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Underwater Survey Director: Dr.
Lucy Blue, Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of
Southampton
The Department of Antiquities,
Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces the completion of
the 2019 underwater archaeological mission at the Akrotiri-Dreamer’s Bay
ancient
port, in the Limassol District. The survey was directed by staff from
the University of Southampton, Centre for Maritime Archaeology, as part of
the Ancient Akrotiri Project, an ongoing collaborative research project on
the peninsula conducted since 2015 and led by the University of Leicester.
The
work was carried out with the approval of the Republic of Cyprus
Department of Antiquities and the
UK Sovereign Base Areas Administration, and
very much benefitted from the direct participation of
RAF personnel who
helped in the preparation and offered their time, expertise and support
during the
field season. The University of Cyprus, MARELab, offered support
in the form of an excellent dive
boat, as well as expertise, particularly
with respect to ceramic identification. Nicosia based CP Marine Explo rations
provided the dive logistics, safety and underwater survey scooters, and
Kembali Divers
the tanks and air. Further support was provided by the Defence
Infrastructure Organisation and the Western Sovereign Base Area
Archaeological Society. This season we were honoured to welcome for
a day the
Base Station commander as visiting diver. The project was generously funded
by the Honor
Frost Foundation, UK, and sustained by a hard working team of
young maritime archaeologists.
Between September 8th
and 19th 2019, a second season of underwater investigation was
conducted at Dreamer’s Bay on the southern shores of the Akrotiri Peninsula,
Cyprus. A team of professional
diving maritime archaeologists, students of
maritime archaeology, divers, surveyors, photographers,
and terrestrial archaeologists
predominantly from Cyprus and the UK, further investigated the ancient
breakwater and the surrounding sea floor in Dreamer’s Bay. Unlike the
previous year that documented
the remains of the ancient breakwater submerged
some 1-4m beneath the water, the primary focus of the
2019 season was to
complete a broader survey of the entire bay and the offshore approaches, and
in particular to investigate an area to the east of the breakwater where a
large amount of pottery was
located in the previous season. The team
suspected that this dispersed and concreted concentration of largely
homogenous amphorae, was the remains of a shipwreck.
The 2019 season focused on
three main tasks: further investigation of the ancient breakwater;
completion
of the survey of Dreamer’s Bay, its approaches, and the area offshore of the
buildings excavated by the University of Leicester team on the coast to the
west of the bay and further analysis
of the ceramic concentration to the east
of the breakwater in order to determine its nature.
The breakwater was extensively
surveyed in 2018 both visually and photogrammetrically. The focus
of 2019 was
to calculate the volume of the rubble that had fallen from the breakwater
largely to the
east of the structure, in order to ascertain its original
height and scale. The area around the breakwater
was also more thoroughly
investigated and a channel some 5-6m deep was clearly mapped to the east
of
the breakwater noting an entrance to the more sheltered water in the lee of
the structure, an area of anchorage. Survey conducted by divers using
underwater scooters, enabled wider coverage of the
offshore approaches,
identified new finds including numerous stone anchors and what appears to be
the remains of a wreck carrying roof tiles, still of uncertain date. To the
west of the breakwater other concentrations of ceramics were also noted,
however, survey further offshore to the west in front of the shoreline
buildings excavated by the Leicester team, still failed to identify any ar
chaeological remains, making the theory that this was an area used as a
roadstead, less feasible. All finds were noted, described and photographed
underwater and a record of their location taken using GPS. Selected finds
were lifted only when they were either in danger of further displacement on
the seafloor or were useful
chronological indicators.
The most important result of
the 2019 season was confirmation that the eastern concentration of largely
homogenous ceramics located on an elevated, rocky outcrop to the east of the
breakwater and the
sheltered channel, was indeed a shipwreck. Dating back to
the end of the 6th or the 7th century AD, as confirmed
by ceramics expert Dr Stella Demesticha of the University of Cyprus, the
extensive remains
of broken amphorae were identified scattered over an area
of approximately 130,000sqm, concreted to the rocks and caught in gullies. In
the middle of the wreck lies an Aswan granite column also believed to belong
to the vessel. The area was extensively surveyed and the number of amphora shoulders
and rims were counted equating to almost 800 in total, reflecting a fairly
substantial vessel for the period. Examples of the amphorae were lifted for
further analysis, which is still ongoing.
(MG/SCH)
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