Harbours of Byzantium

The Archaeology of Coastal Infrastructures

Ginalis, Alkiviadis (ed.)

Beyond general approaches to the study of Byzantine harbour archaeology, contributions in this volume offer a representative picture of harbour activities across the historical and geographical boundaries of the Byzantine Empire, providing the basis for future comparative research on a local, regional, and supra-regional level.
Harbours of Byzantium analyses physical harbour remains and their impact on the general development of architecture, economy and maritime connectivity in the Byzantine East. By focusing particularly on the archaeology of coastal sites, including the harbour infrastructures themselves, as well as associated facilities and affected landscapes, the individual contributions offer a representative picture of harbour activities across the Byzantine Empire geographically and chronologically. The papers set out to cover sites from every province, from Italy in the west to the Levantine coast in the east, and the Black Sea in the north to Egypt in the south. They present new material and data with which to understand the development of harbour networks in relation to maritime landscapes, and thereby provide a general overview of various aspects of Byzantine coastal life and a basis for future comparative research in Byzantine harbour studies — on a local, regional, and supra-regional level.