ZEA HARBOUR PROJECT - 2012

Piraeus, Zea Harbour Project. B. Lovén, M.M. Nielsen and I. Sapountzis (DIA/University of Southern Denmark) report on the 2012 season in the harbours of Mikrolimano and Zea.

Visual inspection dives, surface cleaning, excavation and digital survey were conducted on submerged ancient remains in three areas of Mounichia Harbour (modern Mikrolimano; Fig. 1):

Mounichia Group 1 (M-G1), Shipshed 1: excavation focused on the ramp and side-passage of this shipshed, located in the northern part of the harbour (Figs 2 and 3), in order to obtain information about construction techniques and the chronological range of the two identified building phases. Finds from a number of closed contexts found during this excavation are now being processed.

Mounichia Group 7 (M-G7): a number of (up to 18m) long test trenches were excavated in a grid around a single in situ column base in the southwestern part of the harbour (Fig. 2) to search for further structural remains. Modern dredging has severely affected the area and no other ancient remains were found.

Mounichia Tower 3 (M-T3) and Fortified Mole 2 (M-FM2) (Fig. 2). This tower, located to the south of the modern harbour, is preserved to a height of three courses. On the southwestern side it stands on a worked bedrock foundation, and a rubble foundation supports the eastern part. Investigation focused on identifying the deepest worked rock-cut bedrock surfaces and other construction details in the foundations of the tower. Surge lines were documented at two locations in the natural bedrock on which the tower stands. Digital survey continued on the ancient fortified mole to the east of the tower. This area is mostly covered by a modern breakwater, and only very limited areas of the ancient structure are accessible.

In Zea Harbour (modern Pashalimani), visual inspection dives, surface cleaning, excavation and digital survey were carried out on submerged ancient remains in Areas 3 and 4 (Figs. 1, 4).

Zea, Area 3, Slipways 36–42. Along the coastline on the southeastern side of Zea (Area 3; Figs. 4–5) seven large areas of worked flat bedrock are separated by six parallel raised rock-cut platforms. Identified as unroofed slipways, they are constructed in a consistent pattern and all incline down to the sea. They are approximately 8m wide, and were probably designed for the larger penteres type of warship introduced into the Athenian navy during the 320s BC. During the construction of a modern T-jetty in the 1960s, these ancient structures were destroyed on the north-western side by dredging. No closed contexts were found, but a number of submerged ancient quarries were located in the area of Slipways 36–42.

Zea, Area 3, Tower Z-T1 and coastal fortifications. Excavations were conducted on the submerged parts of this tower and on the coastal fortifications protecting the eastern side of the channel leading into the Zea Harbour basin (Fig. 4). The tower is preserved to a height of five courses standing on both rock-cut and rubble foundations. Here the ZHP documented the interconnection between the coastal fortifications and those of the naval base.

Zea, Area 4, Structures 1–2. These two ancient structures immediately southeast of the Olympiakos basketball fields in Area 4 were subject to surface cleaning and digital survey (Fig. 4). Structure 1, followed for a maximum length of 10.69m, consists of two rows of blocks with a rubble fill between them. The structure is 4.01m wide, is constructed on an inclination towards the sea, and is interpreted as the south-westernmost side-wall in the Group 3 shipsheds. Structure 2, exposed for a maximum length of 7.85m, consists of three rows of blocks set next to each other (max. width: 2.79m). Rectangular slots in the top surface of the blocks indicate the existence of a stone or (less likely) a wooden superstructure. Structure 2 is horizontal and its function remains unidentified.

Underwater geophysical survey was continued in the areas of Zea and Mounichia Harbours and along the coastline between the Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours (Fig. 1) in collaboration with the University of Patras (G. Papatheodorou). Equipment used included a side-scan sonar, a sub-bottom profiler and a single beam echosounder. Geological cores were drilled in collaboration with K. Pavlopoulos (Harokopio University) and E. Fouache (University of Paris Sorbonne). Cores were taken at the harbour entrances of Zea and Mounichia and within selected shipsheds in both harbours.
The Zea Harbour Project operates under the auspices of the Danish Institute at Athens and is directed by Dr. Bjørn Lovén. The project is supervised by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities (represented by Dr. D. Kourkoumelis). The Carlsberg Foundation has been the project’s principal sponsor since 2004.