Could You Take a Picture of My Boat, Please? The Use and Significance of Mediterranean Ship Representations

Abstract

Representations of ships, sailors and seafarers are common in many ancient societies. They were carved, drawn or painted on a great variety of raw materials -stone, wood, metal, textiles and pottery -and can be found in settings such as caves, tombs or royal palaces. Their presence at these sites raises the possibility that these images of maritime life have symbolic or ritual connotations.This paper presents examples of representations of Phoenician and Punic ships from the first millennium BC, in an attempt to understand the role of both their creators and their audiences. These images are subsequently analysed in more detail, focusing on their technical features and their historical contexts. This paper concludes with a consideration of the social and religious aspects of ancient Mediterranean navigation.introduction Representations of ships, sailors and seafarers are frequent in many ancient societies. Navigation was a very common means of transport in antiquity; it was more efficient and safer than land transport and facilitated the moving of greater volumes, where this was needed. The representations of ships were carved, drawn, or painted on raw materials such as stone, wood, metal, textiles and pottery, and are found in a variety of contexts, for instance caves, tombs and royal palaces. This paper sets out to explore the symbolic connotations and ritual implications of these representations. We focus on a selection of ancient Mediterranean images, mainly Phoenician and Punic ships dated around the middle of the first millennium BC. 1 Moreover, to reinforce and enrich our arguments about Phoenician and Punic ship representations, we are going to refer to some Egyptian examples as their civilization is rich in such evidence.

Shipwreck or Sunken Votives? The Shavei Zion Assemblage Revisited

“…Jacobson, 1975: 256–258) 5 . Boat models found on the seabed off the coasts of Phoenicia and Cyprus, as well as the Salt Lake of Larnaka and Lake Bardawill in Egypt, have long been considered to be votive offerings meant to appease the gods and ensure safe travels in the Mediterranean (Basch, 1976: 62; 1999; Brody, 1998: 40, 76; Raban and Kahanov, 2003; López‐Bertan, et al ., 2008: 347; Galili and Rosen, 2015: 90–91; Karageorghis et al ., 2016: 122). However, figurines and other cultic objects were apparently not the only artefacts used as offerings cast into the sea.…”

“…In order to mitigate the awe provoked by the sea and its potential for disaster, seafarers of all ethnicities would perform various rituals both on land and sea before, during, and after their voyage, invoking deities to protect them during their travels and pay homage upon their safe arrival (Brody, 1998: 102; López‐Bertan, et al ., 2008; Romero Recio, 2008; Galili and Rosen, 2015). While some rituals were no doubt preformed in temples, as suggested by the occurrence of anchors in shrines (Brody, 1998: 40; Frost, 2009), they could have also been carried out elsewhere, such as on the ship as it is about to land, as evidenced by the Tomb of Kenamun wall paintings (Brody, 1998: 73ff; López‐Bertan et al ., 2008: 347, fig. 1) and suggested by the occurrence of an incense stand in the Phoenician shipwreck Elissa (Ballard et al ., 2002: 163).…”

Archeologia zachodniego Śródziemnomorza w Poznaniu – stan i perspektywy badań

“…35 Bugaj 2004;2005;2006a;2006b;2007a;2007b;2008;2010a;2010b. 36 Mgr A. Jankowiak jest wykonawcą kierowanego przez dr. F. Teichnera projektu "Häuser aus Mirobriga" i przygotowuje pracę doktorską pod kierunkiem prof. UAM dr hab.…”

“…38 "Półwysep Iberyjski w starożytności" -przedmiot faktultatywny dla studentów specjalności śródziemnomorskiej, prowadzony w semestrze zimowym roku akademickiego 2004/2005; "Okres orientalizujący w basenie Morza Śródziemnego" -zajęcia specjalizacyjne dla studentów IV roku specjalności orientalnej i antycznej, prowadzone w semestrze zimowym roku akademickiego 2008/2009 oraz w semestrze letnim roku akademickiego 2013/2014 dla studentów III roku specjalności orientalnej i antycznej; "Archeologia zachodniego Śródziemnomorza" -przedmiot fakultatywny dla studentów studiów licencjackich, prowadzony w semestrze zimowym roku akademickiego 2012/2013; "Kolonizacja fenicka obszarów śródziemnomorskich" -przedmiot fakultatywny dla studentów studiów licencjackich, prowadzony w semestrze zimowym roku akademickiego 2013/2014; i "Półwysep Iberyjski w epoce żelaza" -przedmiot fakultatywny dla studentów studiów licencjackich, prowadzony w semestrze zimowym roku akademickiego 2013/2014. 39 Krueger 200439 Krueger , 200539 Krueger , 2007; López Bertran, Garcia Ventura, Krueger 2008;Krueger 2009aKrueger , 2009bSciortino, Krueger 2009 W marcu 2013 r. niżej podpisany wspólnie z dr. hab. Andrzejem Michałowskim zorganizował autokarowy objazd naukowy dla II roku archeologii po kolekcjach muzealnych i najważniejszych stanowiskach archeologicznych Katalonii.…”