The Archaeology of Piracy in Antiquity: Proceedings of the International Hybrid Conference, University of Athens, October 5–6, 2023
Synopsis
The volume The Archaeology of Piracy in Antiquity (AURA Supplement 14) brings together the proceedings of the international hybrid conference of the same title, held on 5-6 October 2023 at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (N.K.U.A.), under the auspices of the Department of History and Archaeology. The conference was organized within the framework of the A.P.Pir.A. research project, hosted at N.K.U.A. from 2021 to 2024 and funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.). The project’s principal aim was to develop a systematic approach to piracy in the Greek seas from the Final Neolithic to the Roman period, with archaeological evidence at the center of the investigation.
The volume’s main geographical focus is the Aegean, but the individual contributions range from the Ionian and Adriatic seas in the west to Cilicia in the east. Chronologically, they span a particularly broad period, from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman era, while three studies extend into the early modern period. The volume comprises 21 studies, together with an appendix devoted to the Museum of Cycladic Art educational program Piracy in the Ancient Cyclades, developed as part of the A.P.Pir.A. project.
At the heart of the volume is an effort to open up a substantive discussion about the archaeology of piracy. Rather than examining piracy solely through written sources, the contributions explore how settlements, fortifications, shipwrecks, burials, weapons, iconography and maritime landscapes might be reconsidered by including piracy within the range of possible interpretations. The volume does not seek to provide definitive answers, but rather to raise questions and serve as a point of departure for new lines of enquiry, new methodologies and new archaeological interpretations.
Chapters
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Prefacepp. 15-16
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An Introduction to the Archaeology of Piracypp. 19-50
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Λῃστικός or Can We Really Talk of Pirates in the Bronze Age?pp. 51-66
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Investigating the Origins of Piracy in the Aegean: Trade and Maritime Raids during the Early Bronze Agepp. 67-82
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The Art of War in Prehistoric Aegean: Early Cycladic Fortified Citadels and Weaponspp. 83-97
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Searching for Piracy in the Middle and early Late Bronze Age Aegeanpp. 99-108
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Insecurity at Sea and the Fortified Sites of the 13th/12th centuries BCE on Cretepp. 109-130
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The Multiple Facets of the Seafarer in the Late Bronze Age Aegeanpp. 131-144
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Seeking Timber in the Pirates’ Lairs: The New Approach to Wenamun’s Reportpp. 145-154
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Sailing through “the Unresting Sea”: The Archaeology of Piracy in the Early Iron Age Aegeanpp. 155-180
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From Homer’s Taphians to the Pirates of Ayia Mavra: Exploring the Legacy of Piracy in the Central Ionian Seapp. 181-194
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“Savage” Liburnians, Notorious for Piracy: Reconsidering the Liburnian Thalassocracy and the Role of Seaborne Raidspp. 195-209
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The Pirates’ Den of Aigilia and the Antikythera Shipwreckpp. 211-221
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Maritime Commerce, Naval Supremacy and Piracy in the Peloponnese-Crete Strait: A Geo-archaeological Assessment on the Island of Kytherapp. 223-240
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The Islets as Pirate Sites: The Archaeology of Piracy on Agathonisipp. 241-257
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Trade and the Elimination of Piracy: The Case of Hellenistic Rhodespp. 259-270
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The Archaeological Footprint of the Cilician Piratespp. 271-292
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Piratical Ships of the Aegean: A Comparative and Diachronic Approach of the Ships Used by the Pirates of the Aegean during the Classical and Hellenistic Periodpp. 293-301
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Seascapes and the Athenian Relationship with the Sea in Cult and Vase-Paintingpp. 303-317
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Tyrrhenian Pirates and Dionysus: The Iconography of an Ancient Story of Piracypp. 319-329
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Between Myth, Lore and Historical Reality: Piracy in the Phournoi Archipelago, Eastern Aegeanpp. 331-344
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Searching for Traces of Corsair Activity in the Aegean during Early Modern Times: From Historical Accounts to Archaeological Remainspp. 345-361
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“Piracy in the Cyclades”: A Museum of Cycladic Art Educational Program in Experiential Learningpp. 365-373
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