia e nelle Cicladi (vedi
documentazione fotografica). Subito dopo, nel III millennio sarà la volta di veneri
geometriche (del tipo battezzato come “cicladico”: presenti in zona negli stessi anni in cui
anche le Cicladi le producono). Un'abbondanza intermittente, con terribili abbandoni, e
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1
ripopolamenti. Fino alle citazioni a questo proposito, nel III secolo dopo Cristo, da Caio
Giulio Solino: alcune saline, risorsa strategica che dura nell'antichità, fondamentale nella
preparazione di alimenti a lunga conservazione (pesci e carni salate) indispensabili
soprattutto per la navigazione a largo raggio. (C'è chi ha notato che un particolare tipo di
pesce azzurro adatto all'essalazione si chiama “sardina” in più di 40 lingue differenti).
Un altro elemento che ha fatto di questa regione un nodo rilevante nella rete dei
rapporti commerciali del Mediterraneo antico è la morfologia della costa meridionale del
Sinis che si allunga nel mare in direzione sud per circa tre chilometri con una stretta lingua
di terra, creando un accogliente porto naturale, ideale riparo dalle mareggiate generate
dal vento dominante, il maestrale. Tutto ciò ha favorito la nascita e lo sviluppo della ricca
città di Tharros, importante centro commerciale prima nuragico, poi fenicio, dopo ancora
punico, romano e bizantino, molto nota agli studiosi di storia antica come centro
d'irradiazione della cultura fenicia, apportatrice di civiltà in un'isola che, ancora oggi, non
pochi considerano, nel secondo millennio a.C., selvaggia e popolata da genti primitive,
dimenticando (o ignorando?) che i Fenici edificarono la loro città sui resti, abbandonati da
secoli, dell'abitato nuragico!
Chissà perché, ancora oggi, si tende a considerare la civiltà nuragica un fatto
marginale nel contesto storico economico del Mediterraneo antico? Ancora oggi si
descrivono i Nuragici come un insieme di tribù di pastori perennemente in lotta tra di loro,
per nulla interessati alla navigazione, senza ravvisare la stranezza di queste genti così
“primitive” capaci, però, di edificare costruzioni altamente complesse ed imponenti come
i nuraghi ed in numero così elevato: sono ancor oggi almeno 20.000 le torri megalitiche di
questo tipo che punteggiavano la Sardegna del II millennio a.C.! L'Istituto Geografico
Militare, nel 1948, ne censì 8.000 ma lo fece per scopi geografici e militari appunto, non
certo per fare un inventario del patrimonio archeologico sardo!
Se si considera il numero dei nuraghi smantellati nel corso di secoli, anzi millenni,
per ricavare materiale da costruzione per strade (come la Carlo Felice, ad esempio, la
maggiore arteria dell'isola, costruita nei primi decenni del XIX secolo dall'omonimo re),
abitazioni, muri a secco ed altro, nonché i nuraghi non censiti, e sono tanti, appare
abbastanza verosimile che nel secondo millennio avanti Cristo nell'isola di Sardegna
furono edificati non meno di 20.000 torri di pietra, non poche delle quali, allora, alte oltre
venti metri e moltissime circondate dal loro regolamentare villaggio nuragico.
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2
1. Nuraghe Losa
(foto Cubeddu)
2. Nuraghe Campu
(foto Cubeddu)
The pilot sites
Edifici costruiti a secco, i nuraghi.
Senza alcun uso di malta!
Solo enormi pietre in equilibrio!
Edifici che sembrano costruiti attorno allo spazio vuoto delle tholos e con un
rapporto tra volume complessivo e spazio utilizzabile di gran lunga superiore a quello
delle piramidi egizie, non per volerne sminuire la complessità ma per ricordare che gli
architetti egizi non conoscevano la volta e senza dimenticare che le piramidi sono poche
decine!
Quanto alla navigazione poi, ancora oggi ci sono in giro archeologi che
asseriscono come i nuragici non sapessero navigare: forse dimenticano (o ignorano?) il
fondaco nuragico di Komòs nell'isola di Creta o la ceramica nuragica ritrovata presso
Cadice e nell'intero Mediterraneo, eppure sembrano credere che agli abitanti della città
nuragica di Tharros non sia mai venuto in mente di andare per mare. E l'ossidiana di
Monte Arci? Quel vetro minerale nero e brillante utilizzato per decine di migliaia di anni
per ricavarne armi, utensili, monili; figlio di quel massiccio, di origine vulcanica pure lui,
giusto alle spalle del Campidano di Oristano. Ossidiana, un tempo risorsa strategica,
ribattezzato ”l'oro nero dell'antichità”. Lo stesso minerale che si ritrova in tutti i paesi
europei che si affacciano nel Mediterraneo; sempre quello, ritrovato nel centro della
Francia lungo il Rodano! Ossidiana di Monte Arci! Come è arrivata oltre mare? E come si
spiega la presenza della gran quantità di ossidiana di Monte Arci, selce del Montiferru ed
anche giaietto che arrivava dal Gennargentu, a pochi metri dal mare sul piano calcareo di
Santa Caterina di Pittinuri, appena a nord del Sinis, in un sito datato 6000 a.C.?
Probabilmente era una stazione commerciale da dove l'ossidiana e la selce semilavorata
venivano imbarcate nelle navi, navi antiche, prenuragiche, che poi l'avrebbero distribuita
nelle terre del nord, creando una rete commerciale che, forse, sarebbe in seguito servita
ad importare lo stagno dall'Inghilterra. Quello stagno indispensabile per produrre il
bronzo, metallo nella cui lavorazione i nuragici erano maestri e che commerciavano in
tutto il Mediterraneo. Ma la Sardegna ha avuto profondi contatti anche con la cultura
megalitica: menhir, tombe megalitiche, dolmen, ma non solo quelli conosciuti, se ne
trovano molti altri, disseminati nel Montiferru, come i dolmen sonori che basta percuotere
con una pietra, in alcuni casi anche con le nocche delle dita!, per sentirli emettere suoni
inaspettati! Come l'imponente tomba costruita con pochi massi sulla sommità di un rilievo
roccioso; sconosciuti anche ai pochi studiosi che s'interessano di questa antica cultura
che si diffuse dal nord Europa a tutti i paesi che si affacciano nel Mediterraneo
occidentale.
E sì: il Sinis è pieno di sorprese!
Ad attraversarlo in auto il paesaggio appare come una pianura abbastanza
monotona vivacizzata ogni tanto da decine e decine di strani cumuli alti pochi metri, ma
chi si prendesse la briga di andare ad osservarne uno da vicino avrebbe la sorpresa di
scoprire che in realtà si tratta di nuraghi!
Fantasmi di nuraghi coperti da un sudario di fango secco!
E sono tanti, tantissimi i fantasmi che rendono interessantissimo il Sinis! Altri ruderi
di nuraghi sono più facilmente identificabili, in particolar modo quelli situati sulle basse
colline che separano lo stagno di Cabras dalla costa. Ma per quanto si perlustri questa
regione non se ne troverà uno che sia in buono stato di conservazione come quelli, a
pochi chilometri in linea d'aria, sul Montiferru, perché?
Perché in tutto il Campidano non se ne trova uno che svetti come quelli ubicati sulle
073
terre appena più elevate? Ad osservare dall'alto il Sinis si
ha l'impressione che qualche dio permaloso – Poseidone,
come giurano le fonti antiche e ipotizza Frau,
ascoltandole? – si sia messo d'impegno ad abbattere con
spietatezza queste torri che si slanciavano verso il cielo,
forse intimorito dall'intraprendenza di questo popolo.
Permettetemi una testimonianza professionale. Mi
capita spesso di volare sopra il Sinis a bordo del mio
parapendio a motore, un ottimo mezzo che permette
letteralmente di passeggiare nell'aria consentendo una
visione d'insieme dell'intero territorio e delle sue
apparenti specificità (area desertica, stagni, mare, costa,
nuraghi, ecc.) che osservate da terra non sono semplici
da interpretare. Semplificando il concetto si potrebbe
azzardare che l'osservazione da terra di un territorio
quasi completamente piano è paragonabile ad uno
spazio a due dimensioni; con la visione aerea si passa ad
uno spazio a tre dimensioni. Ebbene, da questa posizione
privilegiata salta subito all'occhio la differenza tra i
nuraghi dei due territori confinanti del Montiferru (più alto
sul livello del mare) e del Sinis (pianura alluvionale,
facilmente vulnerabile se il mare fa pazzie): nel Montiferru
è normale vedere nuraghi sia diroccati (per incuria, per
radicamento di alberi, comunque senza fanghi che li
coprano) sia in ottimo stato di conservazione, mentre è
assente il nuraghe diroccato completamente ricoperto di
terra. Nel Sinis, invece, non è ancora capitato di trovarne
uno del tutto intatto, sono tutti abbattuti e moltissimi
hanno anche un'altra particolarità: il piano di crollo rivolto
in direzione contraria al mare! Come se la spinta, l'impatto
che li ha decapitati e seppelliti, arrivasse proprio dal mare.
A questo punto, a nostro parere, la sola ipotesi capace di giustificare queste
stranezze che appaiono stridenti in questi territori confinanti, è quella che ci raccontano
gli antichi serissimi testimoni, come Omero, Platone, Ramses III (verbalizzati in “Le
Colonne d'Ercole, un'inchiesta”), quando nei loro scritti parlano di un'isola occidentale
strabiliante, che viene ferita a morte e collassa d'improvviso per cataclismi: un
catastrofico maremoto che ha “ripulito” l'intero Campidano, raschiando via i molti nuraghi
che ivi si innalzavano. Si potrà obbiettare, come già ripetono da sempre molti archeologi
sardi, che l'assenza di nuraghi intatti nel Campidano e nel Sinis, può essere spiegata in
vari modi: demolizione delle torri per ricavare materiale da costruzione; distruzione per
rappresaglia da parte dei vari invasori; un difetto costruttivo e via elencando; tutti motivi
che però potrebbero essere validi per tutti i nuraghi in generale, cosa palesemente non
vera per il vistoso fenomeno dei seppellimenti del Sinis.
Esiste un modo di venire a capo di questo dilemma: un'analisi geologica del
territorio del Sinis mediante carotaggi ed esame della stratigrafia dei sedimenti che si
sono depositati nel corso dei secoli, solo così si avrà la possibilità di scoprire come mai
una civiltà capace di blindare quella che, a quei tempi, era considerata la più grande e
074
3
4
3 - 4. Circa trenta metri di fango
coprivano la reggia di Barumini
oggi patrimonio dell’Unesco
(foto n.4 Cubeddu)
The pilot sites
5. I giganti abbattuti del sinis
(foto Cubeddu)
6. Nuraghi Omu Spinarba e
Su Cunventu
(foto Cubeddu)
5
6
ricca isola del Mediterraneo sia scomparsa senza una ragione comprensibile.
Il Sinis, quello che noi consideriamo un potenziale ed enorme parco
archeologico/naturalistico, ha comunque urgente bisogno di tutela. Durante le
ricognizioni aeree e terrestri (vedi documentazione allegata) c'è modo di osservare
numerosissimi casi di degrado del patrimonio archeologico; molti nuraghi sono ormai
stati declassati a pattumiere! È “normale” vedere quel che resta di un nuraghe
semisepolto sotto mucchi di pietrame o trasformato in discarica! Altri danni incalcolabili
sono stati causati degli estesi spietramenti, in molti casi finanziati con denaro pubblico,
portati avanti in nome del miglioramento fondiario: prima con le bonifiche dell'Era
fascista, poi con le follie degli ultimi decenni. Numerosi villaggi nuragici, pozzi sacri e
chissà cos'altro ancora sono stati cancellati dalle pale meccaniche. Non basta istituire
aree protette, oasi faunistiche e simili se non si ha la concreta capacità di gestirle per
quello che è il loro scopo primario: la tutela e la valorizzazione dei siti!
Del resto che sia una zona dal doppiofondo ancora del tutto da studiare e
interpretare lo dimostra il portentoso ritrovamento a Monte 'e Prama, vicino Cabras di
dieci tonnellate di statue ridotte in frammenti.
Statue alte oltre due metri a tutto tondo, primo esempio di statuaria del
Mediterraneo occidentale, (forse) risalenti alla fine del X o al VII secolo a.C., ancora non
hanno trovato l'atto di nascita, e che dopo trentaquattro anni dal loro rinvenimento
trascorsi in oscuri magazzini del museo, della qual cosa
nessuno sa spiegare perché, dopo un infinito restauro
(forse) in un futuro imprecisato “rischiano” di essere rese
visibili ai comuni mortali, dove, non si sa manco quello.
Si sa solo che esistono!
Come l'antica città di Cornus con la sua acropoli
appollaiata sulla collina tronco conica di Corchinas al
confine nord del Sinis, a due passi dalla SS 292.
Altro importante centro sul mare, conosciuto, al
pari di Tharros, per la sua presunta origine fenicia ma
anch'essa era nuragica in principio, un millennio prima dei
Fenici. Nel vasto pianoro che sovrasta il mare, alle spalle
dell'acropoli si estendeva la città fenicia, punica, romana,
ecc. si lavorava il Murex, mollusco marino molto comune
nei fondali rocciosi sotto l'abitato, da cui dopo varie fasi si
ricavava il prezioso colorante: la porpora.
Murex, Corra in sardo, come “Campu 'e Corra” il
toponimo del pianoro dove si produceva la porpora. È
assai probabile che la Cornus nuragica avesse anche una
importante funzione come centro di produzione del ferro.
A pochi chilometri a monte, infatti, si trovano le miniere di
ferro del Montiferru (monte del ferro) e la via più breve tra
le zona mineraria e Cornus, in riva al mare, passa giusto
nella piccola e stretta valle sotto Cornus sorvegliata da
ben quattro nuraghi!
A testimonianza del “doppiofondo” e delle
“sorprese” che il Sinis può riservare, una recentissima
ANSA del 15 febbraio 2008:
075
BENI CULTURALI: AL VIA LAVORI DI RESTAURO STATUE MONTE 'E PRAMA
(ANSA) - ORISTANO, 15 FEBRAIO 2008
Dureranno un anno e impegneranno un team di 16 specialisti i lavori di restauro e
conservazione delle statue di Mont'e Prama. Il progetto di restauro è stato presentato
oggi a Cabras dal sovrintendente per i beni archeologici Giovanni Azzena, dal progettista
e direttore dei lavori Antonietta Boninu e da Roberto Nardi, direttore della società privata,
il Cca (Centro di Conservazione Archeologica) di Roma che eseguirà l'intervento.
All'incontro erano presenti anche il presidente della Provincia di Oristano
Pasquale Onida e il sindaco di Cabras Efisio Trincas. L'intervento, finanziato dal Cipe,
sostenuto e voluto dalla Regione, prevede la documentazione, la conservazione, il
restauro e la musealizzazione del complesso di reperti recuperato a Cabras tra il 1974 e il
1979 e ora custodito presso il Centro di conservazione e restauro di Li Punti a Sassari.
Non sarà un lavoro semplice - hanno spiegato il sovrintendente Azzena, la
dottoressa Boninu e il dottor Nardi - perché si tratta di rimettere insieme un puzzle
gigantesco composto da poco meno di 5 mila pezzi di pietra biocalcarea che
complessivamente pesano poco meno di 10 tonnellate.
A lavoro finito, la speranza è di vedere ricostruite una trentina di statue alte più di
due metri che raffigurano arcieri, pugilatori e guerrieri. La grossa novità del progetto è che
tutto il lavoro di restauro sarà aperto al pubblico, che potrà seguirlo sul sito
www.monteprama.it, ma anche dal vivo prenotando la visita al Centro di Li Punti. (ANSA).
Il contributo del progetto Archaeomap
Grazie ad Archaeomap è stato possibile far indagare prima, acquisire poi,
materiale documentario di carattere cartografico e geologico finalizzato a un possibile
check-up dei suoli del Sinis che ha, però, bisogno di fondi per essere realizzato (vedi
progetto di Mario Tozzi, è riportato di seguito).
Dal materiale raccolto risulta che molte coste, il Sinis e l'intero Campidano
risultano interessate a fenomeni di carattere alluvionale spesso interpretato come frutto
di piogge o esondazioni fluviali.
Verificando sul posto, però, come e quanto questi strati di alluvium abbiano
contribuito a modificare il territorio e i suoi insediamenti più antichi, resta valida più che
mai la domanda se davvero di normali allagamenti si sia trattato o se, invece, possa
essere stato uno o più maremoti a percorrere con terribile potenza tutte quelle piane dove
troviamo i nuraghes sepolti o aggrediti – e spesso squinternati – da onde di fango ormai
sedimentato, sempre però provenienti dalla costa verso l'interno.
Di fatto soltanto sul posto ci si rende conto che ci si trova di fronte a una situazione
che rappresenta l'esatto contrario di quel che piogge torrenziali potrebbero aver
provocato, visto che qualsiasi fenomeno alluvionale dovuto a precipitazioni atmosferiche
porterebbe acque ed alluvium verso le coste e non viceversa.
Una ricognizione dettagliata dei danni subiti da questo tipo di nuraghes e un'analisi
dei suoli nelle zone più emblematiche potrà sciogliere ogni dubbio e dare risposte certe.
Ormai abbiamo alcune tra le carte geologiche più dettagliate tra quelle esistenti
individuate e raccolte.
Carta canta, si dice…
Prima o poi, di certo, lo farà.
076
The pilot sites
7. Antico crobis
(foto Cubeddu)
8. Nuraghe Cannavadosu
(foto Cubeddu)
7
8
Check-up del fango di Sardegna. La geologia a verifica delle testimonianze degli
Antichi
Introduzione
Il nuovo quadro geologico dei fondali del Mediterraneo parla molto chiaro e il libro
Le Colonne d'Ercole, un'inchiesta di Sergio Frau, lo dimostra bene: c'è una sola zona che
poteva fungere da confine del mondo conosciuto prima che i commerci si spingessero più
a Occidente, la sola zona che possiede fondali insidiosi per la navigazione per via del loro
essere limacciosi e costellati di secche, ed è il Canale di Sicilia. È ancora la geologia a
dirci che i fondali dello stretto di Gibilterra sono profondi più di 300 metri e che non c'è mai
stato laggiù quel fango che gli antichi descrivevano alle Colonne d'Ercole. Ma anche sulla
collocazione di Atlantide evidenze geologiche avevano già fatto escludere da tempo
l'isola cicladica di Santorini per via delle prove paleomagnetiche: i manufatti in terracotta
dell'antica Thira (Akrothiri) si comportano come argille naturali in cui i granuli magnetici i
normalmente presenti si riorientano parallelamente al campo magnetico terrestre se
riscaldati al di sopra di una certa temperatura (come quella dei forni in cui venivano cotti o
di incendi). Confrontando quei dati con quelli provenienti dell'eruzione spaventosa di
Santorini (XVI secolo prima di Cristo) si è escluso che la distruzione della civiltà minoica
potesse essere contemporanea ai maremoti conseguenti a quella catastrofe, dunque,
che Atlantide potesse coincidere con la Creta dei palazzi di Cnosso. I nuraghes della
costa sarda meridionale e occidentale, quelli a quote
basse, risultano tutti distrutti nella parte superiore, con le
grandi pietre gettate a terra, mentre quelli contemporanei
della Sardegna settentrionale sono ancora oggi in piedi. Il
problema è: sono possibili terremoti o maremoti in
un'isola da sempre ritenuta tranquilla da un punto di vista
tettonico? La geologia potrebbe tentare di dare una
risposta decisiva attraverso sondaggi opportunamente
collocati nella valle del Campidano, vicini ai nuraghes
ricoperti da una melma fangosa che ha tutta l'aria di
essere un residuo di un'inondazione, o, addirittura, di un
maremoto. In tutto il mondo le rocce di maremoto
(tsunamiti) permettono di riconoscere le catastrofi del
passato: l'ipotesi dell'asteroide che avrebbe causato la
scomparsa dei dinosauri riposa in parte su prove come
queste. Come è noto, nella ricostruzione platonica, l'isola
di Atlante risulta essere ricca di acqua e foreste, con un
clima dolce che permettesse più raccolti all'anno e,
soprattutto, tanto ricca di minerali (argyròphleps nesos,
“l'isola dalle vene d'argento” così i Greci battezzarono la
Sardegna) da permettersi cerchie di mura concentriche di
ogni metallo. La Sardegna possiede miniere vastissime di
zinco e di piombo argentifero il cui tenore, oltre 3000 anni
fa, doveva essere elevatissimo, tanto da giustificare
recuperi importanti. Uno studio delle miniere sarde più
antiche può aiutare a esaminare meglio questa tematica
mineralogico-petrografica.
077
9
10
11
12
Obiettivi
I. Valutazione della natura del record stratigrafico riferibile al periodo in cui secondo la ricerca di Sergio Frau - si è avuta la crisi della civiltà nuragica (1200 a.C.);
II. verifica dell'eventuale esistenza di depositi interpretabili come tsunamiti;
III. possibile spiegazione della crisi della civiltà nuragica come dovuta ad un evento
disastroso (mega-tsunami) e/o alla coazione di più eventi (tsunami e terremoti);
IV. implicazioni, in termini di protezione civile e prevenzione, per una valutazione
qualitativa e quantitativa dei rischi legati al ripetersi di eventi naturali a carattere
catastrofico;
V. valutazione dell'evoluzione del tenore in argento delle miniere sarde del SulcisIglesiente.
9. Nuraghe Monte Trigu
(foto Cubeddu)
Attività Previste
I - Censimento e georeferenziazione (con quote altimetriche) dei nuraghi noti e
ipotizzabili. Nel caso che si presentino disgregati, definizione dell'eventuale orientazione
ed estensione cono di detriti. Metodologie 1. Interpretazione immagini da satellite e foto
aree per censire eventuali nuraghi non noti e per definire caratteristiche eventuale cono di
detriti. Nuova lettura delle carte topografiche; 2. Georeferenziazione dei dati interpretati.
078
10. Nuraghe Gutturu Diegu
(foto Cubeddu)
11. Nuraghe Mesu
(foto Cubeddu)
12. Nuraghe sale Porcus
(foto Cubeddu)
The pilot sites
Rilievi di terreno per verifiche dirette ed eventuali rilievi
GPS; applicazioni di tecniche geofisiche per verifiche
indirette di eventuali indizi di nuraghi precedentemente
non noti o di eventuali ipotetici coni di detriti (georadar,
gravimetria, resistività elettrica campo magnetico).
II - Verifica dell'eventuale presenza nella piana del
Campidano di depositi marini riferibili al periodo in cui si è
verificata la crisi della civiltà nuragica (1200 a.c.) e della
loro interpretabilità come tsunamiti; analisi delle loro
caratteristiche. Metodologie 1. Rilievi di terreno;
mappatura ed analisi di eventuali depositi recenti riferibili
al periodo in esame; 2. Esecuzione di carotaggi
superficiali (quanti almeno una 20-30); 3. Analisi
sedimentologiche, paleontologiche e geochimiche sulle
carote prelevate.
Organizzazione della Ricerca
Questa ricerca potrà essere sviluppata in un anno.
Durante i primi due mesi saranno effettuati:
- raccolta dei dati bibliografici:
- l'analisi delle immagini da satellite e delle foto aree;
- una prima selezione dei siti dove eseguire i sondaggi;
- preparazione dei successivi rilievi di terreno con attività di scouting.
Nei successivi tre mesi saranno realizzate le campagne di rilevamento
archeologico per il censimento dei nuraghi e di rilevamento geologico sui depositi recenti
della piana del Campidano.
Di seguito, in un periodo di circa due mesi, si realizzeranno i carotaggi e i rilievi geofisici.
Nei restanti cinque mesi, infine, si provvederà alle analisi di laboratorio ed
all'interpretazione dei dati raccolti.
13. Stagno Sale Porcus
(foto Cubeddu)
Partecipanti campagna geologica (da coordinare con quella archeologica e
fotografica):
- Mario Tozzi (responsabile scientifico e coordinamento della ricerca geologica).
- Davide Scrocca (coordinamento della ricerca, organizzazione delle banche dati,
elaborazioni in ambito GIS e ricostruzione 3D); esperto di Quaternario molto recente o di
tsunamiti; esperto di mineralogia e petrografia dei minerali di piombo.
Per lo svolgimento di questa ricerca occorrerebbe la partecipazione di un
archeogeologo e di un geologo con competenze sul quaternario, nonché l'assegnazione
di due borse di studio (o assegni di ricerca):
I. Le attività di ricerca previste per la prima borsa di studio (a carattere più
archeologico) prevedono il censimento di nuraghi e coni di detrito e rilievi di terreno con
tecniche proprie dell'archeologia; organizzazione delle banche dati.
II. Le attività di ricerca previste per la seconda borsa di studio (a carattere più
geologico) prevedono studi sulla geologia del quaternario nella piana del Campidano:
rilievi di terreno, assistenza durante l'esecuzione dei carotaggi e durante le analisi di
laboratorio (sedimentologiche, geochimiche e paleontologiche); check-up del fango di
Sardegna; organizzazione delle banche dati.
079
È sufficiente un'occhiata a
questa “Carta geologica della
Sardegna” pubblicata nel 1856
dal generale Alberto de La
Marmora nell'Atlas che
accompagna il suo “Voyage En
Sardaigne” per notare quella
fenditura color sabbia che
spacca in due la Sardegna da
Cagliari fino a Oristano. È come
una cicatrice il Campidano: un
tempo canyon di mare, oggi
pianura di fango punteggiata da
piccole colline, sospette, e laghi
salati. La Marmora nella sua
legenda, spiega quei colori che
gli ha dato: “Alluvions” e
“diluvium”… Da allora pochi
studi hanno cercato di capirle
davvero quelle strane terre
marnose che coprono l'intero
Campidano fino al Sinis,
spesso seppellendo nuraghi e
siti archeologici ancor oggi
semisegreti.
080
The pilot sites
Schematica ma efficace questa carta della “Sardegna in rilievo” (pubblicata da Mario Ambrico
per lo Studio Epm) mostra bene come invasioni marine, provenienti da sud o da ovest, abbiano
potuto trovare nella piana del Campidano un corridoio privilegiato per penetrare nell'Isola e dar
luogo a quelle devastazioni testimoniate dai migliori autori classici.
081
In questa “Carta dei resti di
nuraghi e villaggi nuragici”
(pubblicata nel 1975 in “Le
Regioni d'Italia 18: Sardegna”,
una prestigiosa collana fondata
da Roberto Almagià) il Sinis e
l'Oristanese sembrano
presentare pochissime
testimonianze del II millennio
a.C., il Millennio Nuragico.
Basta però usare lo zoom e
guardare la mappa che segue –
un censimento firmato Alberto
Moravetti – per rendersi conto
che così non è… Molti,
moltissimi insediamenti ben
conosciuti dagli abitanti del
Sinis nella “Carta dei siti e dei
monumenti prenuragici
dell'Oristanese” che segue
(pubblicata in “La Provincia di
Oristano”, nel 1993) non
compaiono affatto, così come
non compaiono gli oltre cento
nuraghi della zona, la maggior
parte dei quali sepolti dal fango.
082
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.5
L'épave de la
Lomellina
Naufrage en baie de Villefranche
15 septembre 1516, rade de Villefranche.
Au centre de la rade, une grosse nave génoise est à l'ancre à quelques centaines
de mètres du rivage non loin de l'anse de l'Espalmador où viennent caréner les navires de
la région. Ce gros bâtiment équipé d'une importante artillerie est venu s'y faire réparer.
On ne sait pas au juste quelles sont ses activités habituelles, est-il armé en course ou
participe-t-il aux opérations engagées par les troupes françaises en Italie? Un
chroniqueur local, Honorat de Valbelle, raconte les évènements qui se déroulent ce jour
là : une terrible tempête accompagnée de pluie et d'orage s'abat sur la région, de Fréjus à
Vintimille, déracinant les arbres de la côte et envoyant par le fond vingt quatre navires qui
étaient en mer. Dans la rade la nef génoise couchée par le vent sombre sur ses ancres,
noyant plus de cent hommes d'équipage.
L'année suivante, Don Antonio de Beatis, secrétaire du Cardinal d'Aragon,
accompagne ce dernier pendant son voyage en Provence. Le 30 novembre 1517, de
passage à Villefranche, il mentionne le récit du naufrage survenu un an plus tôt et note
dans son journal : « On voit encore la hune du grand mât qui sort de l'eau de deux cannes
environ. »
Rade de Villefranche-sur-mer
La rade de Villefranche-sur-mer située près de Nice dans le département des
Alpes-Maritimes, s'étend sur une longueur de 1000 mètres entre le promontoire du Mont
Boron et le Cap Ferrat. Elle a une orientation Nord-Sud et a une superficie de 346
hectares. C'est une baie très abritée sauf par fort vent de secteur Sud à Sud-Est. La houle
pénètre alors dans la rade et peut rendre le mouillage très dangereux, ce qui se produit
parfois en hiver et très rarement en été. Elle offre un abri sûr et est suffisamment vaste
pour accueillir des flottes nombreuses. Au XIXe siècle en particulier les escadres
françaises et étrangères l'ont fréquentée régulièrement. Cette fréquentation a eu pour
conséquence : un dragage systématique de la baie pour en retirer les obstructions
pouvant gêner le mouillage des bâtiments; un écrasement des parties émergeantes de
l'épave, un brassage des couches superficielles du sédiment, le rejet d'objets d'époques
diverses.
Découverte et sondage de l'épave
Au printemps 1979, Alain Visquis, un plongeur familier de la baie de Villefranchesur-mer, inspecte un profond sillon creusé dans la vase par l'ancre d'un des bâtiments de
croisière qui viennent régulièrement mouiller dans la rade. Ce jour là, la chance est au
rendez-vous : au fond de la saignée toute récente pointe une rangée de morceaux de bois
que son œil exercé identifie comme l'alignement des membrures d'une épave.
L'Archéonaute, le navire spécialisé de la Direction des recherches
archéologiques sous-marines se trouve dans les parages et une expertise rapidement
menée par Patrick Grandjean conclut à la présence d'une épave probablement datée du
XVIe siècle.
Deux ans plus tard une évaluation du site, suivie les années suivantes d'une fouille
de l'épave, est confiée à une équipe dirigée par Max Guérout avec le soutien du Groupe
de recherche en archéologie navale (GRAN). Il est aidé par deux archéologues
spécialistes de l'architecture navale : Eric Rieth et Jean-Marie Gassend.
083
Conduite de la fouille
Enfouie dans le sédiment l'épave d'un grand navire gisait inclinée de quarante
cinq degrés sur tribord. Les structures se révélèrent rapidement très bien conservées,
particulièrement dans la partie centrale du bâtiment où fait exceptionnel, les éléments de
deux niveaux de pont avaient été préservés.
A l'issue du premier sondage effectué en 1982, une fouille de longue durée fut
décidée. Le renflouement de l'épave fut écarté au bénéfice d'une étude in situ. Les axes
de recherche prioritaires choisis furent : l'étude descriptive des structures du navire;
l'étude des méthodes de construction, des principes de construction, des formes, des
caractéristiques nautiques du bâtiment ainsi que l'étude du façonnage des bois. Il est en
effet exceptionnel d'avoir la possibilité d'analyser l'ensemble des principaux composants
structuraux d'une coque : charpentes axiales et transversales comme structures
internes, alors que la plupart du temps seuls les fonds de carène des épaves sont
conservés, ne donnant qu'une vision partielle de l'architecture du bâtiment. Cependant
des structures aussi importantes ne permettaient pas d'envisager pour des raisons
techniques et financières, un démontage intégral de la coque et la réalisation d'une
analyse complète des procédés de construction. C'est à des démontages sélectifs
permettant à la fois l'analyse détaillée des principaux composants structuraux et l'étude
des parties importantes de la carène qu'il fut procédé. La complexité de l'étude d'une
carène possédant encore les vestiges de deux niveaux de pont nous a amené à opter
pour une fouille par tranches transversales successives (environ 4 m x 10 m), en
commençant par la partie arrière de l'épave. Cette méthode de travail avait en outre
l'avantage de nous faire aborder les structures de la coque de l'extérieur de celle-ci vers
l'intérieur : doublage, bordé, membrures, vaigrage puis les structures internes (baux,
ponts, épontilles et cloisons). Le seul inconvénient de la méthode est que nous ne
pouvions connaître la totalité des caractéristiques du navire, en particulier la longueur de
la quille, qu'après neuf années de fouille. Outre l'étude de la carène, celle de l'artillerie, du
gréement et des équipements de bord fut également privilégiée.
1
2
Datation
La datation du site fut obtenue par l'analyse des monnaies découvertes, en
particulier une lira milanaise à l'effigie de Galeas Marie Sforza frappée en 1474; deux
écus de France au soleil frappés sous Charles VII entre 1483 et 1494 pour l'un et 1493 et
1498 pour l'autre; un teston milanais à l'effigie de Louis XII frappé entre 1500 et 1512. Une
coupe de majolique de Montelupo (Toscanne) vint renforcer cette analyse situant le
naufrage vers le milieu du premier quart du XVIe siècle, en tout cas après 1503 (date de la
première frappe de la pièce de monnaie la plus récente).
Les structures de l'épave dont l'étude commence alors sont celles d'un grand
"navire rond" de type: nao, nef ou nave qui implique une construction au voisinage des
ports de Venise, Raguse, Gênes ou Barcelone.
Origine
L'origine de l'épave fut d'abord recherchée en l'analysant la répartition
géographique des objets identifiés (monnaies, céramiques, poids). La zone ainsi mise en
évidence était centrée sur l'Italie du Nord (Ligurie et Milanais). Une seconde méthode
consista à étudier la répartition le long du littoral méditerranéen des huit essences
084
1. Ecus d'or au soleil
(Photo GRAN)
2. Coupe de Montelupo n°779
(Photo C. Petron)
The pilot sites
principales utilisées pour la construction du navire (chêne, hêtre, orme, peuplier, pin
d'Alep, pin maritime, pin pignon, pin sylvestre) en superposant leurs aires de végétation
afin de définir l'endroit où le plus grand nombre d'essences étaient présentes. Cette
approche dont la limite est liée à l'existence de courants d'importation des bois de
construction, a permis de mettre en évidence deux zones préférentielles : en premier lieu
la Ligurie et le golfe de Gênes, en second lieu la Catalogne et la région de Barcelone.
L'analyse de l'origine des pierres utilisées pour lester le navire et pour fabriquer les
boulets de canon, nous orienta définitivement vers Gênes puisque cette dernière nous
permit de localiser leur provenance dans une zone littorale allant de 50 km à l'Ouest à 100
km à l'Est de cette ville. L'origine du navire naufragé ne fit dès lors plus de doute.
C'est le compte-rendu manuscrit d'une séance du Conseil des Anciens, retrouvé
à l'Archivio di Stato de Gênes qui nous a permis de mettre le nom de Lomellina sur
l'épave: un navire dont le naufrage au cours d'un ouragan d'une violence exceptionnelle,
le 15 septembre 1516 en rade de Villefranche est mentionné par plusieurs chroniqueurs
de l'époque. Le navire doit son nom au fait qu'un membre de la famille Lomellini est sans
doute son actionnaire principal. Les Lomellini sont des génois originaires de Lombardie
qui ont créé dès la fin du XIVème siècle une banque qui a tissé un réseau d'affaires en
relation avec toutes les places importantes d'Europe. Ils occupent au cours du temps de
nombreuses charges: capitaines, consuls, commissaires de Corse, amiraux,
ambassadeurs et par deux fois la magistrature suprême. Le propriétaire de notre
Lomellina est probablement Agostino Lomellini, fils d'Ansaldo, dont nous avons retrouvé
la trace dans un manuscrit répertoriant les fonctions occupées par les membres de la
famille au début du XVIe siècle. Il a été consul de 1502 à 1513, propriétaire d'une nave en
1514. Il siège ensuite au Conseil des anciens en 1515, puis au Conseil des Impôts
(Calleghe) en 1515. Il possède une nave avec 200 soldats (fantis) en 1515 puis exerce la
charge d'Officier d'avitaillement et du sel en 1516. Il siègera de nouveau au Conseil des
Anciens en 1518, 1520 puis 1526 et assumera de très nombreuses fonctions officielles
jusqu'en 1528, dont officier de la Corse en 1524 et 1526 et officier de la monnaie en 1525.
Avant d'occuper ces importantes fonctions, il semble bien que, en association avec Luca
Vivaldi, il ait séjourné à Lyon, ville célèbre pour sa foire des changes, entre 1507 et 1513,
avec un passage à Bruges en 1512. La dernière mention que nous en avons est celle de
son ambassade auprès de la Cour de France en 1528.
L'épave
L'épave occupe une surface de 35 mètres par 10 mètres, son état de
conservation exceptionnel nous conduisit à fixer un objectif ambitieux : procéder à l'étude
descriptive de l'ensemble des structures du navire, à l'étude des méthodes de
construction, des principes de construction, des formes, des caractéristiques nautiques
du bâtiment ainsi que l'étude du façonnage des bois. Il est en effet exceptionnel d'avoir la
possibilité d'analyser l'ensemble des principaux composants structuraux d'une coque :
charpentes axiales et transversales comme ses structures internes, alors que la plupart
du temps seul le fond de carène des épaves est conservé, ne donnant qu'une vision
partielle de l'architecture du bâtiment. Après neuf ans et près de 5000 plongées les
caractéristiques principales du navire furent enfin déterminées, en particulier parce que
la quille était conservée sur toute sa longueur :
- longueur de quille: 33,80 mètres;
- largeur au maître couple : 14 mètres;
085
- creux (du dessus de la quille au dessous des barrots du
premier pont) : 4,40 mètres.
- longueur de tête en tête : 46,45 mètres.
Le port en lourd est de 829 tonneaux et la capacité de charge de 810 tonnes.
L'emplanture du grand mât, en partie détruite put cependant être reconstituée. Il
s'agit d'un ensemble imposant puisque les carlingots qui encadrent et renforcent la quille
et la carlingue à cet endroit ne mesurent pas moins de 5,6 mètres de longueur. Outre
l'emplanture elle-même l'ensemble des structures alentour contribue à maîtriser les
efforts considérables exercés à la mer par le grand mât sur les charpentes du navire.
Mais la surprise vint du fait que cette emplanture était morphologiquement très différente
des emplantures des grands navires équivalents construits dans les chantiers de
l'Atlantique et était en définitive beaucoup plus proche des emplantures réalisées en
Méditerranée pour les galères ou les chebecs. Toutefois au-delà de l'importante moisson
d'informations concernant les structures du navire dont la restitution de l'emplanture du
grand mât n'est qu'un exemple, plusieurs découvertes ont permis une importante
avancée pour la connaissance des divers équipements des navires de la Renaissance.
Le gouvernail était conservé dans sa partie basse et si nous l'avons laissé en
place, les données recueillies ont cependant été précieuses. En effet au cours d'un
naufrage le gouvernail est fréquemment perdu avant la destruction de la coque ellemême et rarement retrouvé, nous privant de données permettant d'évaluer les capacités
évolutives du bâtiment.
Le cabestan pratiquement intact fut aussi mis au jour. Celui de la Lomellina avait la
particularité d'être en cours de réparation comme le souligne l'absence de fixation de
certains taquets situés à sa base. Cette observation vint s'ajouter à la présence de
copeaux de bois dans la cale pour nous amener à penser que le navire était
probablement en réparation.
De ce point de vue la découverte du sep de drisse, démonté en trois parties, rangé
dans la cale, vint confirmer cette hypothèse. Le sep de drisse constitue la partie basse du
fort palan qui au moyen du cabestan sert à hisser la grande vergue. Il est normalement
086
3. Reconstitution de l'emplanture
du grand mât
(Dessin M. Guérout)
The pilot sites
4
4. Restitution du cabestan et du
sep de drisse
5. Maquette de Roberto
Greco – Vue du Sep de drisse
5
installé sur le pont supérieur et prend appui au dessus de la quille, sur la carlingue. Le sep
de drisse démonté, le navire ne pouvait par conséquent pas naviguer. Par ailleurs la
découverte de la totalité des éléments constitutifs du sep, ne mesurant pas moins de 8,22
mètres de long une fois assemblés, nous a permis de reconstituer avec précision la
hauteur des ponts: une donnée fondamentale pour la reconstitution des formes du
navire. Le système d'épuisement des eaux infiltrées dans la cale a pu être reconstitué
grâce à la mise au jour des pieds de pompe, des conduits d'évacuation des eaux (dalles)
situés sur le pont supérieur et des éléments de la structure protégeant les pompes, que
l'on appelle l'archi pompe.
L'adoption du sabord d'artillerie au tout début du XVIe siècle est illustrée par la
mise au jour d'un mantelet de sabord qui se trouvait en place au dessus du premier pont.
Certes les sabords de chargement, particulièrement aux extrémités du navire, sont
attestés à des époques plus anciennes. Mais aussitôt les marchandises embarquées,
ceux-ci après avoir été fermés étaient calfatés et cloués. L'idée de concevoir une
ouverture dans la coque qui puisse être ouverte à la mer est une innovation qui fut sans
doute adoptée progressivement avec beaucoup de réticences. Le nombre de sabords
d'artillerie fut d'abord réduit puis augmenta peu à peu. Celui qui a été mis au jour sur la
Lomellina est l'attestation archéologique la plus ancienne de ce type d'équipement. Tout
à l'avant du navire, un grand nombre de tonnelets de poudre et quelques éléments de
087
6
7
structure nous permirent de
reconstituer la soute à
poudre du bâtiment. La
localisation de la soute à cet
endroit, attestée par
plusieurs documents
d'archive, notamment des
contrats de construction,
marque bien le danger potentiel qu'elle représentait, aussi l'éloignait-on à la fois des
flammes du four de la cuisine et des logements de l'état-major et des passagers situés à
l'arrière. Quand la conservation des poudres noires fut mieux maîtrisées, on assista à un
curieux chassé croisé, la cuisine et son four furent installés à l'avant du navire et la soute à
poudre à l'arrière, il était en effet désormais moins dangereux pour l'état-major de vivre à
côté des poudres que de laisser celles-ci aux mains de l'équipage.
Le doublage de la nave, était réalisé à l'aide de plaques de plomb clouées sur la
coque. Son étude apporta à son tour une information inédite. Après avoir procédé à une
analyse métallographique du plomb et évalué le poids des plaques dont nous avions
mesuré les dimensions (longueur, largeur et épaisseur), nous eûmes la satisfaction de
trouver très exactement le poids indiqué dans un document génois. Cependant l'analyse
montrait que le plomb utilisé pour le doublage contenait une proportion d'antimoine
beaucoup plus importante que celui utilisé pour la fabrication des boulets et des balles
d'arquebuse que nous avions fait analyser en même temps. Il est donc probable, comme
ce fut le cas dès l'époque de Gutenberg pour les caractères d'imprimerie, que l'antimoine
fut utilisé pour durcir le plomb. L'analyse récente du plomb de doublage du Sv Jerolim
naufragé en baie de Sudurad, près de l'île Sipan, en Croatie dont la perte remonte à 1576,
n'a pas montré la même particularité, nous laissant penser qu'il s'agit d'une particularité
des chantiers génois. Parmi toute une série de pièces de gréement: poulies, moques, cap
de mouton, une tête de mât amovible en orme : un calcet, fut mis au jour. Pour les mâts
équipés d'une voile latine (sur la nave, le mât d'artimon voire de contre artimon) l'antenne
est hissée en utilisant un système de palans dont la partie haute passe par des réas
situés en tête de mât. Les importantes contraintes subies par la tête de mât et l'usure qui
en résulte, amenèrent à faire en sorte que cette partie du gréement puisse être changée
sans avoir pour autant à remplacer le mât tout entier. Taillé en biseau, il était assemblé à
088
6. Vue du sabord in situ
(Photo C. Petron)
7. Vue de l'étrave
(Photo J.C. Hurteau/CNRS)
The pilot sites
8
9
la tête de mât puis ligaturé à celle-ci à l'aide de cordages. Le calcet comme le sep de
drisse fut retrouvé rangé dans la cale, nous donnant l'occasion d'étudier un élément très
rarement présent sur un site archéologique sous-marin; les mâts brisés étant souvent
récupérés ou finissant toujours par flotter. Outre ces équipements, l'artillerie et la
tonnellerie présentes à bord constituèrent un champ d'étude particulièrement fructueux.
Les documents d'archives soulignent le souci de l'Office de la Mer de la
République de Gênes de récupérer l'artillerie embarquée à bord de la Lomellina, ce fut
probablement le cas dans les jours qui suivirent le naufrage, mais aussi 15 ans plus tard
comme l'atteste un documents niçois: une concession accordée à deux villefranchois.
Reste cependant sur l'épave un matériel d'artillerie important dont l'étude est
complexe dans la mesure où se côtoient une artillerie destinée au service à la mer et une
artillerie terrestre. Sans doute impliquée dans les guerres d'Italie la Lomellina
transportait-elle au profit des troupes à terre, l'artillerie dont le passage par les chemins
du littoral était malaisé ? A une époque où la métallurgie du fer est encore balbutiante, les
pièces d'artillerie mises au jour sont des canons composites construits sur le modèle des
barriques: un cylindre central formé de tiges métalliques assemblées les unes aux autres
par forgeage est maintenu par des cerclages jointifs emmanchés à chaud. En
conséquence le tube ainsi obtenu est ouvert aux deux extrémités et une culasse
amovible doit être introduite à l'arrière et calée à l'aide d'un coin contre un affût de bois
pour permettre le tir d'un projectile.
A côté de ces pièces, plusieurs paires de roues d'artillerie stockées dans la cale
illustrent les différentes types en usage à l'époque allant de la roue pleine à la roue à
rayon cerclée de fer, cette dernière destinée à coup sûr au service à terre.
Les armes légères
8. Vue des pièces de
gréement en place
9. Dessin des pièces de
gréement en place
Au milieu de très nombreuses pièces de mobilier archéologique, l'armement
individuel et collectif merité une mention particulière. Il faut se souvenir que
l'investissement représenté par la construction et l'exploitation d'une nave était
considérable et qu'en conséquence son armement défensif n'était jamais négligé par les
armateurs. Les navi conçues pour le commerce, n'en possèdent pas moins déjà la quasi
totalité des caractéristiques des navires de guerre: murailles élevées, châteaux avant et
arrière constituant de véritables tours de défense, hunes circulaires aménagées et
armées à l'instar du donjon des châteaux forts. Toutefois en ce début du XVIe siècle, s'il
089
10
11
ne semble pas exister de différences d'aspect entre la nave armée au commerce et la
nave armée en guerre, cette dernière possède des structures plus robustes, un
échantillonnage des charpentes plus important et un soin particulier est apporté aux
liaisons et au clouage. Cependant on n'hésite pas à armer en guerre les navires de
commerce, il suffit pour cela d'augmenter le nombre des pièces d'artillerie et d'y
embarquer des troupes lorsque cela est nécessaire. La liste des armements effectués à
Gênes par Charles VIII en 1494 montre bien que les navires cités ne sont autres que ceux
des marchands génois (Galegari, 1970, p.53). C'est l'apparition des sabords en batterie
qui marquera définitivement la séparation entre navire de guerre et navire de commerce.
La place prise dans les entreponts par l'artillerie, le nombre de canonniers
nécessaires à leur mise en oeuvre, mais aussi l'augmentation du coût de la construction,
affecteront la rentabilité commerciale et entraîneront la spécialisation des navires
corrélativement à la création des marines de guerre nécessaires à l'affirmation de la
puissance des états.
Pots à feu
Les plus grands se présentent comme de petites amphores (possédant deux
anses) à fond plat, en terre cuite. Mesurant 30 cm de hauteur et ayant un diamètre à la
panse de 18 cm. Le goulot d'un diamètre extérieur de 6 cm mesure 11 cm de hauteur
comporte à sa base deux petites anses circulaires. La panse de couleur gris noir porte
des traces de tournage La partie supérieure du goulot porte encore la trace d'un enduit
de cire. Les anses sont petites et ne paraissent pas conçues pour être saisies à la main.
L'intérieur contenait encore un résidu de poudre de charbon de bois. Il s'agit
probablement d'un projectile incendiaire cacheté à la cire qui comportait une mèche de
mise de feu.
Le poids et l'encombrement du projectile excluent qu'il puisse être lancé à la main
à moins qu'il ne soit destiné à être lâché depuis l'extrémité d'une vergue ou plus sûrement
d'une hune.
Ce type de projectile n'est pas mentionné explicitement dans les inventaires que
nous avons consulté, mais il en est fait mention dans les nombreux traités ou mémoires
datés de la deuxième moitié du XVIe siècle et du début du XVIIe consacrés à l'artillerie et
aux artifices sous le nom de pots à feu ou firepots. (Ufano, 1614, p.144), (Collado, 1592,
p.83), (Boillot, 1603, p.150), (Cataneo, 1571, p.25), etc.... Ces pots étaient utilisés soit
comme projectiles incendiaires soit comme projectiles explosifs, lancés à la main depuis
090
10. Canon A 51 in situ
11. Reconstitution du canon A
51 (Dessin N. Blotti)
The pilot sites
un point haut : hune, château ou à l'aide d'une fronde. Les compositions pyrotechniques
utilisées dont les composants principaux sont la poudre à canon, le salpêtre et le soufre,
sont extrêmement variées. Nous citerons à titre d'exemple celle indiquée par Diego
Ufano: poudre à canon, 8 onces; soufre, 8 onces; salpêtre, 8 onces; sel d'ammoniac, 8
onces; camphre, 2 onces; sel commun une poignée, le tout mélangé avec de la poix
liquide ou de l'huile de pétrole ou de l'huile de lin. Pour faire un projectile explosif on y
ajoute des dés de fer et des balles de plomb et une amorce introduite dans l'ouverture.
Les petites anses sont utilisées pour y attacher les mèches destinées à la mise à
feu. Une référence archéologique de ce type de pot à feu munis d'anses (bien que de
dimensions plus réduites) nous est fournie par la fouille de l'épave du San Antonio de
Tanna trouvée près de Mombassa (Piercy, 1977, 346).
Grenades à main, pignatta, alcancias.
12. Pot à feu n°259
(Photo C. Petron)
D'autres projectiles ont été retrouvés en assez grand nombre, (au total près
d'une centaine, entiers ou sous forme de fragments). Leurs dimensions et leur poids en
font de véritables armes de jet individuelles. Ils se répartissent en quatre types différents.
Les premiers sont simplement des pommes de pin pignon évidées, distinctes
des nombreuses pommes de pin pignon retrouvées entière et sans doutes destinées à la
fois à la consommation des pignons et à l'allumage du feu. Ces pommes de pin évidées
étaient probablement aussi remplies de poudre et cachetées à la cire. Dans les
inventaires de certaines "naves", le terme de pignatta désigne les projectiles incendiaires
du type grenade, mais dans la langue courante pigna désigne précisément la pomme de
pin. Ces dernières représentent sans aucun doute les grenades incendiaires les plus
primitives.
Les autres projectiles sont des pots en terre cuite de trois types qui diffèrent
moins par leur taille et leur contenance que par la forme de leur ouverture. Leurs formes
ne sont pas exactement standardisées, ils mesurent 10 à 11 cm de haut, pour un
diamètre de la panse de 11 cm, le diamètre du pied est variable et mesure de 6 à 8 cm. La
pâte est grossière et laissée nue, la couleur va du rose au rouge clair, l'épaisseur est
d'environ 8 mm.
Le type 1 a un goulot droit ou très légèrement évasé d'un diamètre extérieur de 36
mm, on trouve parfois des traces de cire sur toute la surface extérieure. Ce type de pot à
une forme qui rappelle la forme de la grenade, le fruit du grenadier, et on peut penser que
cette similitude de forme illustre l'étymologie du mot grenade dans son acception
militaire. Seuls des pots de ce type ont été retrouvés contenant encore une poudre noire
qui s'est révélée à l'analyse être du charbon de bois.
Le type 2 a une ouverture dont les bords extérieurs sont droits, qui mesure 52 mm
de diamètre extérieur.
Le type 3 a une ouverture évasée dont le diamètre extérieur est d'environ 60 mm.
Le type 1 correspond aux balles à main (Ufano, 1614), alcancias (Collado, 1592),
pignates de feu : "cent et dix pignates à feu" dans "Etat des meubles de la nef du Roy
appelée la Marguerite" (Archives des Bouches-du-Rhône, B 1260 f°385), pigniatte di
fuoco: "pigniatte di fuoco quaranta" dans l'inventaire d'une galère de Andrea Doria
(Borghesi, 1970, p.191), pignatta artificiata (Gentilini, 1598), projectiles incendiaires cités
par de nombreux auteurs et embarqués en grand nombre. Diego Ufano distingue
d'ailleurs les pots à feu des balles à main et un inventaire d'un navire du Duc de
Bourgogne daté de 1436 parle de: "petits pots de terre ronds à mettre pouldre et croye
091
pour gicter a combattre sur vaisseaulx de mer" (Paviot, 1995, p.301). Les compositions
pyrotechniques sont identiques à celles des pots à feu. Une référence archéologique des
alcancias nous est fournie par la fouille de la Trinidad Valencera. (Martin, 1994, p.208).
Les deux autres types correspondent à des projectiles évoqués après Végèce
par Eustache Lemoine en 1216 et pouvant être remplis de chaux vive "pots de terre à
mettre chaux vive" (Paviot, 1995), de savon vert ou d'autres produits destinés à gêner
l'adversaire et dont l'usage remonte à l'Antiquité.
«Hannibal fict enfermer une grande quantité de pots de terre, de grands serpents
venimeux, bien enclos, desquels il se servit aux assaults qu'il eut sur la mer». (Boillot,
1603, p.150).
La différence de forme pouvant être à la fois un moyen pour différencier les types de
grenades et en faciliter l'identification, mais aussi destinée à permettre un meilleurs
remplissage des différents produits. Dans ces conditions on pourrait avancer l'hypothèse
que le type 3 était plutôt destiné à la chaux vive dont la manipulation délicate pouvait être
facilitée par une ouverture plus large et un goulot en forme d'entonnoir.
Barriques
La présence d'un grand nombre de barriques nous conduisit à mener une étude
complexe visant non seulement à restituer les modes de fabrication mais aussi les
volumes, dans l'espoir de voir émerger une unité de mesure permettant d'en identifier
l'origine. Mais à l'évidence les barriques retrouvées, de volumes très variés, n'étaient pas
utilisées à des fins commerciales mais simplement destinées à contenir la réserve d'eau
du bâtiment. L'une d'entre elle fut conservée avec l'espoir de pouvoir la reconstituer après
traitement de conservation. Arnaud de Laroche consacra à cette étude son mémoire de
l'Ecole des hautes études.
Analyse dendrochronologique
L'importance des structures mises au jour, nous amena à utiliser la
dendrochronologie pour tenter de préciser la date de construction du navire. Confiée à
Frederic Guibal cette étude nous réserva une surprise. La première série de
prélèvements fut effectuée sur les éléments de la structure interne du bâtiment, cloisons,
vaigrage, épontilles. Le résultat nous laissa perplexe dans la mesure où la date
d'abattage ainsi déterminée fut 1478.
L'écart entre cette date et la date du naufrage, soit 38 ans était incompatible avec
la longévité connue des grands navires de l'époque estimée à environ une quinzaine
d'années. Une seconde série de prélèvement eut alors lieu en privilégiant les éléments
structuraux de la charpente : varangues, carlingue…
Le résultat obtenu fut une date d'abattage des arbres en 1502, cette fois
compatible avec un naufrage en 1516. La pratique du réemploi de bois provenant de
navires condamnés pour les constructions neuves, attestée par plusieurs contrats
d'achat de bois parvenus jusqu'à nous, explique en définitive la différence observée. En
outre l'intérêt d'avoir déterminé une date de naufrage précise, permet de constituer un
jalon très utile pour caler entre elles les séries chronologiques utilisées par la
dendrochronologie. Une maquette archéologique a été entreprise, élaborée avec un
sage lenteur par Roberto Greco, un génois, charpentier naval et maquettiste
professionnel. Peu à peu confrontant données archéologiques, documents d'archives,
092
13. Grenades à main
type 1, n°4, 26 et 27.
(Photo C. Petron)
The pilot sites
iconographie et l'oeil du charpentier naval, une maquette s'élabore nous donnant à voir la
technique des « maîtres d'ache » de la Renaissance.
Conclusion
14. Barriques en place
sous le premier pont.
Nous nous trouvons avec une très forte probabilité en présence d'une nave
génoise. Selon la typologie de l'époque, ce type de navire, au tonnage élevé, s'inscrit
dans la tradition médiévale des armements des grandes cités maritimes de la
Méditerranée, et notamment de Gênes. Ces armements hauturiers, aux capacités de
charge importantes étaient destinés en particulier au transport de matières pondéreuses,
Nous bénéficions, concernant ce type de bâtiment, des recherches réalisées par
plusieurs historiens italiens (d'Albertis, 1893; Calegari, 1970; Borghesi, Calegari, 1970;
Gatti, 1975; Campodonico,1991). Outre ces études, les documents manuscrits
répertoriés : contrats d'achats de bois, contrats de construction, inventaires permettent
de disposer de données précieuses. L'iconographie des navi est abondante, même si
son utilisation demande, comme c'est la loi du genre, une étude critique rigoureuse.
La confrontation des données archéologiques, des études historiques, des
documents d'archives et de l'iconographie doit nous permettre de préciser les
caractéristiques d'un type de navire qui constitua une part importante et originale des
échanges maritimes génois.
Au delà d'une meilleurs connaissance des navi génoises, la mise en évidence
d'une tradition de construction des "navires ronds" purement méditerranéenne est sans
doute l'apport le plus remarquable de la fouille de l'épave de Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Plusieurs caractéristiques structurales ainsi que certaines pièces de gréement de l'épave
093
étaient typiquement méditerranéens au point que nous avons pu prendre les galères et
les chébecs comme référence. Bien plus, l'examen des quelques contrats de
construction de navi génoises que nous avons consultés fait apparaître que le
vocabulaire utilisé est identique au vocabulaire des galères qui est parvenu jusqu'à nous.
Cette constatation démontre l'existence d'une tradition de construction navale commune
aux vaisseaux ronds et aux galères en Méditerranée, car l'identité de vocabulaire
recouvre une identité de pratique que nos observations soulignent sans ambiguïté.
Si la tradition de construction méditerranéenne a perduré jusqu'au XVIIIe siècle en
ce qui concerne les galères, elle semble avoir perdu une grande partie de son originalité
pour les "navires ronds” à une époque encore mal connue, pour laisser place à d'autres
méthodes héritées de la tradition atlantique. L'étude de cette transformation qui est
intervenue dans la pratique des chantiers de Méditerranée constitue un champ d'étude
plein d'intérêt.
15. Maquette archéologique
(Roberto Greco)
094
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.6Complex of Kordin III, Malta
The Megalithic Temple
- An archaeological complex with possible evidence
of seafaring in the Neolithic Mediterranean
An excluded past – the role of the sea in Late Neolithic Malta
The prehistoric megalithic temples of Malta date to around 5600 to 4500 years ago
and are considered by UNESCO as the earliest freestanding structures in the world.
Kordin III is one of these circa thirty prehistoric megalithic sites known to have existed in
the Maltese Islands (for a map of Malta and location of Kordin III see fig. 1). Six of these
temples and a mass burial site are listed as World Heritage Sites Kordin III compares well
in terms of characteristics and the rate of survival of the ruins with those sites already
recognized as World Heritage Furthermore it contains features that are only found at this
site. For about ninety years since its discovery and excavation Kordin III received little
attention since it was mostly closed to the public at large.
Maltese prehistory always fosters a sense of intrigue and ambiguity. The
architecture and artifacts left behind from this past are a tangible testimony to the
ingenuity of the people who created them. However, modern society still fails to
understand fully these prehistoric people, mainly due to the significant cultural, cognitive
and temporal differences (Magro Conti, 2007: 14). This is more so when it comes to
understanding the relationship these people had with the Mediterranean Sea – that great
body of water which is so much more than just a geographical expression. The physical
presence of the sea played an undoubtedly significant part in Maltese Neolithic life. Yet
this aspect of Maltese prehistory remains understudied and perhaps the least understood
which is ironic considering the inescapable maritime context of the modern Maltese
society.
There is some evidence to show that fish and other sea food featured, if not
prominently, in Maltese Neolithic and Temple period diet (Bonanno, 2001: 84, Trump,
2002: 214). Definitely sea-shells were used to make buttons and pendants (Bonanno,
2001: 84). Fish featured in the iconography of these times as attested by a series of four
fish in bas-relief from the temple at Bugibba (Trump, 2002: 94), the statuette of a fish on a
bed at the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum (Bonanno, 2001:84) and in a small number of pendants
(Trump, 2002: 103). The sea, being that eternal paradox that it is, was the biggest
obstacle and facilitator at the same time for communication and trade with the other
central Mediterranean islands such as Sicily, Pantelleria and Lipari. The significant
quantities of obsidian, flint and ochre found in various domestic, burial and temple
contexts attest to this relationship. A number of miniature axes made of serpentine and of
other metamorphic rocks from Calabria in southern Italy are testimony of more longdistance trade, although this may have occurred indirectly. The discovery in Gozo of a
pendant made of jadeite, the nearest source of which is in the Alpine foothills in Piedmont
in northern Italy instills a sense of wonder at the navigational prowess of these ancient
sea-farers; more so when this material is known to have been exported as far as Britain
(Trump, 2002: 211). Recent scholarship suggests that ease-of-access to the sea may
have dictated the location of some of the temple sites (Grima, 2004: 344-345). The sea
may have also featured in that other archaeologically elusive element of prehistoric
Malta – rituals (Grima, 2001: 50; Vella, 2004: 30).
Setting the (pre)historic context - the Temple Culture of Malta
The earliest presence of humans on the Maltese Islands is firmly established to the
early fifth millennium BC. These early settlers almost certainly came across the sea from
southern Sicily. Their voyages, perhaps storm-driven, were successful and numerous
095
enough to populate the islands. Certainly their sea-craft were of notable capabilities as
they could carry animals apart from humans (Vella, 2004: 23). These people brought with
them domesticated animals and probably seeds given that they practiced farming.
Belonging culturally to the central Mediterranean Neolithic world, these early colonizers
had a technology based on the use of stones, obsidian, and wood and had no knowledge
of either the wheel or metallurgy. These ancient sea-farers knew how to shape and fire
clay which was locally available to make pottery containers (Vella, 2004: 23). At first these
early inhabitants dwelt in caves and then in huts made of perishable material. Their
dwellings were made of shallow depressions in the ground lined with rubble walls and
with floors made from a mixture of well-compacted crushed limestone called torba. There
is also evidence, from Skorba and possibly from Kordin III, for the use of mud-bricks for
the construction of the perimeter walls (Vella, 2004: 24). Such huts would have probably
been roofed over with branches and leaves, and clay could have been smeared over the
superstructure to make it impermeable. Stretched animal skins would have had the same
function (Borg, 2007: 117).
Albeit that these people maintained contact with communities in southern Italy,
Sicily, Lipari, and Pantelleria they developed a unique culture that manifested itself in the
form of splendid megalithic buildings called 'temples'. These temples, which started to be
constructed sometime after 3600 BC and continued till about 2500 BC, are found
scattered all over the Maltese islands. They are considered to be the world's first
freestanding buildings, predating the construction of the great pyramids of Egypt and the
megalithic complex of Stonehenge in England (Renfrew, 1973: 161). Copper was already
diffused in the central Mediterranean by this time. However, rather strangely, copper is
absent from the Maltese archaeological record before 2500 BC (Trump, 2002: 292).
Therefore one can safely assume that these splendid buildings were built entirely using
tools made of wood and a variety of stone.
Although it is difficult to comprehend the belief system and culture that gave rise to
these singular monuments, we can envisage that it involved quite a complex system of
rites and rituals (Borg, 2007: 117). This complexity is manifested in the spatial
architecture of the temples themselves for they are divided into chambers and apses that
suggest a division of space for particular situations (Grima, 2001: 50-53; Borg, 2007:
117). The number of delicately manufactured figurines and massive statues of
misleadingly called 'mother goddesses’ corpulent human figures, popularly but perhaps
(since their gender is unknown), evoke a divine being or the representation of such. The
burial remains and the rituals they hint at in the
underground tombs and cemeteries in Malta (the Ħ alSaflieni Hypogeum) and in Gozo (the Xagħ ra Stone
Circle) are testimony to the magnificence of this culture
(Stoddart et al. 1993; Pace, 2000). Burial practices that
started from small underground chambers restricted to a
limited number of internments probably belonging to a
single family or kin (Malone et al. 1995), evolved into
complex systems of underground hypogea for communal
burial with multiple levels and connecting corridors.
These superb complexes all hewn from the natural
bedrock were fashioned to look like the temples above
ground; a feat well managed and executed.
096
1. Map of Malta
The pilot sites
Kordin III Temple Complex
Kordin III is typical of these Neolithic complexes,
consisting of the best preserved trefoil temple on the
island, the only two-apse 'earlobe-shaped' temple that
has not been modified or extended and a number of
unidentified structures that are collectively called huts
(fig. 2). The site exhibits some unique features such as an
exquisitely paved forecourt, a large stone 'trough', a
delicately-pitted stone and thresholds standing on edge,
probably done in a phase of embellishment of the temple,
when the temple façade was re-modeled (Borg, 2007:
117; fig. 3, fig. 4). Although the temple is not as imposing,
in terms of architecture and sheer size (fig. 5), as other
'major' temples on the islands such as the nearby Tarxien
Temples, its position makes it possible to investigate the
reasons for building the temples in their particular location
in relation to the surrounding landscape. Few of the
temples remain in their original landscape setting. Kordin
III clearly is not, as it is surrounded by industrial
development. Recent research, however, is trying to reevaluate the dynamics of land use in Prehistory by placing
more emphasis on the landscape context of these
Prehistoric monuments (Grima, 2003; 2004).
This temple complex actually forms part of a larger set of megalithic sites scattered
on the Kordin promontory. In 1896, Dr. Antonio Annetto Caruana who as the Curator of
Antiquities at the Public Library was responsible for all archaeological investigations on
the Maltese islands, reported the existence of five groups of megalithic monuments on
the promontory (Vella, 2004: 7, 8). Kordin III did not feature in this list. The complex was
excavated by Thomas Ashby, Thomas Eric Peet and Themistocles Zammit, between
1908 and 1909 (Ashby et al. 1913: 1–126; Evans, 1971: 67–80). The other known
megalithic sites called Kordin I and II (excavated by Caruana in 1892), located 600m to
the north of Kordin III were destroyed as a result of industrial development in the area in
the 1950s (Vella, 2004: 7).
The maritime context of Kordin III Temples
2. Plan of Kordin III
Kordin III is situated about 500m away from the sea on a promontory across the
inner part of the Grand Harbour. It is very difficult today to understand or appreciate the
physical setting of the temple complex. The surroundings have been transformed beyond
recognition especially from the mid 19th century onwards by works related to the
dockyards and the Grand Harbour. Furthermore the archaeological site is enclosed by a
boundary wall built in 1909, partially replaced in 2004. Although this wall probably saved
the site from destruction, it also severs any visual link with the surrounding landscape.
A hydrographic chart of the Grand Harbour dating to 1822 gives a clear indication
of Kordin promontory prior to the extensive works carried in the area later in the century.
This plan shows that the promontory consisted of three ridges of Globigerina limestone
that met at the neck of the headland. The space between the westernmost ridge and the
097
middle one formed a narrow valley that finished at the
shore providing a relatively easy access to the sea. All the
three known megalithic complexes on Kordin promontory
are located on the westernmost ridge with Kordin III
overlooking Wied Blandun (a major valley in the area) and
the upper plains of Paola and Tarxien to its south.
An extensive complex of Roman warehouses,
some of which were still stacked with amphorae ready for
th
export, was discovered and excavated in the 18 century
on another promontory about 800m west of Kordin on the
other side of the harbour. This discovery together with the
unearthing of several lengths of walls and Classical
pottery sherds in the vicinity highlight the presence of port
facilities in the area dating back to ancient times,
suggesting in turn the suitability of the area for anchorage.
A series of Phoenician rock cut tombs discovered in the
area of port facilities dating back to ancient times
suggesting in turn the suitability of the area for anchorage.
A series of Phoenician rock cut tombs discovered in the
th
vicinity along Wied Blandun points out to a 5 century BC
settlement whose economy probably depended on the
agricultural produce from the fertile valley and the
exploitation of the nearby marine resources. These
Classical sites and the prehistoric remains of Kordin III are
separated by more than 2500 years and therefore they
bear no direct or contextual relationship. However they do
hint at the suitability of the surrounding environment for
settling in and anchorage. Therefore this physical
relationship with the sea may well have been a major factor in the choice for constructing
Kordin III and the other prehistoric sites in the area.
A trough found at the entrance of the left apse of the western temple at Kordin may
shed more light on the maritime context of Kordin III and what may have taken place
inside the Neolithic temples. This trough (fig. 6) is made of coralline limestone – a hard
type of stone the nearest source of which is circa 3 kilometers away. Thomas Ashby in the
report of the excavations of Kordin in the Papers of the British School at Rome (1913: 1126), of which he was the long-standing director, suggested that this trough, which has
seven compartments, was used for grinding grain due to the smoothened surfaces of its
interior and the presence of a smoothened stone in one of the compartments (Ashby et al.
1913: 42-43). Evidence of corn grinding inside other temples has also been found
(Bonanno 2001: 82) and the proximity of Kordin III to the nearby fertile valley of Wied
Blandun lends credence to this hypothesis. However recently archaeologist Rueben
Grima whilst recalling Ashby's description of the trough as 'boat-shaped' (Ashby et al.
1913: 42) proposed that the trough is actually mimicking a prehistoric boat – similar to the
Neolithic dugout canoes that have been widely attested in Europe (Grima 2001: 61).
Grima finds similarities between the bulkheads of Neolithic dugouts such as that
attested in a model of a dugout from Tsangli in Thessaly and the partitions of the trough at
Kordin III as well as the technique required in creating a real dugout and the artifact from
098
3
4
3. General view of the
paved forecourt
4. Detail of the paved
forecourt
The pilot sites
5. Main Facade of Kordin
Temples
6. The trough or model of a boat
7. Central paving in stone and
trough-'boat' model
Kordin is essentially the same (Grima 2001: 61).
Perhaps what is most exciting in Grima's thesis is
the spatial analysis of the art and artefacts found inside
the Neolithic temples. He makes a case for the separation
of the temples' interior into terrestrial and maritime
domains (Grima 2001: 59-61). The trough (which is
continued to be referred to as such for simplicity's sake) at
Kordin III, similarly to the boats' graffiti block at the south
temple at Tarxien, is positioned in a doorway across a
threshold between the central court (the maritime
domain) and the apse (the terrestrial domain) (Grima
2001: 61; fig. 7). Therefore the representations of these
'boats' are located at the boundary separating these two
domains – a boundary that is often marked by imagery
5
related to the sea. It is also suggested that the sunken
floors that characterize some of the temples including that
of Kordin III and the south temple at Tarxien may have
actually been flooded with water, “transforming the
domain representing the sea into a pool of water, which
would have had to be crossed to reach the apses
representing dry land” (Grima 2001: 57).
It is worthwhile to remember here the proximity of
Kordin III to the coast. This model of a boat (if so it is),
being at the same time a liminal boundary and a vessel
could have been associated with a ritual invoking the
movement of people and exchanges across the sea – a
metaphor of overseas journeys (Grima 2001: 62; Vella
2004: 30). Broodbank views sea-craft as valuable
6
resources in the prehistoric Mediterranean and their
control closely linked to prestige and status (2000: 99101). The complications and specialization associated
with sea-crossings especially in the central
Mediterranean suggests that only a few were involved in
this dangerous activity. Those persons with seafaring
skills and in control of a boat acquired extraordinary
knowledge – knowledge of what lies beyond the horizon,
which is clearly visible from the Kordin promontory. This
esoteric knowledge may have been easily exploited by
some (perhaps a priestly cast?) to exercise power and
authority on the rest of the non-seafaring population. In
this context Kordin III would have been a place where
such knowledge is conserved, assembled and possibly
7
transmitted (Vella 2004: 30).
A Ġgantija phase amphora with what seems to be boat graffiti found at Kordin III
during the 1909-1910 excavations is in this context exceptional (fig. 8). The existence of
this amphora was brought to light lately by Dr. Nicholas Vella of the Department of
Classics and Archaeology of the University of Malta during a study of the finds from this
099
site at the stores of the National Museum of Archaeology (Valletta). This amphora which
has actually been pieced together and reconstructed from a number of shards after the
excavation has a number of graffiti of boats characterized by deep round bottoms and
high keels resembling dugout canoes with constructed sides (fig. 9). No studies of this
1
amphora have yet been published and no specific analyses of these graffiti are being
attempted here. Further studies, particularly of the excavation field notes are at this point
necessary to understand its contextual significance. However the presence of such
iconography seems to strengthen the argument presented above in favour of the
maritime significance of Kordin III Temple Complex in particular and of the Late Neolithic
Temples of Malta in general.
1- Photographs of this amphora have been
published in a guide book of the temple
complex of Kordin III by Dr. Nicholas Vella
(2004). These photographs are being
reproduced by the kind permission of the
said author.
Management of the site
The temple complex of Kordin III is managed by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (The Malta
Heritage Trust) one of the leading non-governmental organisations operating in the
heritage sector in Malta. It combines effective management of over thirty archaeological
and historical sites and artifact collections with the more traditional roles of raising
awareness with the general public and lobbying at municipal and government levels.
Being managed by volunteers does not imply dilettantism in its approach. Its Board of
Trustees (governing body) is entirely made up of volunteers and it is composed of
corporate managers, ITC specialists, accountants, as well as historians and
archaeologists. For its day-to-day running the Trust employs a sizeable staff headed by a
CEO who operate under a clear remit from the Board of Trustees.
In a world that is increasingly facing economic hardships and cash-strapped
governments, non-governmental organisations are progressively assuming
responsibility for managing the heritage and environment especially in countries with a
heightened sense of citizenship and belonging. These organisations which are founded
on the tenets of volunteer work and not-for-profit activities complement the respective
governments' efforts in these fields and quite often stimulate them into action usually
through effective lobbying.
A management plan for Kordin III has been penned by archaeologist Mr. Joseph
Magro Conti and published thanks to funding made available from the European Union
through the Temper Project. The Plan was produced in co-operation with the Department
of Classics and Archaeology of the University of Malta, and the Temper Project team.
Local and foreign stakeholders were involved at various stages of the drafting of the Plan
and included the local council, the local community, the local religious communities, state
agencies, visitors, children, and academics. An
educational programme was also put in place intended to
help children understand the site and archaeology in
general. This educational programme spearheaded by
the author formed also part of the Temper Project and was
published in the same volume as the management plan
(Hodder and Doughty 2007).
100
8
8. Ggantija phase pottery from
Kordin III with 'boat' graffiti
9. Detail of boat graffiti
9
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.7
Pharos Island
Of Alexandria, Egypt
Archaeological site of Pharos Island Of Alexandria, Egypt
Alexander the Great reached the site of the present Alexandria in the year 332BC.
The site was occupied by an Egyptian fishing village along the Mediterranean coast
known as Raqoda or Rhakotis- just opposite of which lay the small island of Pharos.
Alexander ordered his engineers to draw up plans for a city with a great harbor that
would include the village and the island within its boundaries. Alexander's engineers
linked the island to the main land by a narrow causeway that they named Heptastadion
because it was seven stadia long (about 1,300 m). This causeway divided the coast of
Alexandria into two ports, the Eastern Great Harbor and the Western Harbor or Eunostos.
(fig.1) The Eastern Harbor was the main port, and the city's palaces, gardens and
government buildings were built around it, it handled the more important naval and
commercial vessels. These were guided into port by the celebrated Alexandria light
1
House which stood on what is now the site of Quit Bey Fort .The lighthouse of Alexandria
was One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the Lighthouse of Alexandria was so
2
famous that its name; Pharos, became the generic word for lighthouse in Latin . It was not
the only, or even the first, structure of its kind; but it was colossal, towering probably some
120m above the sea (fig.2).
Underwater archaeological. Investigations of the ancient Pharos
1 - Marcos's.: "Early Discoveries of
submarine Archaeological sites in
Alexandria", in under water Archaeology and
coastal Management, unesco,
Paris, 2000, pp. 40-41
2 - Goddio, F.& Bernard, A.: "the lighthouse"
in sunben Egypt, Alexandria, periplus,
fondon, 2004, pp. 166-171.
3 - Empereur, J.Y.& Grimal, N.: "Les fouilles
sous – marines du phare d`Alexandrie",
comptes rendues des séances de l`annee
1997, Academie des Inscriptions & Belles
lettres, Paris, 1998, 3, pp. 692-712.
4 - Jondet, G.: "Les ports de pharos", BSAA,
Alexandria, 1912,14, pp. 252 – 266.
5 - Halim, H.: "Kamel Abul-saadat: Apioneer
in Alexandria underwater Archaeology", in
underwater Archaeology and Coastal
Management Unesco. Paris, 2000,
pp.46 - 53.
6 - Frost, H., "The Pharos Site, Alexandria,
Egypt", IJNA, London, 1975, 4, pp. 126 -130.
7 - Empereur, J.Y. : "Underwater
archaeological investigations of the ancient
pharos", in underwater Archaeology and
coastal management, unesco, Paris, 2000,
pp. 54 – 59
Since 1994 A Franco-Egyptian team conducted a salvage inspection of the
submerged ruins of the famous ancient lighthouse of Alexandria - the Pharos. The need to
protect from the northerly storms the fortress (fig.3) constructed at the end of the 15th
century AD by the Mameluke Sultan Qait Bey on the 15th century AD by the Mameluke
Sultan Qait Bey on the Anfouchy peninsula at the eastern tip of the ancient island of
Pharos on the ruins of ancient lighthouse, led to the construction of a submerged concrete
wall at a distance of several dozen metres in the sea. It was quickly realized that this wall
would cover an ancient archaeological site at a depth of 6-8 m. In the autumn of 1994, the
Egyptian Antiquities Service asked the Centre d'Etudes Alexandrines (CEAlex) to
undertake an urgent underwater investigation. The objective of the salvage operation
was to delimit the archaeological zone and to determine its nature.The mission therefore
plotted a topographic map and developed graphical and photographical documentation
3
for each element . There was some idea of the site, thanks to the pioneer work of Gaston
Jondet, the chief Engineer of the Department of ports and light houses from 1911 to
4
1915, Kamel Abul-Saadat in 1961 the Egyptian pioneer in Alexandria underwater
5
archaeology and a UNESCO mission in 1968, following which Honor Frost published a
6
preliminary report with some drawings which revealed the importance of the site .The
centred' Etudes Alexandrines (CEAlex) in co-operation with the Department of under
water archaeology / Supreme Council of Antiquities (DUA/SCA) rediscovered the
submerged site to the east of Qaitbay fort. At depth from 6to8 meters, in an area of 2.25
hectares more than 5000 pieces were located including statutes, sphinxes and columns
of different shapes, capitals and bases of columns (fig.4) and parts of obelisks. These
blocks are of different size and weights (some of them weighting 75 tons) (fig.5) the
artifacts are cut in several kinds of stones such as: granite, calcite, quartzite, lime stone,
7
sand stone and greywacke . The site is dated to Greco-roman period but it includes
artifacts from the pharaonic period, which the rulers of Alexandria always brought from
other sites of Egypt to decorate their capital some of these artifacts are the remains of the
101
1. Alexandria in view vertical:
sea in the north and
lake of Maruotis in the south,
Heptasadion divided
the coast into Two ports.
lighthouse itself and the rest were brought from the serapium temple and thrown at the
entrance of the harbor to prevent the entry of the enemy fleets in the twelfth century A.D. A
selected collection of these pieces were raised in 1995 and 1996, conserved and
exhibited in the roman theatre of Alexandria such as:
1- A granite capital of column of composite – Alexandria style (fig.6).
2- A part of granite obelisk consecrated by Sethi 1st (fig.7).
3- Bust of statue for a woman from red granite (fig.8).
4- A colossal statue of one of the Ptolemies represented as a pharaoh from red granite
(fig.9).
5- The aforementioned statue during the transportation to the conservation lab (fig.10).
6- A colossal head for the ex-mentioned statue during its existence underwater (fig.11).
7- One of the discovered sphinxes during the lifting process (fig.12).
8- An inscribed granite block during lifting process (fig.13).
9- A crown of a Hathor goddess from red granite (fig.14).
10- One of the discovered sphinxes underwater (fig. 15).
Guidelines dealing with the Protection, The research and the evaluation of Underwater
Archeological site of pharos
This paper will present some ideas that have been discussed in the international
workshop for studying the establishment of an underwater museum in Alexandria, Egypt,
which was jointly convened by UNESCO and the ministry of culture of Egypt and held at
the Alexandria Artistic creative center form 3 to 6 July 2006:
Archaeological Management
The cultural heritage faced lot of risk due to the development of coastal areas and
there is need to respond appropriately to the possible negative impact on underwater
cultural heritage, unanimously acknowledging the need to present it and interpret for the
102
The pilot sites
education and the enjoyment of the public at large, taking
into consideration that many monumental artifacts have
been displaced, acknowledging the fact that thanks to
Egyptian and foreign underwater excavations the ruins of
light-house of Alexandria have been brought to the
attention of the international public:
Designate the site of pharos as a cultural heritage park
while developing a management plan taking into account
the various present functions;
Refrain from all development activities in the site of
pharos until a master plan for the future has been
developed;
Refrain from removal of large archaeological artifacts
from the are a in order to avoid loss of authenticity and
integrity of the site;
Further develop the idea of the creation of an
archaeological underwater museum at site of pharos as a
first stage;
Develop a plan for the conservation and in situ
management of the site;
Examine the possibility for inscription of the site of
pharos on the World Heritage List.
2
Conservation and protection of archaeological artefacts
Prepare a comprehensive conservation plan,
including preventive conservation and monitoring
mechanisms, for the treatment of the objects, whether in
situ or in a museum environment, in preparation of their
exhibition;
Enforce in situ preventive conservation process of
artifacts where needed;
Develop a long-term training program for capacitybuilding in the conservation of underwater materials.

3
Water clarity and purity
Continue the improvement of water quality by wastewater sanitation and other means
and solve the issue of the clarity and purity of water for the presentation of underwater
cultural heritage for the time being, by having the underwater part of the museum isolated
from the open sea and continuously treated in a closed system so that quality and
transparency of water can be controlled;
Continue measuring relevant parameters in joint efforts between relevant institutions
and integrating data collected in previous studies;
Investigate in the comprehensive feasibility study the possibility and desirability of
removing the organic sediments by mechanical means such as vacuum extraction;
To explore possibilities for potentially buffer or minimize wave action in the site of
Pharos.

2. Replica of the lighthouse at
Alexandria in the National
Maritime Muesum in Alexandria
3. Quit Bey fort in the same
site of the Lighthouse
103
4
5
6
7
8
4. The site to the east of Qaitbay
fort contains several parts of
columns of different shapes
5. A huge block from red granite,
it is a part from the gate of
Lighthouse
6. A granite capital of column of
coposite –Alexandria style
7. A part of granite obelisk
cosecrated by Sethi I
8. A part of granite obelisk
consecrated by Sethi 1 st.
104
The pilot sites
9
10
11
12
13
9. A colossal statue of one of the
Ptolemies represented as a
pharaoh from red granite
10. The aforementioned statue
during the transportation to the
conservation lab
11. A colossal head for the
ex-mentioned statue during its
existence underwater
12. One of the discovered sphinxes
during the lifting process
13. An inscribed granite block
during lifting process
105
14
16
15
17
18
14. A crown of a Hathor goddess
from red granite
15. One of the discovered
sphinxes underwater
16. A sphinx bearing the insignia
of the pharaoh Psammetic II
(XXVI dynasty)
17. A colossal staue of Isis from
red granite had been foud by
Kamel Abul-Saadat in1962
18. Reconstruction of the
gute of the Lighthouse
106
The pilot sites
CHAP.
2.8 Prioritization approach to Submerged and
Applying a Conservation
Coastal Heritage Sites
Introduction
Given its strategic location overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, a narrow channel that
separates the continents of Africa and Europe and also the Mediterranean Sea from the
Atlantic Ocean, the Rock of Gibraltar has enjoyed a degree of importance in world history
that is totally disproportionate to its size. (fig. 1)
The 6km-long, 1km-wide and 426m-high Rock of Gibraltar has a rich maritime
history which stretches as far back as the early Neanderthal occupation of the Rock
(Finlayson, 2004), through later Modern Human inhabitants and visitors all of whom had a
close relationship with the sea. Archaeological investigations provide evidence of
sustained exploitation of marine resources all the way through to the modern era,
whereas Phoenician and later Greek and Roman visitors to Gibraltar established its
symbolic legacy as the northern pillar of Hercules. In later times it was the bridgehead for
the Islamic conquest of Iberia in AD711 and the subsequent establishment of Al-Andalus.
After its capture by Spain in 1462 it was allowed to decline as a fortress, but continued to
provide a bountiful fishery for the majority of Andalucía, as well as suffering the attacks of
Barbary Pirates during the 16th Century. Following the Anglo-Dutch capture of the Rock in
1704, its strategic value again came to the fore, and Gibraltar became a thriving port, not
only for the warships of the British Navy but also for trading vessels intent on making profit
from their cargoes. Thousands of ships would come to Gibraltar to sell, buy or merely
transfer their cargoes to other vessels. All of this contributed to the economic prosperity
th
of the population, especially during the relatively peaceful 19th Century. The 20 Century
again saw the return of armed conflict, with the construction of a torpedo-proof harbour in
time for the hostilities of the first and second World Wars.
On land, such an amount of traffic and activity has left numerous evidences in the
historical and archaeological record. However, with many artefacts and shipwrecks
being out of sight beneath the waves, fewer people are aware of their existence. The
Gibraltar Museum's Underwater Research Unit (URU) has been working to study and
bring this rich heritage to light. The work of the URU is not restricted to shipwrecks and
nautical investigations, but also extends to underwater geological and geomorphological
surveys, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological investigations of prehistoric sites once
above sea level, and marine biological studies. As such, the Gibraltar Museum is wellplaced to use all the information collated from these various multi-disciplinary research
approaches to create comprehensive databases and provide well-informed
assessments of the rich heritage of the Rock.
Heritage Databases at the Gibraltar Museum
The Gibraltar Museum, within its wider role in the Gibraltar Government's Heritage
Division, maintains a number of databases which include submerged sites. Heritage
sites, as well as any artefacts, are legally protected by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust
Ordinance 1989, which defines an antiquity as:
“...any object of historical, geographical, artistic,
scientific or technical value or interest found or situated
in Gibraltar (whether in or on the land or below the
seabed), being older than fifty years;”
A number of inter-related databases are maintained by the Museum, which cover various
aspects such as historical buildings, archaeological sites, fortifications and mobile
107
inventories and collections. To maximise the information
that can be extracted from these, it is desirable to create a
database structure that allows for a diversity of search
parameters to include both breadth of application and
depth of detail. Moreover, these databases are relational
and allow for links and searches to be carried out between
them. Thus, for example, a database entry for an item
might include not only the standard descriptive entries,
but also information as to provenance, issues pertaining
to its location such as ownership, legal details, dating
information, conservation treatment, available services,
references to, plans, related entries, etc.
These databases held by the Gibraltar Museum,
albeit independently evolved, are essentially identical to
those presented by other ARCHAEOMAP partners in this volume. However, our
experience suggests that their use as a rapid-decision or large-scale management tool is
often limited by their unwieldiness. Such databases often come into their own when
comparisons need to be made between selected sites and often with regard to specific
management scenarios or conservation-related questions. Their use as a management
tool is unquestionable yet their very attention to detail complicates attempts to make rapid
and simple comparative queries to inform what can at times be pressing management
decisions. Moreover, by their very nature the data in such databases are constantly in a
state of evolution as sites and the factors affecting them change over time. Again
attention to detail often means that not all fields are always up-to-date and therefore may
not always have comparable information in terms of detail or freshness.
A need was identified for a simple system that would work with and complement
existing databases whilst at the same time providing a simple standardised platform
within which rapid conservation assessments and management decisions could be
undertaken. The idea that was developed involved a two-way information exchange
between a rapid conservation prioritisation system and existing databases, where each
would inform the other, but where the 'best tool' could be selected depending on the task
in hand. This method was developed initially for use in terrestrial heritage sites and was
first presented at a UNESCO conference on the Urban Development and Preservation of
the Morphology of World Heritage Fortress Cities held in Suwon City, Korea, in 2000
(Finlayson et al., 2001). The method has since proved very successful and was
subsequently extended to submerged sites.
Methodology for a Conservation Prioritisation Model (CPM)
The basic premise upon which this model rests is outlined below, namely that the
Conservation priority of a site must be based on two fundamental factors:
1. How important or valuable is it?
2. In what state is it and how likely is it that this will deteriorate in the short term?
These are complex and interrelated questions, yet in the main we believe that
objective criteria can be brought to address them, at least to a significant extent, without
allowing for excess detail to cloud the issues. Finlayson et al., (2001) identified two main
axes that were used to objectively classify heritage sites: Historical value v. Condition and
Threatened status. This model has proved very useful in the management of built
108
1. Diagram showing the
geographical location of the
Rock of Gibraltar.
Note its strategic position
between Europe and Africa and
between the Atlantic Ocean and
Mediterranean Sea.
The pilot sites
heritage sites. However, submerged and coastal sites are often embedded within a wider
natural landscape composed of habitats and ecosystems. In many cases the habitat
and/or species that co-exist in association with a submerged or coastal site are
themselves protected, therefore a Natural value score was added to the Historical value.
Therefore we identify two main Axes in the CPM (extended from Finlayson et al.,
2001):
Historical and Natural value
Condition and Threatened status
A ten-point scale was devised for each of these which are described in detail below:
Historical Value
Evaluation and scoring of sites is based on averaging the values given to a site
based on its local and global historic importance (see scales below):
Evaluating Sites (Historical – Local)
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EVALUATION
Over 100 examples exist in Gibraltar and plentiful outside
Over 100 examples exist in Gibraltar but with few examples outside
Between 10 and 100 examples exist in Gibraltar and plentiful outside
Between 10 and 100 examples exist in Gibraltar but with few examples
outside
One of under ten sites of its kind in Gibraltar but plentiful outside
One of under ten sites of its kind in Gibraltar and with few examples outside
Unique in Gibraltar but with many examples outside
Unique in Gibraltar and with few surviving examples elsewhere
Unique within its subject context
Unique in the world
Evaluating Sites (Historical – Global)
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EVALUATION
Over 100 examples exist in Gibraltar and plentiful outside
outside
Unique in Gibraltar and with few surviving examples elsewhere
Unique within its subject context
Unique in the world
Natural Value
Gibraltar also has a number of protected marine species which are listed in Annexe
IV of the EU Habitats Directive (1992) as being 'in danger of extinction'. These include:
109
Pinna nobilis, Patella ferruginea, Lithophaga lithophaga and Centrostephanus
longispinus, as well as other species and habitats cited by the subsequent Berne and
Barcelona Conventions on the conservation of marine habitats and species (Fa &
Finlayson, 2008).
Evaluation and scoring of sites is based on averaging the values given to a site
based on its local and global natural importance (see scales below):
Evaluating Sites (Natural – Local)
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EVALUATION
Abundant (>100 examples) in Gibraltar and plentiful outside
outside
Containing 1-2 EU-protected species or unique in Gibraltar and with few
surviving examples elsewhere
Containing 3 or more EU-protected species or unique within its subject context
Containing an EU-protected species habitat (e.g. Posidonia meadow) or
unique in the world
Evaluating Sites (Natural – Global)
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EVALUATION
Abundant (>100 examples) in Gibraltar and plentiful outside
outside
Containing 1-2 EU-protected species or unique in Gibraltar and with few
surviving examples elsewhere
Containing 3 or more EU-protected species or unique within its subject context
Containing an EU-protected species habitat (e.g. Posidonia meadow) or
unique in the world
Scores for Local and Global Historical value and Local and Global Natural value are
averaged.
The HIGHER of the two scores is set as the site's HERITAGE SCORE
Condition Value
Evaluation and scoring of sites based on Condition value are carried out using the scale
presented below:
110
The pilot sites
Evaluating Sites (Condition)
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EVALUATION
Is in an excellent state with a maintenance programme in effect
Is in an excellent state but no maintenance programme in effect
Is in a good state, requires minor interventions, maintenance programme in
effect
Is in a good state, requires minor interventions, maintenance programme not
in effect
Is in a neglected state, condition seems sound but significant specialised
intervention required, remedial action in effect
Is in a neglected state, condition seems sound but significant specialised
intervention required, no remedial action programmed
Is in a severe state of neglect/structural failure, requires extensive specialist
intervention, remedial action in effect
Is in a severe state of neglect/structural failure, requires extensive specialist
intervention, no remedial action programmed
Is in imminent danger of total loss/collapse, remedial action in effect
Is in imminent danger of total loss/collapse, no remedial action programmed
Threat Value
Evaluation and scoring of sites based on Threat value are carried out using the scale
presented below:
Evaluating Sites (Threat)
SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EVALUATION
Legally protected and within a conservation/reserve area and with highly
restricted access
Legally protected and within a conservation/reserve area but with a low visitor
turnover
Legally protected and within a conservation/reserve area but with a high visitor
turnover
Legally protected and context not specifically threatened and in a low value
development area
Legally protected and context not specifically threatened today but in a prime
development area
Legally protected but with current developments threatening its context
No legal protection but not specifically threatened today and in a low value
development area
No legal protection but not specifically threatened today but in a prime
development area
No legal protection and with current developments threatening its context
No legal protection and with current developments threatening its survival
Scores for Condition and Threat are averaged to give a single value. This value is set as
the site's combined RISK STATUS SCORE – the higher it is, the greater the probability of
losing the asset.
111
The Heritage Score (HS) and Risk Status Scores (RS) can be graphically
represented as a scatterplot that allows easy comparison between the relative status
scores of sites and allow for rapid prioritisation of conservation action. These same
values are used in combination to provide a Conservation Priority value, which is
calculated by establishing the Euclidean distance of each point from the origin,
HS 2 + RS 2 ) which is further modified by multiplying this value by the average
HSxRS
value of the Heritage and Risk Status Scores (i.e.
) The latter operation serves
2
(i.e.
to give relatively more weight to points equidistant from each axis, e.g. a site at point (6,6)
is of moderately high importance and is under a moderate to high risk. It is roughly
equidistant to the origin (0,0) as a site at (1,8) which has a very low HS but high RS (and
therefore might be considered beyond cost-effective intervention), or a site at (8,1) which
has a high HS but low RS and therefore be relatively safe. By multiplying the Euclidean
distance by the man of HS and RS, points closer to either axis or therefore deserving a
lower priority ranking are down-weighted.
This method was applied to existing coastal and submerged sites contained within
the Gibraltar Museum's database.
Table 1. Showing assigned
Heritage and Risk Scores,
together with Prioritization
Scores, calculated by summing
the Euclidean distance from
the origin to the mean of the
ordinates for each point. It is
important to remember that
these prioritization scores
should not be taken as an
expression of how important a
site is. Rather they rank its
urgency of required action with
regard to a combination of both
its importance and
condition/threat.
Results obtained from applying the CPM to Gibraltar's coastal and submerged sites
Table 1 below lists the 55 coastal and submerged sites used in this exercise,
together with their respective Heritage, Risk Status and Conservation Prioritization
Scores. The sites are all scored, to varying degrees, based on the relative contributions
of both their natural and historical components.
Number
1
2
3
4
Site
Rosia Bay
Complex
Italian Chariot
Parsons Lodge
Cliff &
Foreshore
Eastern Beach
Liberator
6
Blackstrap Cove
to Sandy Bay
East side Oil
Tanks to Sandy
Bay
7
Western Beach
8
Camp Bay
9
Los Picos
5
Brief Description
Maritime complex closely linked to Nelson
and Trafalgar (mainly covering 18th and
19th Centuries)
Remains of WWII Italian 'Chariot' on
seabed off the Detached Mole
Significant bone breccia deposits forming
cliff line - world-important fossil site
Submerged wreck of a WWII Liberator of
rare type off the East side of the Rock
Coastal complex of prehistoric shoreline,
with EU-protected marine species and
WWII defensive installations
Coastal complex of prehistoric shoreline,
submerged caves, EU-protected marine
species and WWII defences
Locally-protected natural habitat
Coastal complex of 18th-20th Century
defensive installations and EU-protected
marine species
Submerged reef of geologic and prehistoric
importance with EU protected marine species
112
Prioritization
Score
Risk
Status
Score
Heritage
Score
127.8
10
9
102.4
8
9
91.2
9
7
90.5
8
8
90.5
8
8
90.5
8
8
88.4
5.5
10
85.0
8
7.5
85.0
8
7.5
The pilot sites
10
S.S. Excellent
11
Europa
Foreshore
12
Ammunition
Jetty
13
Silent Pool
14
H.M.T. Stella
Sirius
15
Seven Sisters
16
El Pipo/Burkana
17
S.S. Rosslyn
18
Gorham's Caves
Complex
19
North Mole
20
Inkwells
Wreck of steamer sunk in Bay in 1888 and
EU-protected marine species
Coastal complex with prehistoric sites, EUprotected marine species and 18th-20th
Century defensive installations
Complex of tunnels and jetty created for
loading ammunition on the East side - late
20th Century
Submerged below sea-level natural cave
with stalagmite formations
Remains of WWII armed trawler sunk
during a Vichy French Bombing raid in
1940 with EU-protected marine species
Spectacular series of rocky pinnacles of
geologic and prehistoric importance with
Two purposely sunk wrecks at same site
with EU-protected marine species
Steamship sunk in 1916 off the South Mole
Significant site of Neanderthal and Modern
Human prehistoric occupation, also Punic
shrine
Commercial mole built in late 19th/early
20th Century - historical importance and
Underwater site located below 18th/19th
Century anchorages
Two WWII Sherman tanks on the seabed
just off Europa Point
85.0
8
7.5
85.0
8
7.5
83.9
5
10
76.5
9
5.5
74.7
8
6.5
72.1
9
5
70.0
8
6
69.5
6.5
7.5
67.9
10
3
65.5
8
5.5
65.5
8
5.5
65.5
5.5
8
61.3
8
5
61.3
8
5
61.3
8
5
60.5
5.5
7.5
60.5
5.5
7.5
22
The Sherman
Tanks
Governor's
Beach
Foreshore
23
Weaver's
Pinnacle
24
Mollymock
25
Little Bay
Eastern Side
Aircraft (general)
Coastal complex with military installations
with protected marine species
Submerged reef with geologic, prehistoric
importance and EU-protected marine
species
A purposely sunk wreck with EU -protected
marine species
Coastal complex of 18th-20th Century
defensive installations
A number of submerged WWII aircraft in
various stages of exposure/preservation
WWII aircraft that sunk in the Bay in 1941
and protected natural habitat/species
importance
60.5
5.5
7.5
28
Bristol Bombay
Fred Flintstone's
Submarine
(reef)
59.8
6.5
6.5
29
Eastern Beach
to Catalan Bay
58.9
2.5
9.5
30
Detached Mole
57.4
8
4.5
31
South Mole
Heavily modified and reclaimed shoreline
Mole of historic importance with EU protected marine species
Mole of historic importance with EU protected marine species
57.4
8
4.5
21
26
27
113
32
Lighthouse
33
West End
Runway
Anchorage
34
Seahawk
35
East side Sea
Cliffs
36
Cannon Pile
37
Crest Reef
38
40
Catalan Bay
Peter Ives'
Pinnacle
Commercial
dockyard and
Dry Docks
41
Dockyard Tower
complex
42
H.M.S. Erin
(Inner/Outer)
43
Airport Runway
44
Europa Reef
45
Vladi's Reef
46
Pilot Boat
39
48
Arca de Jesus
Cristo
Parsons Lodge
Battery
49
M.F.V. Helen
50
M.F.V.
Okeanos
47
51
52
Batty’s Barge
South Mole
Propeller
Only Trinity lighthouse outside of UK
Historic anchorage at the head of the Bay
of Gibraltar
A purposely sunk wreck with EU -protected
marine species
Geologic, prehistoric and biological
importance
Submerged site with over fifty 19th Century
cannon
Wreck site currently under investigation
Fishing village still with many traditional
boats, historic buildings and other maritime
features
and natural habitat importance
Historic late 19th/ early 20th Century Naval
Dry Docks of Gibraltar and associated
structures and buildings
Historic late 19th/ early 20th Century Naval
Base of Gibraltar and associated structures
and buildings
Wreck of armed trawler sabotaged during
WWII
WWII aircraft runway that juts out into the
sea and was a vital launch pad for the
Allied invasion of North Africa
species
species
Early 20th Century wreck of small harbour
patrol vessel
A purposely sunk fishing boat forming part
of an artificial reef
A (predominantly 19th Century) coastal
Battery sited above Rosia Bay
A purposely sunk wreck forming part of an
artificial reef
artificial reef
artificial reef
An aircraft propeller found on the seabed .
Currently under investigation
114
56.9
9
3
55.6
5.5
7
53.7
8
4
51.1
6.5
5.5
50.9
6
6
48.9
4
7.5
47.8
7
4.5
47.2
6.5
5
47.0
8
3
47.0
8
3
42.8
5.5
5.5
41.2
8
2
41.2
8
2
41.2
8
2
32.3
4
5.5
32.3
4
5.5
31.3
6.5
2.5
31.3
2.5
6.5
27.6
2.5
6
24.2
2.5
5.5
24.2
2.5
5.5
The pilot sites
53
482M Cable
Laying Barge
artificial reef
54
Camp Bay
Barges
55
Little Europa
Purposely sunk wrecks forming part of an
artificial reef
Submerged cliffs with geologic, prehistoric
and natural habitat importance
19.9
4
3.5
18.0
2.5
4.5
15.3
2.5
4
Application of the model to Gibraltar's submerged sites yields the following
scatterplot (fig. 2). The more equidistant a site is from each axis combined with increasing
distance away from the origin raises its Conservation Priority. To facilitate interpretation,
points can be allocated particular colours.
The colour allocation of the scatterplot of sites can be amended to suit particular
needs (e.g. colour coding wrecks, or specific score intervals), but in our model we have
found it useful to use the general arrangement shown.
The results clearly highlight the sites which require most urgent action, indicated by
those in red (having a Prioritization Score ≥ 90), with green, blue and black points
representing progressively decreasing priority. When these scores are plotted using a
GIS, it becomes possible to establish 'high conservation priority areas' where resources
could most economically be allocated to best effect. Such exercises are especially useful
when it highlights common interests and management requirements from more than one
responsible body (such as heritage and environment); (fig. 3) shows the results obtained
for submerged and coastal sites around Gibraltar with Prioritization Scores 60. (fig.3)
2. Scatterplot of Heritage
Scores v. Risk Status Scores.
Such a scatterplot allows a
rapid visualisation of the
relative conservation priorities
of each site, which can be
highlighted by colour-coding.
Key: Sites with a Prioritization
Score 90 ≥ ; < 90 to ≥ 60 ;
< 60 to 30 ≥ ; < 30 .
115
3
4
Scores can be also used in a predictive manner, e.g. to investigate the effect of
implementing new legislation. (fig. 4) Shows the results obtained to the Threat Values of
all 55 sites.
The system is also flexible enough to include further ranking axes, which can
further inform management decisions. In Gibraltar this has been done by also assessing
sites' educational and tourism potential. This can allow the further prioritization of sites on
the basis of their providing additional community value.
References
Fa, D.A. & Finlayson, G. (2008). Marine surveillance – Diving and Intertidal Survey.
Report produced for the Gibraltar Government Ministry of the Environment, submitted
December 2008.
Finlayson, C., Fa, D.A., Finlayson, G. & Viagas, C. (2001). Criteria for the management
of a fortress city – Gibraltar, a case study. In Urban Development and Preservation of the
Morphology of World Heritage Fortress Cities. 5th-7th September, Suwon City, Korea.
UNESCO, 53-70.
Finlayson, C. 2004. Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
st
Government of Gibraltar (1989). Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act, of the 1 of May, 1989.
http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1989-12o.pdf
Office for Official publications of the European Communities (2004). Council Directive
92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and
flora. EU Nature Conservation, European Commission.
3. GIS plot of sites with
Prioritization Scores 60 around
Gibraltar.
There is a clear aggregation of
sites in the locality of Rosia Bay
(circled). Based on our model,
this would be classified as a
'high conservation priority area'.
4. Change in Threat Values of
the 55 sites in this study based
on the application of draft
Heritage legislation.
A significant decrease in sites
with Threat Values greater than
7 can be clearly observed.
116
The pilot sites
CHAP.
TYRE - South2.9
Lebanon
A Governance Approach to a WH Site
Preamble
Tyre has been inscribed upon the World Heritage List in 1984 on the basis of
criteria III and VI of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Criterion III: Tyre is one of
the earliest metropolises. Criterion IV: The name of Tyre is associated with the production
of purple die, with the Phoenician expansion and the founding of trade posts in the
Mediterranean basin. The inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List gave this site a
universal value therefore it belongs to all humanity and to future generations.
Our role is to protect it and preserve it without compromising its authenticity and
integrity. For that reason all actions we undertake that meets our needs of the present
must not conflict with the spirit of the convention and compromise the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
The importance and value of Tyre
Tyre is a historic city with a unique and authentic cultural inheritance. It was
accordingly designated as World Heritage Site in 1984 by the international organization
UNESCO. The vestiges of millennia of human occupation and the succession and
achievements of different civilizations have given Tyre its special character and a
considerable wealth in cultural resources. This wealth is evident in the archaeological and
historic remains reminiscent of great civilizations like the Canaanite, the Phoenician, the
Hellenistic, the Roman, the Islamic, the Crusader and the Ottoman.
The cultural mélange juxtaposed with the natural beauty of the area have created a
place where man can reflect upon his past, wonder about the achievements of previous
civilizations, merge with the local culture and its rich inheritance, and interact with the
physical and legendary legacy of the place. Tyre is a unique place with a cultural
significance suggestive of a number of values; these values are listed and explained
below. The cultural significance of Tyre is a statement detailing the importance of the city
and defining the values that need to be respected, preserved and enhanced in the of a
conservation and tourist development approach to the city.
A city with a special heritage value
rd
Tyre is a city with an urban history stretching back to the 3 millennium BC. The
different civilizations that left their marks on the history and the urban character of the city
have contributed to the formation of a unique and authentic heritage depicted in
monuments ranging from luxuriously decorated funerary sarcophagi and complexes,
churches and cathedrals, triumphal arches and major colonnaded streets, aqueducts,
basins and large water installations, hippodrome, agora, bathes and pools, etc. The
international recognition of the importance and richness of this heritage culminated in
1984 in the nomination of Tyre as a world heritage site. Since then, Tyre has been the
focus of international interest and efforts are currently being made to launch an
international campaign for the safeguard of the city and its cultural landscape.
A sacred place
Associated with the veneration of the Canaanite-Phoenician god Melquart
(Heracles), the city gained a wide fame in the ancient world and was an important
religious center that attracted many pilgrims. Even Alexander the Great himself
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expressed his wish to present offerings to the Phoenician god of Tyre. The location of the
temple of Melquart remains until today undiscovered, it is believed to be situated on the
ancient island city site.
A biblical place
Mentioned in the Holy Bible and associated with the sacred journeys of Jesus
Christ and the history of St-Peter, Tyre and its area are important stages on the pilgrimage
road to the Holy Land. Such a tradition is reflected in the numerous Christian sanctuaries
in the city like for instance the early Christian church of the 4th century, the crusader
cathedrals and later churches and religious centers scattered across the old city. In the
Medieval period, Tyre was an archbishopric center and its history during that period was
documented in detail by its archbishop William of Tyre. The important role it has played in
the struggle between Crusaders and Muslims can still be traced in military and religious
installations in the city and the area.
A place of natural beauty
Tyre is endowed with a picturesque natural environment with a rich natural
diversity. From long sand beaches to forested areas and agricultural lands, the charm of
these green areas is increased by the warm glow of the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine
period as well as by the traditional sandstone architecture which merges beautifully with
the coastal environment. The rich variety of fish and wild animals constitutes an important
resource that should be protected. The creation of a natural reserve to the south of Tyre is
the first step towards the appreciation of these resources and their conservation for future
generations.
A place of decay
Archaeological remains and historic monuments of different ages found within the
archaeological sites, inside the Old City, in the surroundings of Tyre and underwater are not
only surviving testimonies of a distant past, but also philosophical statements reflecting the
powerlessness and incapacity of man in front of the power of time and nature. The traces of
great civilizations and the remote history of populations which lived and died at Tyre are
strongly evident in the monuments they have left behind and in the cultural legacy the
Tyrians still carry with them in their daily lives. The remains that reveal the achievements
and aspirations of previous nations leave us deeply contemplative of the role we play in this
current life and the position we occupy from the modern world.
A fishermen's city
Fishing was and still is one of the main occupations of the inhabitants of Tyre. This
traditional occupation is still a center of focus in the old city and the source of livelihood for a
substantial number of Tyrian families. Apart from being the center of a vivid social activity,
fishing and associated events are a major tourist attraction and a strong determinant of
local identity.
An important trade center
Tyre's trade importance is the consequence of the important commercial relations
the city established with its various colonies across the Mediterranean and with trade cities
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The pilot sites
all across the ancient world. Tyrian traders traveled by sea from their city as far west as the
Atlantic coast and to the southeast as far as the Arab Gulf. Several trade posts were
established to facilitate the transfer of goods from and to Tyre. The great wealth
accumulated from intensive trade activity was obviously reflected in the architecture of the
city. This flourishing activity was not restricted to the Phoenician period, but was rather a
long term phenomenon which was continued to the medieval period where Tyre was one of
the main harbors of Damascus and an important link for the exchange of exotic produces
from the east like spices, damascene textiles, glass and ceramics, unguents, etc.
A place of cultural interchange
Tyre has always been a point of contact between east and west. Its favorable
location and its mediating role drawing together the worlds of the Orient and the Occident
gave the city a unique history and a cultural environment unique to the area. The cultural
richness and diversity of Tyre is the result of the mixture of civilizations responsible for
spreading the alphabet, establishing a common culture across the Mediterranean,
creating cultural and commercial links between the various kingdoms of the ancient world,
and contributing to the advancement of script, history, philosophy, fine crafts, architecture,
and technology. Tyre carries a message to the world, a message of a shared rich cultural
legacy emanating from a distinctive local identity.
A rural place
The rural and agricultural environment of Tyre is an intrinsic part of the urban and
historical setting of the city. Tyre could not have developed without its countryside and its
rich produces. The preservation of the rural character of the Tyrian countryside is essential
for the conservation of the significance of the historic city. The agricultural fields and
orchards surrounding the city contribute to the aesthetic value of the place.
A legendary place
Tyre is associated with a number of legends and myths that reflect the way ancient
civilizations interpreted natural phenomena identified their position from the cosmos and
explained important aspects of daily life. Legends like the abduction of Elissar (Europa)
by Zeus and the creation of the European continent, the flight of Cadmus and the founding
of Phoenician colonies, the accidental discovery of the purple dye, the imperial purple,
and others as well, are testimonies to the central role of Tyre in the history of civilizations
and the shaping of the ancient world.
A harbor city
Tyre is a harbor city with a long tradition in fishing, sea faring, conquest and trade.
The harbor plays an important role in the socio-economy and cultural development of the
place giving it this special character that is particular to harbor settlements. The history of
the Phoenician people with the sea as central element is still alive in the remains
preserved underwater and in some of the modern installations of the present day harbor.
Sections of the Phoenician, Roman, Medieval and Ottoman harbor installations form a
dynamic resource of unique importance which requires proper treatment and evaluation
as well as integration in order to make it accessible to people's enjoyment and
appreciation.
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A place of festivities
The various monuments dedicated to festivities and public activities like the
hippodrome, the palaestrum, the Roman public pool, the modern football field and other
facilities in the city detail the central importance of public entertainment and communal
leisure to the populations of Tyre, past and present. The annual Tyre festival can be
regarded as a present manifestation of an age-old tradition. It attracts people from all over
Lebanon and from other countries as well. It is to be regarded as a cultural demonstration
of the rich heritage of the city.
A craftsmen's city
Tyre was famed for the fineness of its luxury products and the quality of its
craftsmanship. The exquisite value of ivory items, silver, glass and purple dye textiles was
appreciated by the ancient world and the products were carried over long distances by
Phoenician traders. Although some of these crafts still survive until today in the old
markets of Tyre, their preservation and revival are essential for maintenance of cultural
links with past.
A place of local resistance and military history
Tyre is a city proud of its local identity and character. It is also conscious of the role it
needs to play in the politics of the time and place. The sieges of Tyre by Nebuchadnassar
and Alexander the great and the refusal of the latter to capitulate under the threat of death
by the sword are examples of the determination of the inhabitants of this city to stand
strong in front of the oppressor and to resist the aggressor.
Summary of main UNESCO efforts for the safeguard of Tyre
The inclusion of Tyre on the World Heritage List is a direct consequence of the
International recognition of the importance, uniqueness and richness of this heritage.
The Lebanese Government, the party responsible for submitting the application for World
Heritage nomination, agrees to abide by the terms of the World Heritage convention with
respect to the protection and conservation of the World Heritage city. UNESCO is
consequently a main partner in the monitoring and protection of the site. In fact, since
1982, UNESCO has been active in the following fields of inquiry with respect to Tyre:
Assessment of the extension, nature and value of the heritage of Tyre.
Protection of archaeological sites from armed conflicts.
Evaluation of the various human and natural hazards threatening the
preservation of the heritage resources.
Evaluation of the various urban development plans and zoning regulations that
affect the integrity of the archaeological resources and historic and natural environments.
Proposal of guidelines and amendments to urban master plan for the integration
of heritage within socio-economic and tourism development plans.
Drafting plans for the management of the archaeological and heritage resources
of the city and its region.
Providing support and professional advice to the DGA to ensure the most proper
management of the archaeology, taking into consideration the limited resources of the
official institutions in the country.
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The pilot sites
1. A GIS 3D map showing the
stat of the built areas in 1975
(blue) and in 2006 (red)
The main recommendations for the conservation of the heritage of Tyre and its proper
management are:
The preparation of a management and revitalization plan for the city and its
region in collaboration with the DGA and DGU.
Protecting the Old City and the archaeological sites through the definition of non
aedificandi areas or buffer zones. The definition of special and sensitive building
regulations and the prohibition of the construction of buildings with more than 3 storeys in
the immediate proximity of monuments.
The collection of all documentation pertaining to the history and archaeology of
Tyre including reference to the previous state of the sites of Tyre; the creation of a
Documentation Center for the city.
The execution of a complete survey of the nature and extension of the heritage
resources of Tyre including those that lye underwater.
The conservation of the archaeological remains and the re-burial of those not
intended for public presentation. Urgent measures must be taken in order to conserve
fragile features like mosaics, opus sectile floors and frescos.
Organizing visitor information and management.
Staff development at the DGA in order to cope with the requirements of heritage
conservation and management.
The reconciliation of urban development and tourism with the preservation of
heritage as a decisive factor.
Vulnerability of the heritage assets (defining issues)
Urban development
The UNESCO World Heritage Center has often stressed the need for a
comprehensive Urban Master Plan for Tyre and its region. The plan would organize
building construction, preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the city and help
develop tourism in a sustainable form. The idea of such a comprehensive master plan
developed in 1982, i.e., prior to the inclusion of Tyre on the World Heritage List.
In fact, between the years 1975 and 1990, the war in Lebanon prevented the
archaeological activities but not the development of the city. Consequently, some
destruction of the buried archaeological remains occurred due to uncontrolled
urbanization. This situation increased since 1990,
jeopardizing the remaining archaeological potential areas
of ancient Tyre. Furthermore, in 2003 a new Urban Plan
was designed for the city and its surroundings creating a
real pressure on the heritage management authorities.
Within this urban plan, many land portions owned by the
government were to be freed, sectioned and sold for
construction. Aware of these threats, the DGA aimed to
carry out a wide range survey for the potential
archaeological remains of Tyre and its surroundings in
order to build up an Archaeological Map that will act as a
Risk Map on the basis of which the decision making
process will be performed by the DGA and the Lebanese
authorities.
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The Land Archaeological Risk Map: Aims and Methodology
By achieving the archaeological risk map of Tyre, the DGA aimed to tackle more
than one important issue related to the archaeology and history of this city:
I - On the archaeological and heritage level
· The DGA would complete as much as possible its knowledge about the
settlement pattern. Consequently, defining its boundaries during the different
historic periods.
· The DGA would also define archaeological protection zones requiring specific
measures, within areas that are under the imminent threat of developing hazards.
II - On the strategic level the DGA aims to:
· Adopt a preventive approach, thus improving the stability conditions between
development works and protection of cultural resources.
· Propose mitigation actions in order to avoid conflict.
· Enhance the potential significance of cultural landscapes and create a new
framework for reconciling development and conservation.
III - On the methodological level the aims are to:
· Build up a package of tools and methods to be used in future large scale
development and construction works.
· Provide the framework for developing new methodologies and strategies for
monitoring heritage sites at risk.
· Create a geographical data-base of the most sensitive archaeological regions
and develop red flag models and mapping.
· Provide an integrated tool for the conservation of cultural heritage within the
existing social, economic, political, cultural and environmental frameworks, in
order to achieve a sustainable development.
Methods and techniques
In addition to the field walking, two other methods were used in parallel, the remote
sensing and the geophysical surveying. The remote sensing focused mainly on the
Investigations in the IR channel. The ground that lies behind this approach is based on the
well known fact that under the direct effect of sun light, shallow ground disturbances
create a differential heat response in soil and vegetation canopies that can be detected
using the IR satellite channels. The proper treatment of the IR signatures significantly
enhances soil marks enabling us to detect archaeological features hidden under the
vegetation cover With this technique, much emphasis is placed on pattern recognition
methodologies following a basic tenet from the IR IKONOS image interpretation that
humans tend to produce constructions with regular geometries (circles, ovals,
rectangles, lines that reflect various architectural features), while most patterns in nature
tend to be less regular (with some exceptions). In order to ascertain whether the thermal
anomalies represent true variations in the physical properties of the materials, the data
have to be verified with the geophysical surveys that were performed on site. Two main
methods were used in the geophysical survey: The Magnetometry and the Ground
Penetrating Radar.
Results
After the mapping of the features detected using both geophysical and remote
sensing methods in addition to the results of the field walking survey and the already
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The pilot sites
known archaeological remains, we were able to have a
clearer view of the settlement extensions, the territory
boundaries in addition to land use patterns in Tyre.
Consequently, the areas to be protected are defined more
clearly giving the DGA strong arguments allowing us to
impose strong protection measures. On the other hand,
by adopting those non-intrusive techniques, we were able
to detect the signatures of many important archaeological
buried features. Thus, reducing the excavation works by
concentrating them into the danger zones and the
intended development areas.
In addition, the DGA has developed a direct action
plan with two distinct strategies:
I. The areas of minor threat will be subject to test
trenching in order to evaluate the exact depth, nature and importance of the
archaeological deposits.
II. The areas of eminent threat will be subject first to trial trenching which will define
the best approaches to be undertaken: either conservation of the archaeological potential
or undertaking large-scale excavations.
We clearly think, that with the continuous use of this newly adopted approach, we
will be able to asses more easily the importance of the remains. This will allow us to have
wider space for maneuver vis-à-vis the protection or mitigation strategies to be adopted
and discussed with the governmental developing agencies. Nevertheless, UNESCO
stresses furthermore that the Old City, its sea front and the fishing harbor are components
of the same entity that should not be partitioned. Consequently, the ensemble requires a
coherent approach that will guarantee the global protection of the site and its integrity, the
conservation of its historic monuments, and the management of its tourist development.
Harbor extension (A tourist marina in Tyre)
A marina project has been always proposed by the local authorities to be
implemented near the fishing harbor. The location was used as a docking area for cargo
ships transporting used cars imported mainly from Europe.The purpose of the Tourist
Marina is to make accessible the cultural and natural resources of a place to a larger class
of people. Consequently, it must not jeopardize the same resources it pretends to make
available for people's enjoyment. The creation of the marina will help develop and boost
tourism in the Tyre area as a means of improving the socio-economic conditions of this
part of Lebanon. Tyre is a multi-faceted tourism package of historic and archaeological
importance; it possesses a huge cultural tourism potential with underwater resources,
sun and beach tourism, and a strong historic legacy with rich traditions and folklore, crafts
and natural beauty. Tyre enjoys a moderate climate throughout the year, a special natural
landscape, a strong mythical background and a unique aesthetic value. Moreover, the
fame of Tyre as World Heritage City increases the tourist potential of the place. The tourist
marina project at Tyre will service the process of attracting visitors to the area. It is an
important infrastructure need targeting Mediterranean tourism.
Potential impact on the underwater archaeology and the harbor
2. Tyre’s fishermen harbor.
The underwater archaeology situated within the present harbor area of Tyre has
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always been a center of interest for archaeologists and historians. French archaeologist
A. Poidebard was the first to dive in the harbor area for purposes of archaeological inquiry.
He discovered underwater remains of ancient jetties and other installations. In 1960,
British archaeologist Honor Frost conducted limited explorations in the area and reached
similar conclusions as to the nature and importance of these remains.
Socio-cultural impact
The harbor area of Tyre is a dynamic and self-contained space where social
activity is rich and varied. In this area, social bonds and human relations are created and
renewed through traditional and leisure activities of fishermen and inhabitants. The
inhabitants of the old quarters go on daily walks to the harbor area. The fishermen
maintain a constant presence there; when they are not involved in fishing activity, they
indulge in traditional social practices like storytelling, gatherings in cafés, card games,
etc. Moreover, they conduct the traditional craft of net spreading and fixing, boat cleaning
and repair on a daily basis and under the wondering eyes of visitors and tourists. This
social interaction between fishermen, visitors, and local inhabitants is an important facet
of daily life at Tyre. It forms part of the traditional heritage of the city in need of
preservation. The construction of a tourist marina in the harbor zone of Tyre can upset the
social balance of the area if it does not respect its rules and avoid encroaching on its
space.
The Underwater Archaeological Risk Map: Aims and Methodology
In this context, the exploration of part of the harbor of Tyre was undertaken, as a
preliminary measure for assessing the potential impact such a plan can have on the
underwater heritage. The main findings of the DGA archaeology Team can be
summarized to the following (see plan provided by the underwater survey report):
The discovery of two large masonry walls (measuring each ca. 95 and 85ms with
masonry blocks of 2.25 x 0.45 x 0.55ms) running east-west, parallel to each other and to
the modern jetty, and situated at a distance of 8ms from each other. The walls are possibly
the remains of an ancient jetty connected to the northeastern tip of the island and used in
classical and medieval times.
A 13ms long wall of similar width and height running north-south and connecting
the two parallel walls from their eastern extremities, thus closing the space between them
from that edge.
Two walls running north-south with respective dimensions of 25 x 9ms and 13 x
4ms (masonry blocks are of different shapes and sizes with the largest block amounting
to 1.90 x 0.45 x 0.55ms).
A number of columns and masonry blocks scattered alongside the alignment of
the modern jetty and to the east of it as well.
A number of underwater deposits of large size that could cover archaeological
features like shipwrecks, constructions, etc.
Scattered deposits of ceramics and other artifacts.
From the preliminary findings of the archaeology team, it is obvious that the
underwater area of the harbor is packed with archaeological features and objects. This is
of course not an unusual phenomenon at Tyre as the harbor is historically attested since
st
at least the Iron Age period (i.e., from the 1 millennium BC). Subsequent harbor
installations for protection, extension and defense, stretching from the classical to the
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The pilot sites
medieval period are to be expected. Moreover the richness of the area in historic
shipwrecks, themselves an important heritage resource, is already evident from the
existence of heaps of stone, sand and archaeological material (possibly pertaining to
ships sunk on purpose in order to block the entrance to the harbor in times of war), as well
as archaeological features like piers and jetties, ancient artifacts like pottery of different
periods, indicate the long use of the harbor throughout history and the valuable historical
information available underwater. Such resources can play a decisive role in the
development of a cultural tourism infrastructure at Tyre revolving around the history and
mythology of the Phoenicians, Alexander the Great, the Romans, the Crusaders and the
Arabs, as well as around the topography and extension of the city underwater. The limited
survey, restricted to the area directly to the north of the modern jetty and to the entrance of
the harbor from the east side proves that a substantial amount of buried features remains
to be discovered underwater. The regular accidental discovery of artifacts during
cleaning operations inside the harbor shows that much more is to be expected in that
particular area of the harbor. The impact of the projected tourist marina on the underwater
archaeology can be detrimental and damaging if it involves the installation or construction
of new permanent features, like piers, jetties, platforms and other facilities in the harbor
area. Judging from the preliminary underwater survey at Tyre harbor, the value and
significance of the archaeological resources is overwhelming because of the rarity, level
of preservation and easy accessibility (shallow depth) and visibility of these
archaeological features. Their tourist potential is, needless to say, enormous and can
contribute largely to the development of the tourist industry in Tyre and the creation of
additional employment for its inhabitants.
Results and mitigation options
In case a balance is to be established between the preservation of the
archaeological resources underwater and the construction of a tourist marina in the
harbor area, the available options that can guarantee the less possible damage to the
underwater resources are:
Conducting works in areas which are free from underwater archaeological
remains. This can be assessed by executing a localized underwater survey of the area
where construction is to take place. If the archaeological potential of such an area is
inexistent, construction might take place in the context of an environmentally sympathetic
design that respects the historic and natural setting of the area. Special budgets must be
allocated to such underwater surveys. They are expensive and time consuming and
might jeopardize the financial viability and timetable of the engineering project. They are
nevertheless necessary in order to map, once and for all, the location and importance of
the underwater heritage. The evaluation of the results of the surveys must rest with the
DGA. The priority of the DGA so far is to safeguard the threatened heritage resources of
the area without really creating a new situation where intervention will be necessary and
pressure will be drawn on staff and DGA infrastructure. Consequently, the decision to go
ahead with this option must be carefully taken and a preliminary dialogue with the parties
involved must precede the final definition of a strategy.
Conducting works in areas that have already been damaged by previous nonsympathetic construction i.e. the area of the present commercial harbor. The concrete
platform of that harbor is left unused in the majority of the time and is quite shanty and rundown creating a serious encroachment in the area. The rehabilitation of this area, after
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the transfer of the commercial harbor out of Tyre, and their conversion into tourist docking
areas and facilities can prove to be a successful operation on the level of urban
improvements in that area.
Constructing the harbor outside the area of the historic harbor of Tyre, in a place
where underwater archaeology is not known to exist.
3. Photo showing the top of the
ancient jetty
4.Underwater sounding
executed on the northern side
of the ancient jetty
Results and mitigation options (Socio-cultural)
The socio-cultural activity inherent to the dynamism of the harbor is an important
characteristic of daily life at Tyre and a valuable aspect of the traditional heritage of the
city. The proposed marina construction can disturb or damage the social balance
maintained at the harbor side if it encroaches on the domain of the fishermen and if it
creates a new demand on space at the level of the seafront and the Old City promenade.
Consequently, the marina construction should avoid the following:
Avoid encroaching on the fishermen's harbor because it is already crowded and
polluted. The fishermen should not have their own space in the harbor reduced nor should
they be forced to adapt to physical constraints brought about by the insertion of the tourist
marina. Consequently, the tourist marina should be located more towards the commercial
harbor rather than close to the fishermen's harbor in need of rehabilitation.
The marina should avoid reclaiming areas restricted to its use from the maritime
front. Access to the marina piers by the local inhabitants should be made available with a
certain level of control.
Cultural interaction between visitors and local inhabitants should be encouraged
and should take place in gardens, open spaces and restaurants and cafés.
The number of vessels the marina could host at one time should be kept to a
reasonable minimum 20-30 max. Small to medium size boats so as not to create pressure
on the cultural resources of the area, reduce pollution and
maintain the serene and peaceful character of the Old
City.
3
Natural Risks
Sea level rise
During the underwater archaeological survey of the
northern bay of Tyre, the archaeologists reported many
submerged structures - still in situ - relating most probably
to the roman era. They were at a depth of 6m under the
actual sea level. The reason behind their submersion is
due to the sea level change occurred during the last 2000
years. In fact, in coastal areas, relative sea-level change
is often thedominant factor in geomorphologic evolution.
Such changes are due to a mix of 3 geologic processes:
eustatic sea-level rise or fall (due to the melt of polar ice),
vertical tectonic movements of the regional land mass
(normal tectonic & earth quakes), and addition to or
removal of coastal sedimentary deposits. Sediment infill
from eroding uplands has landlocked many ports of
historic importance. Nearly 150 years ago C.T. Beke first
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4
The pilot sites
5. Relative variations of the sea
level in the Persian Gulf (after
Sanlaville 2000)
presented geological evidence for a theory of delta advance at the mouth of the TigrisEuphrates system. Cuneiform texts imply that the Sumerian city of Ur was a port, possible
on a large fresh-water lake in the Euphrates delta; Ur is now more than 100 km from the
sea. The Nile River now has 2 main branches in it delta. Herodotus recorded 5 branches;
Ptolemy listed 8. In his book, Le Moyen Orient Arabe, Sanlaville (2000) presents a
charted curve indicating sea level change in the lower Mesopotamian and the Persian
Gulf since 9000 B.C. In the coastal zone of Tyre, similar changes in sea level occurred
during the last 2000 years affecting the position of the shoreline. Consequently, harbor
structures dating from the roman era lie nowadays beneath the sea.
Causes of change (eustasy & differential tectonic)
According to GODWIN (1943), SHEPARD and SUESS (1956), JELGERSMA and
PANNEKOEK (1960) and CURRAY (1961), the level of the oceans rose by 40 m or more
at the end of the last glacial period. This rise slowed down about 7000 B.P. so much that
since then the level of the oceans has not changed more than ca. 2 or 3 m. Local ocean
level changes in both pre-historic and historic times have been attributed to local vertical
movements of the shores, or to local changes of impediments in the flowing of the tides.
Only worldwide synchronized changes of the ocean level are thought to be caused
by the melting or freezing of the ice shields on the poles. In general, the velocity of eustatic
level changes of the oceans is slow and of the order of millimeters per year particularly if
there was no proof of visible faulting. As long as the possibility of short and sudden
eustatic oscillations is not considered, all signs found on the coast of relatively sudden
sea level changes are taken as an indication of tectonic movements. Consequently, by
tacitly excluding the possibility of sudden eustatic sea level changes, tectonic changes
are considered the main elements that have caused the submergence, and sometimes
contemporary emergence of important coastal features like ports.
Recent & Historic Data
The “present sea level” seems to have been reached in the 16th century; since that
date there have been no indications of any permanent change of an order greater than 40
cm. (BLOCH, M.R.: 1964). In a research conducted by a group of French researchers
(GRGS/UMR39 and CLS) aiming to monitor actual fluctuation of the Mediterranean sea
level, three years of TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) data were analyzed in the Mediterranean
as part of the European MAST MERMAIDS-II project. The project also aims to improve
scientific knowledge of the circulation and marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean. The
contribution of the group (GRGS/UMR39 and CLS) focuses on analyzing
T/P and ERS-1 data and assimilating them in a numerical
model. The main results (mean level, ocean circulation,
and assimilation) are illustrated below indicating the
mean sea level in the Mediterranean between October
1992 and August 1995. (AYOUB, N., et al., 1995).
As for more ancient data, usually historic records,
archaeological and geo-archaeological data are the main
core material for our research studies. Consequently, we
know that the area of Haithabu (near Schleswig England) flourished during the period of 900 A.D.; as the
127
land was 1 m higher above the level of the sea than today,
it follows that the sea must have been at a low
(KENSTER, E.J., 1960). Until the 13th century Yarmouth
(Great Yarmouth on the shore of the northern see England) was at least 10 ft. higher above the sea than now
(CLARKE, 1960, p.22). We also know that the ocean was
several meters below present day level during most of the
first millennium B.C. This is indicated by the local results
of GODWIN (1943) in the Fenlands of East Anglia as well
as by 14C data relating to the Dutch coast where no
warping is supposed to have taken place (JELGERSMA,
S., 1961). It would also seem that all Greek and
Phoenician ports between 700 B.C. and 50 A.D. were built
in the sea (present level), or more probably, at a sea level
several meters below the present. The fact that several
fastening devices for ships found in ports of the 1st
millennium B.C. were meters below present sea level, has
been explained as a tectonic submergence; this applies to
those in Petuoli, the Adriatic coast near Triese, Sicily and
in Asia Minor.
The same explanation is given for the Roman salt
pans which were found 3 m below present sea level in
excavation at Venice (DE BIZZARO, P.C., 1901). All those
facts are related to both deferential tectonic movements
and eustatic sea level oscillations. Around the mid first
century B.C. the island of Iktin (which was the chief source
of supply of tin from the British island to the East) was
described by Diodorus Siculus as an island connected by
ridge with the mainland, passable at low tide. If DE
BEER'S (1960: pp. 161-162) identification of this island is
correct, then it follows that the sea was
somewhat lower in Diodorus' time than today (BLOCH, M.R.: 1964) In the Crimean area,
ports and towns which were founded and inhabited from about 500 B.C. to 300 B.C. are
now partly under water, and even their defensive walls are inundated (MONGAIT, A.L.,
1961: p. 199). Thus the Black Sea like the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,
was considerably lower in the middle of the first millennium B.C. and at the dawn and in
the middle of the first millennium A.D. than at present (BLOCH, M.R.: 1964).
6
7
Results
On the basis of the above stated information, Tyre, like other southern port's
settlement in the Mediterranean sea, follows the same process, i.e. due to the tectonic
movement and to the eustatic change, they had their ports flooded and their shores
shrank since the Hellenistic ca.333 B.C. 64 B.C. and roman period ca. 64 B.C. 395 A.D.
Preliminary results of the recent studies conducted by the General Directorate of
Antiquities with the CNRS team of the CEREGE of Marseille show that the Sidon ancient
shoreline lies under the present level. The results concerning Tyre follow the same
pattern.
128
6. Mean sea level (in m)
in the Mediterranean,
October 1992 to August 1995
(TOPEX/POSEIDON cycles 2 to
106).
7. The great Levant Transform
Fault (LFT) which forms the
tectonic boundary between the
Arabian plate and the
African plate
The pilot sites
Seismic risks
8
9
Lebanon is crossed by the great Levant Transform
Fault (LFT) which forms the tectonic boundary between
the Arabian plate and the African plate. The speed of the
LFT is estimated to be 1 cm / year since the Miocene.
When this fault reaches southern Lebanon, it splits into a
fan-like system: Three main fault systems with mainly the
Yammouneh fault lying parallel to Mount Lebanon,
running NNE and reaching the Eastern Anatolian Fault;
the Serghaya fault east of Yammouneh with Mount
Hermon, the chain of the Anti-Lebanon and the
Palmereids folding; to the west, the Roum Fault, which is
relayed offshore by a complex system thrusting system
forming an arch which, once arrived at Tripoli, produces a
70m escarpment dividing the city into two.We are thus
faced with a partitioning of the movement from the South
that produced the uplift of Mount Lebanon. This is young and vigorous tectonics and the
associated deformation is evenly distributed between shortening in the EW direction and
NS left-lateral strike-slip faulting. Mount Lebanon culminates at 3080m and a preliminary
study gives an uplift rate of 5 mm / year. It is also a mountain that plunges directly into the
sea with an almost non-existent continental shelf in such a manner that less than 10 km
offshore, we are already at depths of -1500. This tectonic dynamics puts Lebanon in
general and Tyre in particular under a continuous seismic risk. This risk is confirmed by
the last seismic crisis that hit south Lebanon in 2008. Furthermore, historic records testify
of a long series of quakes affecting the entire coastal zone. The southern part of Tyre city
site which is submerged under the sea is one of many testimonies of this seismic history.
The underwater survey of the southern coastal area of Tyre revealed important
discoveries related to the ancient roman city. As mentioned before, part of this city is
nowadays submerged under the sea. The explanation is that all this part of the city was
submerged due to the combined effect of the sea level rise and the differential tectonic.
Furture projects and resolutions
ARCHAEOMAP project has open new horizons for future investigations and
research projects in Tyre's waterfront area. The claims to continue the investigations are
more than needed.
Detailed mapping of Tyre's waterfronts
This project will be executed exclusively by both DGA and CNRSL.
Project details
8 - 9. Images of submerged
structures in Tyre’s southern
bay
Within the sea, surrounding the WH site of Tyre lays numerous archaeological
features. In addition to shipwrecks, parts of the old roman city drowned in the sea namely
the part of the insular site to the south-west of the city. Furthermore, to the north of the
actual harbor jetty, an older jetty lies at 6m below sea level. This latter is surrounded by
sand dunes having many shipwrecks. The CNRSL conducted a bathymetry survey along
the Lebanese coast. Nevertheless, a 100 meters strip from the shoreline towards the
129
territorial water was not included within the framework of the project. Furthermore, within
the framework of the ARCHAEOMAP project, the Lebanese DGA did surveys in these
areas in order to map the locations and extents of the submerged archaeological
Heritage. Important data has been recorded since. Still, the work is not yet finished and
still need to be completed using geophysical survey technologies that were not used until
now in water (Numerous Geophysical surveys were done on land by the DGA). Within the
framework of the future project, targeted areas specified by the DGA will be surveyed in
collaboration with the Center of Geophysics at the CNRSL.The activities will include, the
updating of the existing GIS map already having the locations and coordinates of the
previously surveyed archaeological features in addition to the areas to be Geophysicaly
surveyed. Consequently, new feature resulting from the new survey will be added.
11. An aerial photo taken by
A. Poidebard at the beginning
of the 20th century of the
southern submerged part
of the city
12. Map presenting the results
of the bathymetry survey
conducted by the CNRSL along
the Lebanese coast
Outcomes
These proposed projects will undoubtedly allow the DGA to have additional data
enabling her to redefine the marine protection zones of Tyre's WH Sites and
consequently precise the framework of future scientific and Archaeological projects to be
undertaken in this area.
11
130
12
chap. III
The O.N.G. contribution to the
diffussion of culture
CHAP.
3.1
The Bourbon
Arsenal of Palermo
Exhibition space for the sea
To preserve the natural, cultural and underwater heritage of Palermo's Gulf, the
Committee of the Arsenal (Figure 1) with the collaboration of Soprintendenza del Mare of
Palermo in the year 2006 drafted a project to research in the underwater, with a deepness
of 40 meters, the vessels wrecks that participated to the naval battle of Palermo on 2th
June 1676.
Besides for the construction of galleries, the arsenal was a reference point for the
fleets that suffered damage as they sailed in the waters surrounding Sicily. The damaged
vessels could be repaired in the port of Palermo.
In 1674 the uprising in Messina fomented by the French was vigorously repressed
by the Spanish. The Dutch fleet, under the orders of Admiral Michael Ruiter, came to the
aid of the Spanish fleet. The admiral died in the battle of Augusta and, owing to great
damage it had suffered, the fleet had to set sail for Palermo for repairs in the arsenal
where qualified guilds worked.
On the evening of May 30, 1676 news arrived the French fleet was sighted
between the islands of Alicudi and Filicudi, while the next day the Dutch fleet was warned
that the French fleet, under the orders of the Duke of Vivonne, could be seen already from
the town of Termini, where it had also captured two boats with their loads of wheat.
Towards five o'clock in the afternoon the French fleet appeared at the horizon of the
Gulf of Palermo. Jon d'Haen, the new admiral who took command of the fleet at the death
of the great admiral Michael Ruiter, ordered the Spanish and Dutch ships being towed by
the gallery to assume an arc-shaped formation going from the fort of the dock to the mouth
of the Oreto River. This was a fatal mistake.
The ships, flanked one next to the other, had little space for maneuver and were
positioned opposite the Castle at sea which was downwind thus blocking its artillery.
On Monday, June 1, there was only a skirmish between the vanguards at Acqua dei
Corsari the Corsairs' Waters. It was a way for the French to test the solidity of the DutchSpanish fleet and foolishness of its formation. The decisive clash between the two fleets
took place the next day at ten o'clock in the morning.
The French had larger and more powerful vessels as well as a greater number of
galleries which, thanks to their greater maneuverability, were very important owing to the
absence of wind. The French launches and feluccas supported the operations of the
other vessels. The Dutch-Spanish ships immediately returned fire after the first
broadsides of the French fleet, but the wind was blowing towards the city and the smoke
produced by the artillery soon engulfed it with a thick cloud blocking its view.
At this point the French put into action their strategy. A number of fire-ships namely
barges loaded with pitch and other inflammable materials camouflaged like warships
were sent towards the Dutch-Spanish fleet thus fooling Don Diego d'Iguarra, the general
of the Spanish ships, which moved towards them with the “King of Spain”, a true floating
fortress (Figure 2). But, although it sank two of these fire-ships, the ship under his
command soon came into contact with the others and caught fire.
Don Diego d'Iguarra was injured twice and was put half dead into a Feluca to be
taken ashore, but the boat, weighted by part of part of the panic-stricken crew who was
trying to escape, sank thus drowning everyone. In the meantime the other ships
manovring blindly in this inferno of smoke and fire were viciously hit by the broadsides of
the French vessels. The King of Spain, “a citadel floating on the sea, magnificent for its
133
size and capacity, superb and rich for its craftsmanship and exploded projecting debris of
all kinds on the city.
The guilds of Palermo who had unsuccessfully requested the artillery pieces from
the archbishop who substituted the viceroy in governing the city while he was absent
broke into the storerooms, carried away the cannons, pulled them along the Cassaro,
mounted them on the bulwarks on the sea and shot the first blanks.
The French fleet under the command of Vivonne suffered considerable damage
and to retreat without reaping the fruit of its victory.
The losses of the Dutch-Spanish fleet were enormous and John d'Hean, the vice
admiral commanding the fleet, died in the battle as well.
The people of Palermo who watched the battle from the top of the city walls sided
with the Spanish not for any sort of love towards them, but only for their hatred for
Messina, whose vanity of being the capitol of the reign, fuelled by France, had made it
much more than a rival for Palermo. It was its enemy. Many wrecks of the battle are today
in the Gulf and we are looking for a serious research. It was a most important battle in 17th
century and the most important historical event of the Arsenal Palermo's life before to be
the headquarter of the English fleet during the period when the King of Naples lived in
Palermo under the protection of Admiral Horatio Nelson.
After the Sicilian revolution leadered by Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Picciotti on
1860 the life of Arsenal was designated to be a prison and after the end of 18 the arsenal
was used like ware house. The Arsenal is located towards the end of via dell'Arsenale and
it borders with the Fincantieri Shipyard and the fabulous villa of Marquis De Gregorio
(Figure 3). The vessels of the Royal Navy and private shipbuilders were built in the area
behind the building. Today this part of the city is a true open-air museum which needs to
be revalued (Figure 4).
In the area around the Arsenal stand Villa De Gregorio, the Florio shipyards, the
English Cemetery, Montalbo Palace and many more buildings of great interest. The
Arsenal was built between 1621 an 1630 on the project of the architect Mariano Smiriglio,
a great figure in Italian Mannerism.
The two-storey building has a regular form; in the
upper part of the façade there is the Bourbon coat of arms
with an eagle head and the inscription: Philippi IV Hispan,
utriusque siciliae regis III, auspiciis augustis, navale
armamentarium inchoatum, perfectum MDCXXX (Figure
5). The Arsenal of Palermo was the place where the
xebecs (Figure 6) and galleys (Figure 7) that helped on
the fight against the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean
Sea where built. In fact, Sicilian ships played a leading
role in many sea battles.
Today the only shipyard in Sicily is the one in
Palermo and hence it is the only testimony of the Sicilian
maritime legacy which regard to the construction of
warship and merchant ships.
The museum currently is composed of:
- the historical section (Figure 8);
- the photographic section;
- the maritime traditions section;
134
1
1. Arsenal's committee logotype
2. The models, Spanish
Galleon S. Felipe
2
4
3
3
3. Maritime Museum Arsenal
of Palermo
4. Maritime Museum's hall
Arsenal of Palermo
5. Eagle's coat of arms
Arsenal of Palermo
6. The models, Sicilian
military Xebec
7. The models, Flagship
Galley of Sicily
8. The collections, Bourbon
guns, 1781-1785
9. Historical Parade of the
Reggimento Marina after the
restoring works of Arsenal of
Palermo, charging gun,
September 2008
10. Historical Parade of the
Reggimento Marina after the
restoring works of Arsenal of
Palermo, military parade,
September 2008
5
- the maritime engines section;
- the ship model section;
- the Barbary pirates section;
Another important activity is the dissemination of elements of maritime culture in schools
of all types and the organization or events for the promotion of businesses involving the
sea. In the last September 2008, after the restoring works, the Sicilian Region and the
Maritime Museum opened the Arsenale to the public for itinerant exhibitions and
conference relating the theme of maritime heritage (Figures 10-11).
A shoot of a gun replica, during the Historical Parade of the Reggimento Marina,
declared a new Period of activities and after the International meeting on Maritime
Heritage, the Arsenal hosted an important exhibition coming from Spain in collaboration
with Spanish Government (Figure 12).
In order to the cultural maritime's diffusion the Arsenal of Palermo organize school
laboratories and university's tutoring. The participation as partner to important European
Projects of Culture 2000 with public partners like Generalitat Valenciana (GothicMed),
Museu Maritim Barcelona (Mediterrania) and Regione Siciliana (Archaeomap) is a
particular moment of the Committee's life.
The implementation of the collections is the main goal in this period but many
difficulties of financial character make the way very hard, but to preserve an important
monument is very interesting for the history of the Mediterranean Sea. Finally we have
implemented the services offered to the public with a little bibliotheca open for the
students and the lovers of maritime culture.
11. The Exhibitions, “Espana
nel Mediterraneo” at the first
floor of Maritime Museum Arsenal of Palermo
135
6
7
8
9
10
11
136
CHAP.
Importanza 3.2
della conservazione del
patrimonio culturale
e la diffusione delle informazioni
International Institute for the Study of Man partecipa al progetto Archaeomap
focalizzando l'attenzione sulla duplice importanza costituita per un verso dalla
conservazione del Patrimonio Culturale e, per altro, dalla diffusione delle informazioni.
Prima di entrare nello specifico del tema che si intende trattare si ritiene necessario
puntualizzare cosa si intenda per Patrimonio culturale in una accezione antropologica.
Patrimonio culturale è tutto ciò che è stato realizzato dall'uomo nel corso della sua storia e
come tale non soltanto il mondo degli oggetti che rispecchiano le risposte culturali alle
sue necessità, ma la weltanschauung, ossia la visione del mondo e della vita di una
comunità che è l'ossatura stessa di ogni società. In altri termini Patrimonio come identità
che non nasce tout court ma si costruisce nel tempo attraverso i segmenti culturali, i tratti,
preservati dopo che le dominazioni sono passate o gli incontri/scontri con altri popoli
cessati, segmenti trattenuti perché risultati funzionali alla propria organizzazione, che
vanno a costituire quella specificità che è possibile riscontrare all'interno di una regione.
In quest'ottica si è privilegiato uno di questi segmenti: l'uso dello spazio nella quotidianità
del vissuto esitato nel corso del tempo in architetture costruite con certi parametri
piuttosto che altri, perché legate alla abitudini e alla maniera di vivere che hanno
determinato stili e modelli artistici.
Un riferimento al passato è d'obbligo, perché nella storia è possibile leggere il
percorso fatto dalle comunità per perimetrare il proprio privato, legandolo alle specificità
del dictat vigente in quel quadro culturale.
Il sito di Himera, nei pressi di Termini Imprese, in provincia di Palermo, consente di
leggere la riproposta nella fondazione della nuova città secondo i parametri della cultura
di origine e fa comprendere come le scelte attuate nel corso della storia di una comunità
rimangano tratto peculiare della cultura di appartenenza non solo in patria, ma anche in
esilio. Marc Augè, anzi, sottolinea come la forza dell'etnicità fuori della patria d'origine sia
più forte quando si è lontano dalla propria terra. Nel nostro caso l'architettura più
palesemente di altro mostra quel cordone ombelicale mai reciso tra i fuggiaschi greci e la
cultura di appartenenza. Nel caso di Himera i coloni ripropongono gli isolati,
l'organizzazione spaziale della polis, i luoghi del sacro nelle tipologie canoniche e il
mondo che si sono dovuti lasciare alle spalle, perpetuando una familiarità di tratti
tramandata da generazioni.
La lezione di quel retaggio tipologico abitativo non ha cessato il suo ruolo storico
con i coloni: ha influito, infatti, sull'organizzazione del territorio siciliano tra il Cinquecento
e il Settecento quando si è presentato il problema della riorganizzazione economica e
sociale delle campagne siciliane.
Le architetture rurali, infatti, che intorno al Cinque-Seicento sono presenti in Sicilia,
rimandano a moduli spaziali in cui è possibile leggere il debito culturale nei confronti del
mondo greco e romano. Ci si riferisce alla tipologia masseria presente soprattutto nelle
campagne della Sicilia orientale e al baglio tipico dell'area occidentale dell'isola che taluni
attribuiscono, invece, all'influenza araba, che, in ogni caso non si discosta da quell'ottica
se si riflette sulla lunga dominazione romana che ha interessato i popoli della fascia
settentrionale africana.
Sul modulo costruttivo di ieri, nel corso della storia, le architetture rurali vengono
adeguate alle nuove esigenze, nel rispetto della diffusione tipologica areale: nella Sicilia
137
orientale la diffusione della masseria o masseria fortificata con caratteristiche ricettive e
protettive, rispondente ai problemi che crea il brigantaggio interno; nella Sicilia
occidentale la diffusione del baglio con l'inglobamento di uno o più spazi interni chiusi,
idonei per un verso a proteggere i contadini dai pirati che saccheggiano uomini e cose
lungo le coste, e sino a tutto l'Ottocento, per altro per l’organizzazione lavorativa e la
conservazione dei prodotti della terra.
In questa direzione l'International Institute ha continuato a leggere i mutamenti
avvenuti nella spazialità quando mutamenti si profilano alla fine del Seicento, per un
duplice ordine di ragioni: la Sicilia orientale per il terremoto distruttivo che l'investe nel
1693; la Sicilia occidentale per le esigenze dettate dal nuovo assetto politico dell’Europa
che vede l'Isola sede del regno prima e del vicereame poi.
Se il terremoto costringe a costruire su un modulo già assodato - il barocco, che in
Sicilia però elabora un costrutto proprio, originale e dal tratto forte - la nuova condizione
politica sollecita l’acquisizione della moda d'oltralpe volta a vivere la qualità della vita
cittadina anche in campagna, tra agi e regole, galateo e impegni mondani. Se le
architetture rurali della Sicilia orientale si adeguano a divenire aziende, che rimandano le
rimesse in città, le architetture intorno alla capitale si trasformano in ville residenziali dove
gli aristocratici gareggiano nel gusto e nella magnificenza, nella ingegnosità e nella
bellezza esecutiva dei loro desiderata.
Le dimore cittadine mostrano lo sfarzo che consentono di realizzare le rimesse
1
1. Masseria Zucco,
fornice d’ingresso - Giardinello (Pa)
2. Villa Valguarnera,
esedra d’ingresso con scalone
a tenaglia - Bagheria (Pa)
2
138
3
3. Palazzo Alliata di Villafranca,
fronte principale - Palermo
4. Palazzo Cattolica,
scalone d’onore - Palermo
5- Palazzo Comitini
sala Novelli - Palermo
4
5
della campagna (fig. 1). Le ville di campagna gareggiano con le dimore cittadine
proponendo anche moduli esecutivi del tutto innovativi come le scale a tenaglia di
incredibile fascino e di grande bravura esecutiva (figg. 2/5).
Ancora oggi il grande patrimonio che correda il territorio isolano costituisce una
risorsa incredibile per le richieste del nostro tempo: infatti le ville in cui il peso economico
non consente più al proprietario di viverle nel privato vengono adeguate alle necessità di
un mondo che cambia le sue abitudini. Aziende di un tempo demandate alla
trasformazione dei prodotti della terra diventano centri di ricezione di un turismo che
vuole riprendere il dialogo interrotto con le stagioni e i sapori, per riscoprire le vie del vino,
dei formaggi, dell'olio, in un progetto salutistico volto a migliorare il rapporto tra il cibo e la
salute.
Le ville più imponenti diventano sede di ospitalità di grandi eventi pubblici o privati,
o, quando l'incuria del tempo si è abbattuta sulle strutture l'adeguamento le trasforma in
centri benessere dove però i segni di vecchie spazialità riescono a esibire ancora tracce
di un'altra storia.
Leggere la spazialità vuol dire sapere anche guardare al mondo che lo ha
popolato. Un universo di uomini e donne che il destino della nascita ha inchiodato in ruoli
diversi: da vincitori o da vinti, per dirla con un linguaggio caro al dibattito avviato negli anni
ottanta sull'argomento.
Si profila così per un verso un mondo di committenti che ha, secondo il proprio
gusto, intessuto un rapporto dialogico con maestranze capaci di esitare in esecuzioni che
hanno, ognuno nel proprio campo, contribuito a scrivere la storia di una fabrilità tutta
siciliana, dai mobili ai tendaggi, dagli abiti ai servizi di tavola, dai pavimenti maiolicati agli
argenti. Committenze che hanno con le loro dimore tratteggiato una città ricca e
maestosa, legata al buon gusto e alla disponibilità economica di un tempo. Per altro un
mondo di esecutori di grande professionalità che ha consegnato un raffinato corredo di
architetture, di oggetti, di creatività.
Nelle campagne un altro universo, quello dei contadini, con il lavoro ha disegnato
lo skyline, orizzonte e faces del territorio, costruito un paesaggio immortalato negli schizzi
degli artisti del grand tour, che lo trovavano non solo bello ma pieno di fascino per quel
dialogo mai interrotto tra storia e territorio, tra cultura e natura. Lavori dei campi portati
avanti da una manodopera maschile e femminile che condivideva la durezza della fatica
e il peso della sorte.
139
6. Lavatoio pubblico
Santa Caterina Villarmosa (Cl),
7. Ricamo tipico di Santa
Caterina Villarmosa (Cl),
6
7
Poco si è parlato del ruolo di un altro universo ancora legato al mondo di una
fabrilità in cui i confini tra arte e artigianato non sono stati mai ben definiti. L'arte del ricamo
e dei lavori a telaio.
Il decoro della quotidianità del vissuto, infatti, con i suoi codici comunicativi,
rimanda alla tradizione di pregiata biancheria della casa, orgoglio dei casati, del corredo
della sposa realizzato sulla scia di un antico retaggio artistico che conduce fino ai tyraz,
all'ergasterion imperiale, ai laboratori situati negli ampi spazi dei magazzini del palazzo
Reale: parliamo dell'arte del ricamo importato come tratto culturale di una corte raffinata,
segnata dalla sapiente maestria di impronta araba. Maestria che ha realizzato non solo
trine e merletti, stoffe raffinate, disegni lavorati con fili d'oro e d'argento, ma che ha saputo
anche andare oltre esitando in moduli propri, in tecniche proprie mutuate attraverso il
dialogo con altre realtà ancora, fino alla realizzazione di sfilati che tra trame e orditi
costruiti con ago, ripropongono soggetti tratti da esempi aulici di illustri pittori.
Centri come Santa Caterina Villarmosa, Comiso, Piana degli Albanesi preservano
una memoria di tradizioni esecutive legata a luoghi altri dove, lì come qui, le donne per
secoli hanno trascorso la vita chine su telai a ripetere moduli stilistici venuti da lontano a
dimostrazione che il mare ha le sue vie e che non ci sono barriere agli incontri di uomini, di
popoli, di genti che nell'andare verso il futuro portano con loro il loro passato, il loro
sapere, la loro storia, la loro cultura.
Una mostra organizzata qualche anno fa dall'Institute ha dato l'opportunità alle
donne di Santa Caterina di stendere, in un grande bucato collettivo, il loro corredo sui fili
della biancheria: un orgoglio esposto al vento in una gara di concorrente maestria, a
ricordare quanto si è stato e si è ancora capace di produrre in un centro agricolo, dove un
antico adagio che recita u tilaru è zappuni ricorda che il lavoro giornaliero di una donna al
telaio rendeva quanto il lavoro di un contadino a giornata nei campi, ma anche a riflettere
sulla fatica che precedeva il lavoro del ricamo nel momento della tessitura della tela su cui
poi imprimere gli antichi retaggi della storia.
Con la stesa al lavatoio di vecchie lingerie dell'Ottocento, che oggi fanno sorridere
per tanta ingenuità, la mostra ha voluto porre l'accento su donne che pur se lontano dai
circuiti comunicativi della città non hanno rinunciato a quella leva che ha sempre mosso il
mondo: vestire la sessualità con il tratto elegante della femminilità (figg. 6/7).
140
8. Altare di S. Giuseppe
Gli spazi del vissuto raccontano anche vicende che riguardano la più vasta
comunità. Spazi, infatti, della quotidianità non sono soltanto da considerare le dimore
intra moenia ed extra moenia. È la stessa città ad essere un grande palcoscenico, il
grande teatro della quotidianità dove si proietta il modo di vivere nella condivisione
collettiva del tempo della festa, dei rapporti sociali, degli eventi.
Ogni tempo della storia ha esternato gli avvenimenti con apparati che hanno
trasformato vie e piazze in palcoscenici, in mondi rappresentati, in spettacoli di gioia e di
dolore, di fede e di morte. Così gli apparati festivi, le architetture effimere, le grandi
impalcature montate per dichiarare il tempo eccezionale dell'anno non cessano il loro
compito storico. Quando sembrano aver esaudito il messaggio nel linguaggio del tempo
che li ha voluti, questi sono assorbiti da altre comunità che, impossessandosene, li
demandano a rappresentare la loro identità. Un retaggio della storia che non si perde, che
nei fenomeni di ascesa e discesa dei tratti culturali, recita tutta la dinamicità di cui è intrisa
la cultura. Molteplici sono gli esempi che documentano l'impossessarsi di segni che sono
andati a recitare un'altra storia. Si pensi agli archi di pane di San Biagio Platani innalzati
per la Pasqua, agli altari di San Giuseppe innalzati in onore del padre putativo di Cristo a
Salemi e Calatafimi, della provincia di Trapani (fig. 8).
A San Biagio, comune in provincia di Agrigento, madunnara (i devoti della
Madonna), e i signurara (i devoti del Cristo) innalzano immense architetture in occasione
della Pasqua. I primi lavorano con materiali presi dalla terra come canne, fronde, frutti,
fiori, i secondi con materiali recuperati e riciclati come motori di lavatrici, lastre di
alluminio, residui di ferro. Il risultato di queste attività, organizzate in occasione
dell'evento celebrato, esita nella mattina di Pasqua in immense architetture dove la
natura celebra se stessa nell'esubero cromatico del verde dei rami, nella fantasmagorica
esplosione dei fiori, nel pane divenuto formelle del portale di una chiesa, le cromie dei
legumi sapientemente accorpate in pannelli che costeggiano la via crucis: un costruito
che nell'insieme dà un impatto visivo di forte coinvolgimento emotivo, realizzato per fare
da quinta di scena alla processione che vede l'incontro tra la Vergine e il Figlio Risorto,
mentre dalle fontane realizzate, con le imponenti sculture che le sovrastano, il gorgoglio
dell'acqua sembra recitare la sua nenia. Qui il retaggio di quella storia lontana che risale
al Rinascimento rivive come nei quadri d'autore, segnando il filo sottile che lega gli uomini
nel corso della storia, indipendentemente dai luoghi dove vivono.
Un filo sottile che lega anche Salemi, Borgetto,
Menfi e tanti altri centri dell'isola nella realizzazione degli
altari di San Giuseppe, dove la Madonna della Vittoria del
Mantegna si ripropone ripetuta nelle molteplici
realizzazioni di altari, come se il tempo si fosse fermato,
come se i luoghi non avessero confini, come se gli uomini
appartenessero a un'unica comunità (figg. 9/12).
Quanto detto fin qui è parte di un nutrito archivio
audiovisivi che si pone come strumento di comunicazione
tra culture che hanno dialogato nel tempo e che
continuano a dialogare, talvolta senza consapevolezza,
proponendo tratti che nel dinamismo culturale
consentiranno di proseguire nel rapporto di scambio di
segmenti ritenuti importanti dalle rispettive comunità.
Attraverso gli spazi dell'abitare di Himera, una
141
9
colonia greca fondata da fuggiaschi, è stato possibile avviare un percorso legato alla
quotidianità del vissuto attraverso le forme dell'architettura, che ha finito per imprimere
una impronta indelebile nel futuro della terra della comunità ospitante.
Una impronte che nel dialogo con altri tratti, di altre comunità ha finito per
raccontare una storia dove è difficile vedere i confini di una sola identità. Questa è la
ragione per cui se l'antropologia di ieri puntava sull'affermazione dell'identità di ogni
cultura per ogni comunità, oggi Marc Augè invita alla riflessione: guardare piuttosto
quanto ogni comunità abbia accumulato in debito culturale da un'altra, quanto la storia di
ogni uomo non possa perimetrarsi in un'unica area di appartenenza, quanto, finché ci
sarà il mondo, non ci saranno confini per un dialogo inconsapevole. Quanto sia limitato e
limitante, inoltre, cercare fittizie paternità di appartenenza, per individuare, come
suggeriva Lévy Strauss, nella ricerca del dialogo quello che unisce, piuttosto che quello
che separa popoli ed etnie.
10
11
12
9 - 12. Archi di pane, foto d’insieme
e particolari,
San Biagio Platani (Ag)
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chap. IV
Guidelines for sustainable development of coastlal
and underwater archaeological sites
Guide lines for sustainable development of coastal and underwater archaeological sites
CHAP.
4.1
Introduction
In the present rapidly evolving environment marked by climate change and
economic turmoil, UNESCO's programmes in the natural sciences - with their emphasis
on sound management of natural resources and building capacity in science, technology,
engineering and innovation - have never been more crucial to the international
community's response to the present and future challenges of ensuring the Earth's
sustainable development. However, the potential or actual contribution of the UNESCO
to a green economy, as well as to other emerging issues (e.g. the world financial crises)
should be assessed in a systematic and holistic manner. Sustainable development,
research, innovation and environmental transition has taken on increasing importance for
all those institutions that intend to seriously address the environmental crisis and for
which territorial and local community requalification is considered advantageous from a
local and global point of view. Sustainable local development requires the presence of
professionals possessing awareness of the local/global context and an understanding of
the changing and increasingly complex transversal and interdisciplinary scenarios.
Through specialized training, professionals can acquire competency in territory
management, communication, promotion, improvement and conversion, based on the
concept of sustainable development. Policy, planning and management must be
improved by integrating decision-making and using all forms of knowledge. Moreover,
nature must recognized as a crucial component for maintaining the planet's life-support
system. This integrated policy also reveals the need for enhanced local and sub-regional
data on trends and early warnings on critical disturbances and vulnerability. Such
information can be obtained from the networks of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Among the specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations
system, UNESCO is best suited to this task by virtue of its multi- and inter-disciplinary
mandate. UNESCO's support represents an obvious added value, as the combined
action of communication, culture, education and science brings to the management of
natural resources the human dimension of adaptation to global change in addition to
scientific-technical aspects, thus facilitating sustainable development.
The UNESCO World Heritage List includes 890 properties possessing
“outstanding universal value”. A quarter of these properties are located in Mediterranean
region. The 1972 World Heritage Convention links in a single document the concepts of
nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. In this way, the
Convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental
need to preserve balance between the two. The concept of World Heritage is particularly
note worthy because of its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the
peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located, a symbol and a
model of sustainable developpement for all of humanity. For this reason, these sites also
benefit from the elaboration and implementation of comprehensive territory management
plans that establish adequate preservation measures and monitoring mechanisms. To
support these, experts provide technical training to the local site management strategy.
The Mediterranean region is a nexus of cultural, environmental, political and social
divergences, making it an ideal testing ground for exploring options for the future and
constructing pilot projects intended to develop regional and global operational initiatives.
Sustainable development is not merely a scientific, technological or economic question it
is a response to a planetary social-economic and ecological crisis.
The concept of sustainable development is particularly relevant in the
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Mediterranean, which is: a rare and fragile ecoregion, where development is largely
dependent on the environment, and where degradation has become a major concern;
one of the main pilot laboratory in the world for North-South contacts, fracture and
interdependency; a group of countries and an area where stability and prosperity highly
depend on the capacity to implement development and cooperation policies and patterns
that take heed of the environmental, social and economic components of development;
the ecoregion is renowned for its climate, for the common sea that separates and links
three continents, and for its ancient cultural and natural heritage. It is also one of the main
hot spots of world biodiversity: 10% of known higher plants live on only 1.6% of land
surface and 7% of marine species in less than 0.8% of total ocean surface; many of these
species are endemic. Heavy constraints are hydric stress (summer water shortages),
aridity in the South, natural hazards, limited expanse of plain surfaces and
communication difficulties.
The 22 riparian countries and territories accounted for: 5.7% of the planet's
emerged surfaces, including deserts and mountain ranges; 7% of the world's population
(stable share) with 427 million inhabitants; 32% of international tourism, with 218 million
visitors; 13% of world gross domestic product (GDP) (decreasing); 60% of the world's
“water-poor” populations; 8.3% of CO2 emissions (increasing). On the sea, 30% of
international maritime freight traffic and some 20 to 25% of oil maritime transport transit
through the Mediterranean. Global warming is expected to have strong longterm impacts
on the Mediterranean Basin. Assumptions are the intensification of extreme climatic
events and a warming of less than 1°C by 2025. Over 60 % of the world's people live
within 60 kilometres of the sea. Coastal and marine environment is strongly influenced by
human activities, via local pressure or climate change.
Yet ecosystems of coastal areas have a crucial and an important economic value
for local population living from terrestrial and marine resources. Yet, due to population
growth and migration of people towards large urban centres, the number of people living
in coastal zones is constantly expanding. Moreover, coastal zones are under permanent
pressure for the needs of tourism. This situation leads to constant degradation of natural
and cultural resources linked with social conflicts and environmental degradation.
An integrated methodology for costal zone management in Mediterranean area is
for UNESCO a special case for sustainable development and cultural and biological
diversity valorisation. UNESCO sees the inter-relationship and interaction between
scientific and local knowledge systems as an issue of major importance with respect to
natural resource access, utilization, conservation and benefits-sharing - and hence for
sustainable development. The recognition of local knowledge systems creates
opportunities for establishing sustainable development and natural resource
management processes that are rooted in social equity and relevance, local ownership
and value systems, sound institutional partnerships and the valuation of both cultural and
biological diversity.
ARCHAEOMAP project proposes an interdisciplinary research agenda and
capacity building aiming to improve the relationship of Mediterranean people with their
marine environment. Its targets are the ecological, social and economic dimensions of
maritime culture loss and the reduction of this loss. It uses its network of nine pilot sites as
vehicles for knowledge-sharing, research and monitoring, education and training, and
participatory decision-making. ARCHAEOMAP project wants to provide context-specific
opportunities to combine scientific knowledge and governance modalities in an
146
inter-disciplinary methodology. A number of ARCHAEOMAP pilot sites are recognized
under UNESCO World Heritage List which innovative and demonstrative approaches to
conservation and sustainable development.
Recommendations
The Mediterranean environment - including the seas and adjacent coastal areas forms an integrated whole that is an essential component of the global life-support system
and a positive asset that presents opportunities for sustainable development.
International law, as reflected in the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea, sets forth rights and obligations of Mediterranean States and provides the
international basis upon which to pursue the protection and sustainable development of
the marine and coastal environment and its resources. This requires new approaches to
marine and coastal area management and development, at the national, subregional,
regional and global levels, approaches that are integrated in content and are
precautionary and anticipatory in ambit, as reflected in the following programme areas:
a) Integrated management and sustainable development of Mediterranean coastal
areas, including exclusive economic zones (EEZ);
b) Marine environmental protection;
c) Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources under national
jurisdiction;
d) Addressing critical uncertainties for the management of the marine environment and
climate change;
e) Strengthening international, including regional, cooperation and coordination;
f) Sustainable development of small islands.
The implementation by Mediterranean countries of the activities set forth below
shall be commensurate with their individual technological and financial capacities and
priorities in allocating resources for development needs and ultimately depends on the
technology transfer and financial resources required and made available to them.
Basis for action
The Mediterranean coastal area contains diverse and productive habitats
important for human settlements, development and local subsistence. More than half the
world's population lives within 60 km of the shoreline, and this could rise to three quarters
by the year 2020. Many of the world's poor are crowded in coastal areas. Mediterranean
coastal resources are vital for many local communities. The exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) is also an important marine area where the Mediterranean States manage the
development and conservation of natural and cultural resources for the benefit of their
people. For Mediterranean island or countries, like Malta and Sicily, these are the areas
most available for development activities. Despite national, subregional, regional and
global efforts, current approaches to the management of marine and coastal resources
have not always proved capable of achieving sustainable development, and coastal
resources and the coastal environment are being rapidly degraded and eroded in many
parts of the Mediterranean area.
Objectives
Mediterranean States commit themselves to integrated management and
147
sustainable development of coastal areas and the marine environment under their
national jurisdiction. To this end, it is necessary to, inter alia:
a) Provide for an integrated policy and decision-making process, including all involved
sectors, to promote compatibility and a balance of uses;
b) Identify existing and projected uses of coastal areas and their interactions;
c) Concentrate on well-defined issues concerning coastal management;
d) Apply preventive and precautionary approaches in project planning and
implementation, including prior assessment and systematic observation of the impacts of
major projects;
e) Promote the development and application of methods, such as national resource and
environmental accounting, that reflect changes in value resulting from uses of coastal
and marine areas, including pollution, marine erosion, loss of resources and habitat
destruction;
f) Provide access, as far as possible, for concerned individuals, groups and organizations
to relevant information and opportunities for consultation and participation in planning
and decision-making at appropriate levels.
Activities
A) Management-related activities. Each Mediterranean partner should consider
establishing, or where necessary strengthening, appropriate coordinating mechanisms
(such as a high-level science policy planning body) for integrated management and
sustainable development of coastal and marine areas and their resources, at both the
local and national levels. Such mechanisms should include consultation, as appropriate,
with the academic and private sectors, non-governmental organizations, local
communities, and resource user groups. Such national coordinating mechanisms could
provide, inter alia, for:
a) Preparation and implementation of science policies for sustainable development;
b) Implementation of integrated coastal management and sustainable development
plans and programmes at appropriate levels;
c) Preparation of coastal profiles identifying critical areas, including eroded zones,
physical processes, development patterns, user conflicts and specific priorities for
management;
d) Prior environmental impact assessment, systematic observation and follow-up of
major projects, including the systematic incorporation of results in decision-making;
e) Contingency plans for human induced and natural disasters, including likely effects of
potential climate change and sea level rise, as well as contingency plans for degradation
and pollution of anthropogenic origin, including spills of oil and other materials;
f) Improvement of coastal human settlements, especially in housing, drinking water and
treatment and disposal of sewage, solid wastes and industrial effluents;
g) Periodic assessment of the impacts of external factors and phenomena to ensure that
the objectives of integrated management and sustainable development of Mediterranean
coastal areas and the marine environment are met;
h) Conservation and restoration of altered critical habitats;
i) Integration of sectoral programmes on sustainable development for settlements,
agriculture, tourism, fishing, ports and industries affecting the coastal area;
j) Infrastructure adaptation and alternative employment;
k) Human resource development and training;
148
l) Public education, awareness and information programmes;
m) Promoting environmentally sound technology and sustainable practices;
n) Development and simultaneous implementation of environmental quality criteria.
Mediterranean partners, with the support of international organizations, upon
request, should undertake measures to maintain biological and cultural diversity and
productivity of marine species and habitats under national jurisdiction. Inter alia, these
measures might include: surveys of marine biodiversity, inventories of endangered
species and critical coastal and marine habitats, especially underwater archaeological
sites; establishment and management of protected areas; and support of scientific
research and dissemination of its results.
B) Data and information. Mediterranean partners, where necessary, should
improve their capacity to collect, analyse, assess and use information for sustainable use
of resources, including environmental impacts of activities affecting the coastal and
marine areas. Information for management purposes should receive priority support in
view of the intensity and magnitude of the changes occurring in the coastal and marine
areas. To this end, it is necessary to, inter alia: develop and maintain databases for
assessment and management of coastal areas and all seas and their resources; develop
governance, environmental and socio-economic indicators; conduct regular
environmental assessment of the state of the environment of coastal and marine areas;
prepare and maintain profiles of coastal area resources, activities, uses, habitats and
protected areas based on the criteria of sustainable development; exchange information
and data. Develop international cooperation, and, where applicable, subregional and
regional mechanisms should be strengthened to improve their capacities to achieve the
above.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination. The role of
international cooperation and coordination on a bilateral basis and, where applicable,
within a subregional, interregional, regional or global framework, is to support and
supplement national efforts of Mediterranean partners to promote integrated
management and sustainable development of coastal and marine areas. Mediterranean
partners should cooperate, as appropriate, in the preparation of national guidelines for
integrated coastal zone management and development, drawing on existing experience.
Means of implementation
A) Scientific and technological means. Mediterranean partners should
cooperate in the development of necessary coastal systematic observation, research
and information management systems. They should provide access to and transfer
environmentally safe technologies and methodologies for sustainable development of
coastal and marine areas to developing countries. They should also develop
technologies and local scientific and technological capacities.
B) Human resource development. Mediterranean partners should promote and
facilitate the organization of education and training in integrated coastal zone
management and sustainable development for scientists, technologists, managers
(including community based managers) and users, leaders, local communities,
fisherfolk, women and youth, among others. Management and development, as well as
environmental protection concerns and local planning issues, should be incorporated in
educational curricula and public awareness campaigns, with due regard to traditional
ecological knowledge and socio-cultural values. International organizations, whether
149
subregional, regional or global, as appropriate, should support Mediterranean partners,
upon request, in the areas indicated above, devoting special attention to developing
countries.
C) Capacity-building. Full cooperation should be extended, upon request, to
Mediterranean partners in their capacity-building efforts and, where appropriate,
capacity-building should be included in bilateral and multilateral development
cooperation. Mediterranean partners may consider, inter alia:
a) Ensuring capacity-building at the local level;
b) Consulting on coastal and marine issues with different stakeholders, local
administrations, the business community, the academic sector, resource user groups and
the general public;
c) Coordinating sectoral programmes while building capacity;
d) Identifying existing and potential capabilities, facilities and needs for human resources
development and scientific and technological infrastructure;
e) Developing scientific and technological means and research;
f) Promoting and facilitating human resource development and education;
g) Supporting "centres of excellence" in integrated coastal and marine resource
management;
h) Supporting pilot demonstration programmes and projects in integrated coastal and
marine management.
Guidelines
The ARCHAEOMAP Manual is based on two main components that should be
considered together:
A) A proposed indicator framework that integrates governance, ecological and
socioeconomic dimensions, with a focus on outcomes or results rather than on
processes;
B) Proposed menus of indicators for ARCHAEOMAP based on previous experiences and
literature review. Users can adapt the indicators to suit their specific needs by further
developing, testing and refining them. Also incorporated are results, outcomes and
lessons learned from the nine ARCHAEOMAP case studies (pilot sites).
These studies provide examples of the development and application of ARCHAEOMAP
indicators through their testing and validation in real situations. They serve as a reference
for the adaptation of the approaches suggested in this Manual, use of which should be in
conjunction with the companion collection of the case studies.
A monitoring and evaluation plan and associated indicators served both as a
corrective function for the ARCHAEOMAP International Committee during the project,
enabling timely adjustments, and as a guide to structuring future projects more effectively.
Sustainable use of Mediterranean coastal areas and their resources must involve the
consideration of governance, ecological (including environmental) and socioeconomic
dimensions, as well as the interaction between them; this must form the basis of
ARCHAEOMAP project. While environmental indicators have long been used to monitor
the state of the coastal and marine environment, socioeconomic indicators have seen
very limited application, and governance indicators have been applied mainly in reporting
of the management process. A great challenge lies in developing appropriate sets of
governance, ecological and socioeconomic indicators that will allow decision-makers to
determine whether ARCHAEOMAP interventions are achieving their intended goals.
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CHAP.
4.2
ENVIRONMENTAL
INITIAL ANALYSIS for Underwater and Coastal Sites
Introduction
The Initial Environmental Analysis is performed both to identify significant
environmental aspects that affect the site and to determine the indicators.
The analysis includes a description of the site, its location, description of all
activities within it, the analysis of environmental issues, their quantification and
determination of the significance of them.The Initial Environmental Analysis is a crucial
activity for the determination of indicators and the resulting definition of the objectives of
sustainable development of the site.
The Archaeomap project concerns both coastal and underwater archaeological
sites, so this template of analysis was meant to be applied to these two type of sites. The
template are linked together, the order of application is the following:
1.
EIA phase 1 for both coastal and underwater archaeological sites
2.
EIA phase 2 for underwater sites
3.
EIA phase 2 for coastal sites
These first three template can be used to assess the state of the site at the present
and after they can be linked to the Indicator for Integrated Coastal Management (ICOM).
These guidelines are useful to identify a certain number of indicators.
The identified indicators, both qualitative and quantitative, will help to suggest the
goals of sustainable management in the short, medium and long term. The same
indicators will provide a measuring instrument to understand whether the management is
improving the status of sites, if getting worse or if the situation remains unchanged.
PHASE 1 - GENERAL SETTINGS AND AVAILABLE DATA ANALYSIS For coastal and
underwater sites
1 – TERRITORY GENERAL SETTING AND PREVIOUS DATA ESTIMATION
1.1 General setting aim is to make available all the necessary information to mark out the
territorial contest under Environmental Management System.
Archaeomap GIS file (fig.1)
1.2 Area general features description through previous data collection or through studies
carried on in site inside
1.2.1 Geo-territorial, geo-morphological and hydro-geological setting: contest short
description possibly supported by data or maps available
1.2.2 Site historical setting: site historical-temporal short survey and documented
relevant events description (accidents, pollutions, natural events like earthquakes,
landslides, etc…)
1.2.3 Climatic and meteorological setting: short description of the local contest with
particular reference to the relevant weather events (floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, water
spouts, etc…)
1.2.4 Site socio-economic evaluation (brief description with available data on economic
activities, especially tourism, in site or its environs)
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1. GIS card for underwater archaeological sites
152
PHASE 2 for Undewater Sites
1.1 General setting aim is to make available all the necessary information to mark out
theterritorial contest under Environmental Management System.
Archaeomap site GIS file.
carried on in site inside
description possibly supported by cartographic tools and synthetic data representation
ones
landslides, etc…)
particpular reference to the relevant weather events (floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, water
spouts, etc…)
2 – CHECKLIST: THOROUGH ANALYSIS THEMES
Fill in the spaces of interest, crossing the squares and giving a short as well as exhaustive
description
2.1 Human activities linked to the Site.
a. Human presence
¨ Public or private ownership of the area: ...............
¨ Public access to area: ..........................................
¨ Human settlements presence: ..............................
b.
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
Activites
Tourist activities: ……………………………............
Mining activities: …………………..........................
Aquaculture activities: ……………………………...
Ichthyic activities: ……………................................
Other: ………………………………………………...
2.2 Naturalistic and ecological aspects
a. Deterioration and pollution conditions: short description possibly supported by
scientific contributions or monitoring activities references.
b.
¨
¨
¨
Ecological aspects.
Relevent vegetal species presence: description and normative references
Relevent animal species presence: description and normative references
Relevant habitats presence: description and normative references
c. Hydrodynamic Site contest
¨ Estuary: ……………………………………..............
¨ Delta: …………………………................................
¨ Beach: …………………………...............................
¨ Lagoon: ………………………….............................
¨ Archipelago: ……………………………..................
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¨
¨
Coastal plain: ………………………………….........
Coastal lake: …………………………….................
d. Substratum type
¨ Rocky coherent: …………………………................
¨ Organogenic: ….......................................................
¨ Sedimentary: ……………………...............................
¨ Mixed: ……………………..........................................
e. Depth
¨ 0 – 2 metres (inshore area): ……………………........
¨ 2 – 20 metres (downshore area): ……………….......
¨ 20 – 30 metres (photic zone ): .................................
¨ Over 30 metres (disphotic zone): ……………...........
f. Distance from shore
¨ 0 – 30 metres (inshore area): ………………….........
¨ 30 – 200 metres (nearshore area): ……………........
¨ Over 200 metres: ……………...................................
g. Presence of risks
¨ Hydro-geological: ………………................................
¨ Seismic: ……….........................................................
¨ Floods: ……..............................................................
¨ Failures ( landslides – rock falls): ………..................
¨ Tsunamis / sea-quakes: ...........................................
¨ Eruptions : ................................................................
¨ Tornadoes / Twisters: ...............................................
¨ Turbidity currents: ……………...................................
3 – REGULATIONS IDENTIFICATION
Regulation system in force identification, listing and describing the set of rules of
reference.
4 – ORGANIZATION IN CHARGE OF SITE MANAGEMENT
a. Body/Organization general description.
b. Management areas:
¨ Researches and surveys: …………………................
¨ Opening/excavation: …………..................................
¨ Movable finds recovery: …………………...................
¨ In situ irremovable finds treatment: ...........................
¨ In situ conservation and maintenance: ......................
¨ Site closing: ..............................................................
c. Activities/processes list.
(For each selected management area, list the necessary operations or groups of
operations necessary for works carrying out, using numbers or letter to mark them).
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5 – ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
Environmental aspects are brought about the interaction between the
activities/processes that take place in the Site and the different components of the
eco-system in which the Site is situated.
The aspect is the cause of the impact, that is the change of the environment, or the effect.
The identification of environmental aspects develops into three correlated phases:
Phase 1 – Identification of the interactions between activities and environment
On the basis of the list of the activities carried out in the site, interactions of these latest
ones with the environment, are identified. To this end, all environmental aspects listed in
the “Environmental Aspects-Impacts Table”, used to identify the possible interactions
of the activities with the environment, will be taken into consideration and carefully
evaluated. The interactions of the activities with the environmental aspects can be
inferred from the check-list “Environmental Aspects” and from the “Interactions
Matrix”. The matrix reports the environmental aspects on every single line and the
management area on every column; every single interaction must be marked at the
intersection between the involved management area in the column and the
corresponding environmental aspect on the line.
Phase 2 – Identification and significance of the environmental aspects
The environmental aspects singled out for every management area have to be reported in
the “Identified environmental aspects list”. On this basis, the significance of the
related impacts has to be evaluated. The list of the significant environmental impacts
obtained will be the basis for an efficacious strategy of intervention aimed at improving the
environmental sustainability.
Phase 3 – Definition of the performance indicators set
In relation with the significant environmental aspects identified, an indicators set, required
for performance control and for the achievement of unbroken improvement both in
efficiency and sustainability, has to be placed.
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5.1 - ASPECTS – IMPACTS TABLE
OPERATIVE
DIVISIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
LOCAL IMPACTS
GLOBAL
WARMING
101 Waste waters
Sea and groundwater pollution
> CO 2 in atmosphere
201 COx emission
Air pollution, air quality
202
203
204
205
Smog and Air pollution, air quality
Air pollution, life damages
Greenhouse-Gas
(GhG)
GhG, acid rain
GhG, acid rain
208 Dispersions (oils, fuel…)
209 Thermic contamination
Ecosystem, fishing damages,
>CO2 (< O2 produced)
biodiversity
Ecosystem and economic damages > CO 2 in atmosphere
Ecosystem damages, biodiversity
> CO2 in atmosphere
WASTE WATERS
TRANSPORTS /
LOGISTICS
EXCAVATION
AREA
ENERGY
WASTE
TOURISM
LOCAL
PROBLEMS
BIODIVERSITY
NOx emission
SOx emission
Suspended particulate
Greenhouse-Gas (CO2, CH4,
N2O, HFCS, PFCS, SF6):
206 Benzene
207 Heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Ni..)
301 turbidity modification / normal
sunlight supply
302 Occupation
303 Contamination
304 Distruction
Biodiversity
Ecosystem damages
biodiversity
305 Benthos modification
306 Off-shore structure introduction Occupation, contamination risks,
biodiversity
501 Fuel consumption
Non-renewable sources
Empoverishment, gas-serra
502 Electric consumption
Pollution. Indirect from power
stations
601 Waste from working
equipments
Waste scarcerly recyclable
602 Solid waste
Dioxine Pollution, energy and
material loss
603 Packages
Sea pollution
Waste from consumption
604 materials
Energy and material loss
601 Mass tourism
Ecosystem alteration, damages to
flora and fauna. Traffic impacts and
means of transport overcrowiding,
structures and visitors.
602 Niche tourism
flora and fauna.
603 Organized fruition
Traffic impacts and
structures and visitors
604 Free fruition (not organized)
structures and visitors.
Acoustic pollution, disturbance to
701 Noises
fauna
702 Vibrations
Flora and fauna disturbance
801 Sessile organism removal
802 Excavation operations
803 Protected area in proximity
804 Alien species introduction
Local extinction risk
Ecosystem damages
for protected flora and fauna
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> CO 2 e GhG in
atmosphere
CH4 (GhG)
deforestation, + CO 2
5.2 – Environmental aspects identification.
Bar the items produced by the activities/processes carried out in the Site and described in
Chapter 4.
a. WASTE WATERS
¨ Waste waters
b.
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
c.
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
TRANSPORTS / LOGISTICS
COx Emission
NOx Emission
SOx Emission
Greenhouse-Gas ( CO2 ,CH4 ,N2 O,HFCS,PFCS,SF6 )
Benzene
Heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Ni..)
Dispersions (oils, fuel…)
Thermic contamination
EXCAVATION AREA
Turbidity modification / normal sunlight supply
Occupation
Contamination
Distruction
Benthos modification
Off-shore structure introduction
d. ENERGY
¨ Fuel consumption
¨ Electric consumption
e. WASTE
¨ Mechanical waste
¨ Solid waste
¨ Packages
¨ Waste from consumption materials
f. TOURISM
¨ Mass tourism
¨ Niche tourism
¨ Organized fruition system
¨ Free fruition system (not organized)
g. LOCAL PROBLEMS
¨ Noises
¨ Vibrations
h. BIODIVERSITY
¨ Sessile organism removal
¨ Excavations operations
¨ Alien species introduction
157
6 - INTERACTIONS MATRIX
OPERATIVE
DIVISION
WASTE
WATERS
TRANSPORTS /
LOGISTICS
OPERATIVE AREAS Excavation
SITE
FINDS
EXPOSITION EXCAVATION
RECOVERY
IN SITU
CLOSING
Sea and groundwater
pollution
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
201 COx emission
202 NOx emission
203 SOx emission
204 Suspended particulate
205 Greenhouse-Gas (CO 2, CH 4 ,
N 2 O, HFCS, PFCS, SF6 )
206 Benzene
Smog and air pollution
Air pollution, life dameges
Greenhouse-Gas
(GhG)
GhG, acid rain
GhG, acid rain
Ecosystem, fishing
damages, biodiversity
Ecosystem and economic
damages
Ecosystem damages,
biodiversity
Ecosystem damages,
biodiversity
301 Turbidity modification /
normal sunlight supply
302 Occupation
303 Contamination
304 Distruction
305 Benthos modification
306 Off-shore structure
introduction
ENERGY
501 Mechanical waste
WASTE
502 Solid waste
157
503 Packages
602 Niche tourism
LOCAL
PROBLEMS
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity
Ecosystem damages
Ecosystem, fishing
damages, biodiversity
Ecosystem damages,
biodiversity
Occupation, contamination
risks, biodiversity
Pollution. Indirect from
power stations
Less recoverable waste,
pollution
Dioxine Pollution, energy
and material loss
> CO2 in
atmosphere
>CO2 (< O2
produced)
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
>CO2
(< O2 produced)
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
CO2 e GhG
CH4 (GhG)
deforestation, +
CO2
Sea pollution
> CO 2 in
Ecosystem alteration,
damages to flora and
atmosphere
fauna. Traffic impacts and
means of transport
overcrowiding, structures
and visitors
fauna
Traffic impacts and
> CO 2 in
means of transport
atmosphere
and visitors
> CO 2 in
atmosphere
fauna. Traffic impacts and
means of transport
and visitors
Acoustic pollution,
disturbance to fauna
> CO 2 in
Ecosystem damages
atmosphere
> CO2 in
atmosphere
for protected flora and
fauna
Ecosystem damages,
biodiversity
504 From consumption materials
601 Mass tourims
TOURISM
GLOBAL
WARMING
101 Waste waters
208 Dispersions (oils, fuel…)
EXCAVATION
AREA
LOCAL IMPACTS
701 Noises
702 Vibrations
801 Sessile organisms removal
158
7 – IDENTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS LIST
Insert, in the following list, the environmental aspects come out from the analysis of the
interactions, the activities/processes in which they take place and the possible
interventions to mitigate the impacts:
IDENTIFIED ASPECTS
1
ACTIVITIES
EXAMPLE 1: benthos
modification
Using sorbona
(excavation)
POSSIBLE MITIGATION ACTIONS
Stricter limitation of the excavation area,
Eco-compatible management of the site where
operations takeplace
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
….
PHASE 2 for Coastal Sites
1.1 General setting aim is to make available all the necessary information to mark out the
territorial contest under Environmental Management System.
Link here Archaeomap site GIS file.
carried on in site inside.
description possibly supported by cartographic tools and synthetic data representation
ones.
landslides, etc…).
particular reference to the relevant weather events (floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, water
spouts, etc…).
2 – CHECKLIST: THOROUGH ANALYSIS THEMES
Fill in the spaces of interest, crossing the squares and giving a short as well as exhaustive
description
2.1 Human activities linked to the Site.
a. Human presence
¨ Public or private ownership of the area: ...............
¨ Public access to the area: ....................................
¨ Human settlements presence: ……......................
159
b. Activities
¨ Tourist activities: …………………………………....
¨ Mining activities: …………………..........................
¨ Agricultural activities: ……………………………….
¨ Ichtyc activities: ……………...................................
¨ Other: ………………………………………………...
2.2 Naturalistic and ecological aspects
a. Deterioration and pollution conditions: short description possibly supported by
scientific contributions or monitoring activities references.
b. Ecological aspects.
¨ Relevant vegetal species presence: description and normative references
¨ Relevant animal species presence: description and normative references
¨ Relevant habitats presence: description and normative references
c. Hydrodynamic Site contest
¨ Estuary: ……………………………………..............
¨ Delta: …………………………................................
¨ Beach: …………………………..............................
¨ Lagoon: …………………………............................
¨ Archipelago: ……………………………..................
¨ Coastal plain: ………………………………….........
¨ Coastal lake: …………………………….................
d. Substratum type
¨ Rocky coherent: …………………………................
¨ Incoherent (cobbles, sand, etc…): …....................
¨ Earthy: ……………………......................................
¨ Mixed: …………………….......................................
e. Distance from sea
¨ 0 – 30 metres (inshore area): ……………………..
¨ 30 – 200 metres (nearshore area): …………….....
¨ Over 200 metres: ……………................................
f. Presence of risks:
¨ Hydro-geological: ………………............................
¨ Seismic: ……….....................................................
¨ Floods: ……...........................................................
¨ Failures ( landslides – rock falls): ………...............
¨ Tsunamis / sea-quakes: ........................................
¨ Eruptions : .............................................................
¨ Tornadoes / Twisters: ............................................
¨ Turbidity currents: ...........…………………………..
¨ Coastline erosion: ………………………….............
3. – REGULATIONS IDENTIFICATION
Regulation system in force identification, listing and describing the set of rules of
reference
160
4. – ORGANIZATION IN CHARGE OF SITE MANAGEMENT
a. Body/Organization general description
b. Management areas:
¨ Researches and surveys: ............…………………...
¨ Opening/excavation (starting): ................…………..
¨ Movable finds recovery: ………………..................…
¨ Iin situ irremovable finds treatment: .........................
¨ In situ conservation and maintenance: ...............…..
c. Activities/processes list.
(For each selected management area, list the necessary operations or groups of
operations necessary for works carrying out, using numbers or letter to mark them.)
5 –ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
Environmental aspects are brought about the interactions between the
activities/processes that take place in the Site and the different components of the ecosystem in which the Site is situated.
The aspect is the cause of the impact, that is the change of the environment, or the effect.
The identification of environmental aspects develops into three correlated phases:
Phase 1 – Identification of the interactions between activities and environment
On the basis of the list of the activities carried out in the site, interactions of these latest
ones with the environment are identified. To this end, all environmental aspects listed in
the “Environmental Aspects-Impacts Table”, used to identify the possible interactions
of the activities with the environment, will be taken into consideration and carefully
evaluated.The interactions of the activities with the environmental aspects can be
inferred from the check-list “Environmental Aspects” and from the “Interactions
Matrix”. The matrix reports the environmental aspects on every single line and the
management area on every column; every single interaction must be marked at the
intersection between the involved management area in the column and the
corresponding environmental aspect on the line.
Phase 2 – Identification and significance of the environmental aspects
The environmental aspects singled out for every management area have to be reported in
the “Identified environmental aspects list”. On this basis, the significance of the related
impacts has to be evaluated. The list of the significant environmental impacts obtained
will be the basis for an efficacious strategy of intervention aimed at improving the
environmental sustainability
Phase 3 – Definition of the performance indicators set
In relation with the significant environmental aspects identified, an indicators set, required
for performance control and for the achievement of unbroken improvement both in
efficiency and sustainability, has to be placed
161
5.1 - ASPECTS – IMPACTS TABLE
OPERATIVE
DIVISION
LOCAL IMPACTS
101 Waste waters
102 Systematic consumption
201 COx emission
Local hydrologic modifications
202
203
204
205
Smog and air pollution
biodiversity
GLOBAL
WARMING
WASTE WATERS
TRANSPORTS /
LOGISTICS
EXCAVATION
AREA
NOx emission
SOx emission
Greenhouse-Gas (CO2 , CH 4 ,
N 2O, HFCS, PFCS,SF6)
206 Benzene
301
302
303
304
305
Occupation
Visual impact
Deforestation
Fertile Soils removal
Hydro-geologic alteration
ENERGY
WASTE
equipments
602 Solid waste
603 Packages
604 Office supplies
601 Mass tourism
TOURISM
602 Niche tourism
LOCAL
PROBLEMS
BIODIVERSITY
701 Noises
702 Vibrations
801 Sessile organism removal
Anthropogenic pressure increase
Degraded landscape
Ecosystem damages
Hydro-geologic risk, ecosystem
damages
stations
Scarcerly recyclable waste
Dioxin Pollution, energy and
material loss
Sea pollution
flora and fauna
Traffic impacts and
fauna
Ecosystem damages
162
Greenhouse-Gas
(GhG)
GhG, acid rain
GhG, acid rain
>CO2 (<O2 produced)
> CO2 in atmosphere
CO2 and GhG
CH4 GhG
Deforestation, > CO2
5.2 – Environmental aspects identification.
Bar the items produced by the activities/processes carried out in the Site and described in
Chapter 4.
a. CONSUMPTION/WASTE WATERS
¨ Waste waters
¨ Systematic consumption
d. ENERGY
¨ Fuel consumption
¨ Electric consumption
b.
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
TRANSPORTS / LOGISTICS
COx Emission
NOx Emission
SOx Emission
Greenhouse-Gas ( CO2 ,CH4 ,N2 O,HFCS,PFCS,SF6 )
Benzene
Heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Ni..)
Dispersions (oils, fuel…)
Thermic contamination
e.
¨
¨
¨
¨
WASTE
Mechanical waste
Solid waste
Packages
Waste from consumption materials
f.
¨
¨
¨
¨
TOURISM
Mass tourism
Niche tourism
Organized fruition system
Free fruition system (not organized)
c.
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
¨
EXCAVATION AREA
Turbidity modification / normal sunlight supply
Occupation
Contamination
Distruction
Benthos modification
Off-shore structure introduction
g. LOCAL PROBLEMS
¨ Noises
¨ Vibrations
h.
¨
¨
¨
BIODIVERSITY
Sessile organism removal
Excavations operations
Alien species introduction
6 - INTERACTIONS MATRIX
OPERATIVE AREAS
OPERATIVE
DIVISION
Excavation
FINDS
IN SITU
SITE
RECOVERY EXPOSITION
LOCAL IMPATS
101 Waste waters
102 Systematic consumption
201 COx emission
Local hydrologic modifications
202
203
204
205
Smog and air pollution,
Air pollution, and life damages .
biodiversity
GLOBAL
WARMING
> atmospheric CO 2
WASTE WATERS
TRANSPORTS /
LOGISTICS
EXCAVATION AREA
NOx emission
SOx emission
Greenhouse-Gas ( CO2 ,CH4
,N2 O,HFCS,PFCS,SF6 ):
206 Benzene
301
302
303
304
305
Occupation
Visual impact
Deforestation
Ready soils (Podzol) removal
Hydro-geologic alteration
Ecological footprint improvement
Degraded landscape
Ecosystem damages
Hydro-geologic risk, ecosystem
damages
163
Greenhouse-Gas
(GhG)
GhG, acid rain
GhG, acid rain
Ozone damages,
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
ENERGY
WASTE
stations
equipments
602 Solid waste
Waste scarcerly recyclable
Dioxin Pollution, energy and
material loss
Sea pollution,
flora and fauna.
Traffic impacts and
fauna
603 Packages
604 Office supplies
601 Mass tourism
TOURISM
602 Niche tourism
604 Free fruition (not organized )
LOCAL
PROBLEMS
701 Noises
702 Vibrations
801 Sessile organisms removal
Ecosystem damages
BIODIVERSITY
7 – IDENTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS LIST
Insert, in the following list, the environmental aspects come out from the analysis of the
interactions, the activities/processes in which they take place and the possible
interventions to mitigate the impacts:
IDENTIFIED ASPECTS
1
EXAMPLE 1: COx Emission
2
EXAMPLE 2: deforestation
ACTIVITIES
Excavation by
mechanic vehicles
Site opening
POSSIBLE MITIGATION ACTIONS
Reduced use of excavators, increased
efficiency, catalyst adoption, etc.
Eco-compatible management, restoration ecc.
3
4
5
6
7
8
….
164
> atmospheric CO 2
CO2 e GhG
CH4 GhG
deforestation, > CO2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
> atmospheric CO 2
Table 1. Matrix of relevance of
ICOM governance indicators to
goals and objectives (G1-15)
CHAP.
4.3 coastal management (ICOM)
Indicators for integrated
165
Table 2. Matrix of relevance
of ICOM ecological indicators
and parameters to goals and
objectives (E1-9)
166
of ICOM socioeconomic
indicators to goals and
objectives (SE1-6)
167
of ICOM socioeconomic
indicators to goals and
objectives (SE7-13)
168
Table 5. Worksheet of ICOM
goals, objectives and
indicators
169
Table 6. Worksheet of ICOM
examples of indicators
important for different
stakeholders
170
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