Session: #98

Content:

In Mediterranean archaeology, the importance of the sea extends far beyond a mere geographical label. It is an ever-present unifying variable that profoundly shaped the reality of communities living along its shores, bringing into close contact peoples inhabiting three continents in a way impossible to achieve without it. Whereas the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age represent the first major turning point in the scale and intensity of Mediterranean-wide interconnectedness, the crucial role of maritime infrastructure (ships and harbours) in both enabling and actively shaping this profoundly impactful process remains vastly understudied compared to other archaeological markers of connectivity. Instead, ships are often treated as invisible conveyors, with little to no consideration of their usefulness in answering questions beyond that of technological developments and transfers. An integrated approach that considers maritime infrastructure within its broader cultural and socio-economic context can provide a much fuller picture in terms of the mechanisms and priorities behind the process of growing Mediterranean-wide interconnectivity. Shipbuilding traditions moreover offer an important and thus far largely overlooked perspective on the complex dynamics of the critical LBA-EIA transition, allowing to trace both remarkably long-lived practices and abrupt changes which can be meaningfully tied to broader historical and cultural phenomena.
We welcome papers dealing with maritime infrastructure (anchorages, harbours, ships), seascapes, maritime actors, long-distance networks and connectivity in the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Ages.

Session: #98

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