One to look out for in 2018

A paper by Asst Prof Dr Oktay Dumankaya titled “2014 Myndos Eastern Harbour Bathymetric Study and First Assessment” is due to be published in March 2018’s edition of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. The paper is available to preview now (pay to view) at onlinelibray.wiley

I was fortunate enough to see an early draft of the paper, it compares the bathymetric features surveyed by Lt Cdr Graves RN in 1837 (UKHO chart 1531) and the results of digital bathymetric survey of the harbour in 2014.

Additionally but not directly associated with Gümüşlük or Myndos is another paper (which I missed first time around) by Dr Dumankaya describing five harbour structures, six piers, and a breakwater on Salih Island (north of Torba opposite Güvercinlik and Kuyucak Mevkii.)

Google Maps (pointer identifies the island not the site of the reported harbour structures)

The paper (in Turkish) was given at the 2nd International Symposium Of Turgut Reis And Turkish Maritime History in Nov 2013 and titled “Salih Adasi (Karyandaantik Kenti ?) Liman Araştirmasi” “Salih Island (The Ancient City Of Karyanda?) Harbor Research” and is available to download as a PDF from  academia.edu and researchgate.net

Özet:

Bu makalenin konusunu Muğla ili, Bodrum ilçesi idari sınırları içerisinde yer alan Salih Adası (Karyanda Antik Kenti ?) limanyapıları oluşturmaktadır. Söz konusu adanın kıyı hattında, ada limanı ile ilişkili birçok yapı kalıntısı tespit edilmiştir. Bu yapı kalıntılarının Hellenistik ve Geç Antik Çağ’a ait olduğu görülmektedir. Tespit edilen liman yapılarının bölgedeki diğer örnekler ile karşılaştırmaları, tarihlendirmeleri ve bu yapı kalıntılarının hangi kente ait olduğunun sorgulanması makalenin konusunu oluşturmaktadır.

Abstract:

This article concerns with the harbour structures that Salih Island shoreline located in the Province of Muğla, district of Bodrum (The ancient city of Karyanda ?). Many remains of structures associated with the harbor have been identified at the costal line of the island. These structures might be dated back to the Hellenistic and late ancient period. Comparisons of identified harbor structures with other harbor structures in the region, dating of the structures and questioning of which city they belong to are the subject of this article.

Die Haefen von Myndos und ihre Handelseziehungen im Speiegal der Amphorenfunde. Ein Vorbericht

For those who read German, Professor Mustafa Şahin has posted a copy of a paper presented at workshop in Hamburg Feb 2014 titled Die Haefen von Myndos und ihre Handelseziehungen im Speiegal der Amphorenfunde. Ein Vorbericht on Academia.edu

There is an abstract in English which reads:

Between the Asar island and Kocadağ-Aethusa the archaeological excavations succeeded finding the port structure of ancient Myndos. The entrance was protected by these natural structures. As a member of the Dealian League, Myndos had a fleet of 200 ships. In the 5^th century BC the harbour was mostly used for military service. Strabo remarks only one port of Myndos. Later surveys during the 2005/6 campaign showed several new buildings. These structures seemed to belong to a second harbour. Remaining breakwater-structures were also discovered, lying beneath two newly discovered shipwrecks with Egyptian amphora. The expansion of the port-structure until late antiquity prove the importance of the harbour. Myndos seemed to be one of the important trading partners Mediterranean Sea.

I’m assuming the comment regarding a Myndian “fleet of 200 ships” is a typo, or error in translation. In the body of the text there is a reference to Herodotus 5.33, which, in the translations I’ve seen, only mentions a single ship from Myndos being a part of Megabates fleet.

Die Haefen von Myndos und ihre Handelseziehungen im Speiegal der Amphorenfunde. Ein Vorbericht on Academia.edu

Herodotus The Histories 5.33.2 - 5.35.1 on Perseus.uchicago.edu

Fortified Entrance to the Eastern Harbour - PDF Download Available

Fortified Entrance to The Eastern Harbour at Myndos 

The article related to in the above post is now available to download as a PDF from Academia.edu

East Harbour Mole of Myndos

New Page The Harbours

I’ve created a new page Harbours, and have posted an outline of Professor Şahin’s article on the Inner Harbour. I must stress that it is not a translation or a review of the article in TINA, I have neither the linguistic skills nor the academic qualifications to do either; it is just my best guess at the contents based on the results obtained from two online translation programmes.

I have been limited to Google earth screen shots to identify the areas discussed and I recommend that you download the article, even if like me you don’t read Turkish, there are some impressive aerial & underwater photographs of the area, features and finds.   

The Harbours

Underwater Surveys of the Inner Harbour at Myndos

Professor Şahin has been busy, he’s posted another article on academia.eu. This time it’s a piece titled MYNDOS IÇ LİMAN SUALTİ ARAŞTIRMALARI -2014 (Underwater Surveys of the Inner Harbour at Myndos) which was published in Issue 2014 No 1-2 of TINA, a periodical issued by the Turkish Foundation For Underwater Archaeology.

https://www.academia.edu/10142311/Myndos_%C4%B0%C3%A7_Liman_Sualt%C4%B1_Ara%C5%9Ft%C4%B1rmalar%C4%B1-_2014

Like the last article it’s not available to view at the moment but can be downloaded as a PDF

New Page Added – Excavations in 2005 and 2006

The new page contains an interpretation of Uludağ University’s web reports of the 2005-2006 excavations cross referenced with an earlier version of the same reports downloaded in 2007; I’ve also added a few photographs of the area taken in 06 & 07.

New Page - Excavations in 2005 and 2006

The web reports only contain brief descriptions of the findings and I would love to get access to the full excavation reports as there are more tantalising references to finds which suggest a possible earlier period of occupation, but there is no detail of the context in which they were found e.g. were the fragments of obsidian tools, and the sherds of pottery dating from 740 – 700 BC found below undisturbed layers of Hellenistic deposits. 

New Page – Archaeological Survey 2004

Although certain areas of the village have been subject to a state protection order for some time there seems to have been no systematic or formal evaluation of the area until a survey was undertaken in 2004.

New page Archaeological Survey 2004  describes some of the areas and findings detailed in the survey report

The Western Harbour

Professor Şahin of Uludağ University has recently uploaded an article onto Acedemia.edu titled “A New Discovery In The Myndos Harbour Survey: The West Harbour”

https://www.academia.edu/6949173/The_West_Harbor_in_Myndos

In the article, originally published in the TINA Maritime Archaeology Periodical, Prof Şahin proposes that the Western Harbour may have been a later addition to the original city. The piece includes some interesting underwater photographs by Dr Oktay Dumankaya of deposits of pottery on the breakwater which are suggestive of two shipwrecks.