Scyllias: Diving in Antiquity

Frost, Frank J.

doi:10.1017/s0017383500017551

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The use of such a tool was justified only if it was used to salvage expensive goods or when it was used often by a professional specializing in salvage. Such groups of commercial salvage divers are known from antiquity (Frost, 1968; Oleson, 1976).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Remotely-Operated Instruments Recovered Under Water off the Israeli Coast

Galili

Rosen

2008

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology

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Underwater archaeological investigations in Israel have recovered instruments intended to be operated under water from a vessel on the surface, at depths and times beyond the ability of free divers. Some of these remotely-operated devices, including salvaging-rings, coral-harvesting devices, and grapnels, are described, classified and discussed. These humble but efficient instruments, the prototypes of sophisticated modern instruments, fulfilled necessary tasks in antiquity and are still being used today by traditional fishermen. P eople belonging to coastal and maritime cultures carry out, almost daily, numerous activities on the sea-bed. Recognizing sea-bed features, and acting there, is essential for sailing, safe anchoring, fishing, salvaging of goods lost at sea, collecting sessile sea-life, and the building of marine structures. All these activities require reliable information on the sea-bed and working there for a long time, often in conditions exceeding the abilities of man. A land surveyor may easily obtain access to a given terrain and directly, by eye, acquire information without the use of special instruments. Obviously direct eye and hand contact with the sea-bed is the best means to study and work in this hostile environment. However, man's ability to do so is restricted by limited visibility and the short time which can be spent there. As a consequence, tools had to be designed to enhance the retrieval of information and the conduct of various activities on the sea-bed.The 20th and 21st centuries have seen rapid advances in electronics, materials science, and mechanics, which have enabled the design and manufacture of complex systems for obtaining information and operating in the extreme conditions of the bottom of the sea without the direct presence of man. These achievements, however, have their roots in the remote past. Archaeological discoveries on the sea-bed demonstrate that already in antiquity sea-going people designed and built remotelysensing or remotely-operated instruments to work under water. As early as the Bronze Age, depictions of ships include artefacts which may represent devices intended to perform such tasks (Figs 1 and 2) (Landstrom, 1970; Basch, 1987: 260-61, figs 563 -5). Figure 1. Ancient Cypriot mariners manipulating remotelyoperated objects from watercraft. (after Basch, 1987: 260 -61, figs 563-4)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Remotely-Operated Instruments Recovered Under Water off the Israeli Coast

Galili

Rosen

2008

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology

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“…Most divers in antiquity were engaged primarily in sponge collecting but diving had other applications, such as salvage and war operations. Frost (1968), in an interesting overview of diving in antiquity, discusses methods, dangers, devices and products exploited.…”

Section: Sponge Fishing and Commercementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Obviously, they have attracted human attention very early, due to their spongy nature and their use in various human activities. Some of the early zoologists who studied sponges sometimes mention sponge records in the classical texts (Arndt, 1937), while other researchers commented on the methods of their collection in antiquity (Frost, 1968). A short account of sponge knowledge in classical literature has been given by Thompson (1947).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sponges: an historical survey of their knowledge in Greek antiquity

Voultsiadou¹

2007

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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A detailed account of sponge knowledge in Greek antiquity is given on the basis of their records in the written documents of the historical periods it comprises. The analysis of the examined material revealed interesting information on various aspects of sponge biology, more or less consistent with their present scientific knowledge. The value of sponges for man at that time was evident in many of his activities, such as household, personal hygiene, pain relief, disease treatment, art and war enterprises. The significant role of sponges in medical practice is illustrated by the high number of their records in the medical works of the studied historical period. Furthermore, sponges appeared in legends, as well as in similes and metaphors that attributed their special qualities to human behaviour, various body parts or objects.

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“…See MargaretLock (2015Lock ( , 2018 on the "black-boxing" of biology in cultural anthropology.2 On diving history, see especiallyFitz-Clarke (2018),Frost (1968), andMcManamon (2021); on the Ama and Haenyeo, seeRahn and Yokoyama (1965) andHong and Rahn (1967).Kurra et al (2013, 21-22) suggest that exhibitions by Ama divers in Europe following World War I fueled interest in freediving.3 The 1900 Olympics in Paris included underwater swimming, but this event is seldom discussed in histories of sport apnea, perhaps because of controversy and that the event was not for the greatest depth. The best swimmer, Denmark's Peter Lyykeberg, stayed submerged more than 20 s longer than the winner, but lost points for swimming in circles rather than for distance, finishing third.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The incremental transformation of the body through freediving: A biocultural approach to reflexive bodily practices

Downey

2024

Ethos

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Expert freediving explores the limits of human endurance, with some divers staying underwater for over 10 min or reaching crushing depths on a single breath. This article explores the enskilment process, especially how freediving training involves a suite of reflexive bodily practices with psychological, neurological, and physiological consequences. Examined closely and over time, skill acquisition is a multi‐dimensional process involving self‐driven adaptations in a cumulative, uneven manner. Because skills combine biological, cultural, and psychological mechanisms, practices are ideal for biocultural analysis in psychological anthropology. This account of the behavioral‐development spiral in freediving enskilment suggests that transformative practices are inherently developmental, with neurological consequences. Theories of practice that ignore the temporal dimension or the variability of skill acquisition, that is, accounts that erase the slow and uncertain accumulation of expertise, fundamentally misrepresent how persistent practice blends biology and culture, and causes transformation, as well as the usefulness of ethnography for studying these processes.

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Scyllias: Diving in Antiquity

Cited by 13 publications

References 1 publication

Ancient Remotely-Operated Instruments Recovered Under Water off the Israeli Coast

Ancient Remotely-Operated Instruments Recovered Under Water off the Israeli Coast

Sponges: an historical survey of their knowledge in Greek antiquity

The incremental transformation of the body through freediving: A biocultural approach to reflexive bodily practices

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