The Maritime World of Ancient Rome

The Maritime World of Ancient Rome

Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome
Supplementary Volume VI
Support for this publication was provided by the Lucy Shoe Meritt, FAAR 37, 50, Publication
Fund of the American Academy in Rome.
The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
The Maritime World
of Ancient Rome
Proceedings of The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Conference held at the American Academy in Rome
2729 March 2003
edited by
Robert L. Hohlfelder
iuniisuio ioi rui axiiicax acaoix\ ix ioxi
by
The University of Michigan Press
Ann Arbor, Michigan
2008
The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
Copyright by the University of Michigan 2008
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ISBN-13: 978-0-472-11581-5
ISBN-10: 0-472-11581-2
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The Maritime World of Ancient Rome

Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
CONTENTS
PREFACE
Robert L. Hohlfelder ix

INTRODUCTION
Robert L. Hohlfelder 1
PLENARY ADDRESS
Ports, Ships, and Power in the Roman World
Geoffrey Rickman 5
SESSION I SHIPS AND SHIPPING IN THE ROMAN WORLD
Roman Shipsheds
David Blackman 23
Cosa and Deep Sea Exploration
Anna Marguerite McCann 37
Roman Shipsheds and Roman Ships
Boris Rankov 51
SESSION II MARITIME LIFE AND COMMERCE
Romes Contribution to the Development of Piracy
Philip de Souza 71

Recent Archaeological Survey at Portus
Simon Keay, Martin Millett, and Kristian Strutt 97
Imports at Ostia in the Imperial Period and Late Antiquity:
The Amphora Evidence from the DAI-AAR Excavations
Archer Martin 105
The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
CONTENTS viii
Testing the Waters: The Role of Sounding Weights
in Ancient Mediterranean Navigation
John Peter Oleson 119
Artifact Distributions and Wreck Locations:
The Archaeology of Roman Commerce
A. J. Parker 177
Ochlos Nautikos: Leisure Culture and Underclass
Discontent in the Roman Maritime World
Nicholas K. Rauh, Matthew J. Dillon, and T. Davina McClain 197
SESSION III HARBORS OF THE ROMAN WORLD
Roman Structures in the Sea: Sebastos, the Herodian Harbor of Caesarea
Christopher J. Brandon 245

Protection and Conservation of Ancient Harbor Structures in Tuscany:
Two Examples on the Coast of Grosseto
Pamela Gambogi 255
Cosas Hydraulic Concrete: Towards a Revised Chronology
Elaine K. Gazda 265

Response to Cosas Hydraulic Concrete: Towards a Revised Chronology
by E. K. Gazda
Anna Marguerite McCann 291
The Roman Maritime Concrete Study: A Brief Summary
of Fieldwork from 2002 to 2005
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Chris Brandon, and J. P. Oleson 297

Archaeological Evidence for Ships and Harbor Facilities
at Berenike (Red Sea Coast), Egypt
Steven E. Sidebotham 305
The Expansion of Triumphal Imagery beyond Rome:
Imperial Monuments at the Harbors of Ostia and Lepcis Magna
Steven L. Tuck 325
The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
PREFACE
I
n the spring of 2001, I had the privilege of an extended stay at the American Academy in Rome
(AAR) as a visiting scholar. An opportunity to join such a vibrant and diverse academic com-
munity is always an extraordinary experience in so many ways, and this one was made even more
so by the opportunity to spend time with Professor Lester Little, its director. Although my research
elds in ancient maritime history and marine archaeology are far from his own, his catholic interest
in all aspects of classical antiquity is keen and informed. During one conversation in his ofce, I
suggested that perhaps it was time for the AAR to host another conference on Rome and the sea. I
reminded him that the last one, organized by the then-director John DArms and held over a two-year
period in 19781979, had resulted in the publication in 1980 of The Seaborne Commerce of Ancient
Rome: Studies in Archaeology and History, edited by J. H. DArms and E. C. Kopff (= Memoirs
of the American Academy in Rome 36). It was well received when published and has remained an
important contribution to the literature in the eld of maritime life in antiquity. I remember him
asking me in his typically dry, humorous way if anything new had happened in the eld since then.
My response to him was in the same vein: Yes, but not that much. We wont need two years for
our conference. We can cover our material in two days. He said that I should give it a go and try
to organize a symposium of leading scholars for the spring of 2003. From that exchange of banter
The Maritime World of Ancient Rome (MWAR) was born.
The road from this moment of conception to the actual conference and then to this volume
has been a long one. In January of 2006, the nal details regarding publication had been nalized,
and this book moved closer to reality. Authors were then afforded the opportunity to incorporate
recent research into their contributions, so the content of the various articles is more current than
the date of the original conference would suggest.
Without the help of many people, including all of the speakers who made time in their busy
lives to come to Rome in March 2003 and then to revise their papers as articles for this volume,
nothing would have come of the plans formulated in Professor Littles ofce in 2001. There are
others to thank who were equally indispensable. At the AAR, Ingrid Rowland (who has since left
this institution), Archer Martin, Anne Coulson, and Pina Pasquantonio all worked hard to nurture
this effort and ensure that it became a reality worthy of the endorsement of their prestigious insti-
tution. Of course, the conference and this volume occurred under the enthusiastic patronage of
Lester Littlesine qua non. I wish to thank him personally for his encouragement and support for
our endeavors as well as his gracious public welcome at our opening session. Elaine Gazda, who
serves as the chair of the AARs publication committee, has been the inspiration for including this
volume in the series Supplements to the Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Chris Hebert
and others at the University of Michigan Press were extremely patient as I waited for the inevitable
late submission of articles and gures that has delayed the nal publication beyond their and my
The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press
PREFACE x
own expectations. My thanks to them for the nal copyediting and composition of this volume, as
well as to the three anonymous reviewers whose suggestions for changes in the various articles have
tightened and improved the nal product.
The publication of a book is always a momentous event for those involved in its composition.
I hope all who contributed to this one feel that their efforts have helped capture in some measure
the excitement and synergy of shared interests and professional comradeship that pervaded our
conference. Romes maritime life needs more attention, and as our authors demonstrate there is still
much to learn about this often-neglected area of study.
Robert L. Hohlfelder
June 2006

The Maritime World of Ancient Rome
Robert L. Hohlfelder, Editor
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=214382
The University of Michigan Press