Boarding a cruise ship in antiquity

Archimedes and his “Eureka” are common knowledge, but few people know that he designed an enormous cruise ship, the Syracusia.

It happened during the reign of King Hieron II of Syracuse, who in 240 BC ordered Archias of Corinth to execute the plans. The design was a very ambitious one, and we may wonder how on earth anyone in antiquity could possibly build the biggest and largest vessel ever. Money clearly was not an issue for it seems that even the best was good enough! What’s more surprising is that the project was completed in one year-time by 300 craftsmen.

Athenaeus gives us a very detailed description of the Syracusia and its cargo. She could carry 1940 passengers, soldiers, and crew, and boasted plush stables for twenty horses, each with its own stall. Next was a storage room for the horses’ fodder and the quarters reserved for the riders and their slaves.

Figures from antiquity are not always reliable, but it is generally accepted that the Syracusia had a length of 110 meters, which is more than twice the largest merchant ship in those days.

Wood from the Etna was implemented, and the doors were made of cypress and citrus wood. Hemp had been imported from Iberia to make the cables, whereas pitch and more hemp came from the Rhone Valley. As soon as one deck of the ship was completed, it was covered with slabs of lead. 

The upper deck was supported by three-meter-high Atlantes or Telamones, replacing regular columns (see: The Valley of Temples at Akragas). The very top of the ship was a promenade reserved for the guests who could wander through gardens filled with different species of trees and flowers. These were watered through well-hidden lead pipes. Individual sections of this deck were made more comfortable with shaded roofs or tents covered with branches of ivy and vine. The layout inevitably led the guests to the Temple of Aphrodite paved with agate. It was furnished with statues, and its walls were covered with frescoes. The entire ship was further adorned with statues and vases, painted walls, and fancy earthenware. Ivory and precious marble were lavishly used.

The second deck served as lodging for the passengers and counted 142 cabins all paved with mosaics. Together, these individual pavements told the whole story of the Iliad. The guests could enjoy the comforts of a bathroom and a gymnasium, relax in a common dining room or withdraw in the serene setting of the library and drawing room. The entertainment of the passengers was guaranteed!  

An onboard kitchen was a must, and Athenaeus confirmed that there were ovens and mills. Freshwater was stored near the head of the ship in a cistern that could hold as much as 78,000 liters. This water tank was caulked with pitch and covered with tarpaulins. Another cistern contained seawater to store the cook’s fish supply. This one, in turn, was coated with lead. Nothing is said about the service on board, the people responsible for the maintenance and the cleaning.

The Syracusia also had its own army on board,  which, according to the sources, varied between 200 and 400 men. They were housed on a special deck in front of the ship where a giant catapult was mounted. This machine could shoot a stone weighing ninety kilograms to a distance of 200 meters. Eight towers, each manned with two archers and four men in full armor further assured the defense of this unique vessel against any possible attack. The ship was additionally equipped with four wooden defense towers. The crew to steer this oversized ship probably was handpicked. It is said there were twenty banks of rowers. The entire ship was protected by a surrounding palisade making enemy boarding impossible. 

All the components of the Syracusia were beyond normal proportions as Archimedes clearly thought out of the box! Besides, this is one example where his famous screw was successfully implemented to pump out the bilge water.

The number of provisions on board was equally huge. Athenaeus once again provides the facts and figures: 90,000 bushels of grain, 10,000 amphorae of Sicilian salt fish (is this the famous garum?), some 500-600 tons of wool (for what purpose?), and 20,000 talents were spent on “other cargo”. All these goods were stored in the lowest deck.

To ensure safe anchoring, the Syracusia counted eight iron anchors. Unfortunately, these were used only once because that huge ship made only one single trip across the Mediterranean to Alexandria in Egypt. It is important to realize that only a few ports were large enough to receive this size of vessel. As far as I know, besides Syracuse, only Rhodes, Pergamon, and probably Portus/Rome offered the necessary space and maneuverability for the Syracusia. 

In the end, all King Hieron could do, it seems, was to present the Syracusia as a gift to Ptolemy III Euergetes. It was eventually renamed Alexandreia. Otherwise, nobody knows what happened to this proud colossal ship afterward.

[The picture of the mosaic representing the Death of Archimedes is from NYU Mathematics]

The concept of the caravanserai

It was in Turkey that I saw my very first caravanserai, probably the best example around and it left an everlasting impression. It happened in the busy town of Kervansaray, halfway between Aksaray and Konya.

This was many years ago, and at the time, I was told that the Ottomans built hans (storage areas) and caravanserais (inns) to protect and accommodate the merchants moving on the busy caravan routes like, for instance, the Silk Road. Large caravans of camels carrying silk and spices from China would make their way to Bursa, the then capital of the Ottoman Empire. These convenient stopovers were meant to stimulate business, of course. However, they also served as social gathering places and eventually led to further expansion of the Empire.

Later on, I discovered that these caravanserais could be found alongside the entire network of trade routes, mainly throughout southeastern Europe and Asia. Also, the very concept was not an Ottoman invention as I was led to believe initially but existed already in Achaemenid Persia and even in Assyria.

All in all, I always found these caravanserais highly fascinating, but my encounter with the Sultan Han or Sultanhani in Kervansaray always remains my standard reference point. This quite impressive building covers a surface of 4,900 m2 and dates from 1226. It is much larger than a castle and is fortified in a similar way with strong defense towers at the corners. It has a rectangular shape, much deeper than wide with one single entrance gate to ensure security. This gate is decorated with lace brickwork as seen on mosques and gives access to a large open courtyard measuring 44 x 58 meters. At its center stands a square two stories high kiosk-mosque, which is said to be the oldest example in Turkey.

Along the inner wall on the right runs a shady arcade in front of the merchants’ sleeping quarters. The opposite side is mainly occupied by a hamam where the tired traveler could relax. At the far end of this courtyard, there seems to be another gate, but this is the entrance to the area where the merchants could safely store their goods and shelter their horses, camels and donkeys. This space with high vaults reminds me of a cathedral, ensuring warmth in winter and coolness in summer. High above the transept, a small octagonal windowed dome acts as a lantern, filtering the light. It strikes me as a comfortable safe-haven where the weary traveller could rest in peace. This important meeting point was also used to sell or swap their merchandise. This is so much more ingenious than one can imagine!

Another, very much commercialized caravanserai is the one of Ilhara in Cappadocia. This one has been heavily restored to be used for the entertainment of tourists.

A few years later, I visited the han of Alara-han on the road from Alanya to Antalya. This building is relatively small and measures only 34.5 x 45m. An inscription above the entrance gate tells us that it was built in 1231 by Alaeddin Keykubad I. It is said that it served the needs of the sultan when he traveled from Konya to his winter quarters in Alanya. Maybe that explains the size. Although this han is hailed for its construction technique, details and proportions, I am not impressed. It has been converted into a true tourist attraction with the inevitable souvenir shops, restaurants and gathering places of all kinds.

In Syria, I am confronted with the caravanserai of Qalaat al-Madiq, actually located at the foot of the ancient city of Apamea. This is a sizable building from the 16^th century displaying a fully paved courtyard. In the middle is a stairway that once led to the well but it has now been sealed off. Overall, the caravanserai has not been tended with care, but interestingly it houses a few select finds from Apamea. The best and most beautiful artifact definitely is the Roman mosaic of Socrates and the Wise Men from the 3^rd century AD.  Unfortunately, I am not allowed to take pictures inside!

Iran, in turn, came with its own surprises of caravanserais. Here, they often stand in the middle of the desert, battered and withered by the wind and sand. Their lonely location is usually connected to the precious qanats that brought the much-needed water to the site (see: The qanats, one of the greatest inventions of mankind).

Nongobade exhibits an entire series of such vital stopovers. Well-preserved is the caravanserai from the Seljuk era, 13th century, followed by another one from Safavid times, i.e., 17th century. The old city of Na’in at the edge of Iran’s Central Desert seems to have grown around its caravanserai and its nearby cistern whose water supply was guaranteed by qanats. The adjacent wind towers added to the additional comfort of the caravans.

In Isfahan, the capital created and built by Shah Abbas in 1598, the Abbasi Hotel is worth a visit since this initially was another important caravanserai. Unlike the “modernization” of the Alara-han, this conversion into a luxurious hotel is a success story. The large central courtyard has been transformed into a lush garden with fountains and pleasant alleys. Knowing the world famous Maidan Square, the size of this construction is not surprising. For Shah Abbas, big was better, and that idea has been spread all over his city. The story goes that he built 999 of these caravanserais. True or not, in any case, Abbas thought that people would believe that number rather than if he rounded it to one thousand. PR avant la lettre, yes?

Last but not least, I have to mention Uzbekistan in Central Asia. We are well aware that Bukhara and Samarkand stand on the Silk Road, and it is obvious to find caravanserais in those cities. I may not have noticed all of them, but in Bukhara, for instance, I visited the Sayfiddin Caravanserai from the 19^th century that is now one of the places selling carpets and other handicrafts.

On the road from Bukhara to Samarkand, I passed the Barboti Malik caravanserai from the 11^th century. The place is pretty isolated, more in the middle of nowhere than alongside a major route. This caravanserai is in a pretty poor state; only the façade has been re-erected while all the other outer and inner walls are only reconstructed to a height of approximately one meter. It is easy to imagine what a safe-haven such a place must have been to the traveler considering the surrounding hostile lands. On the other side of the road is the ever required water reservoir, a Sardova from the 14^th century. This is an impressive vaulted construction that protects the water from dust and pollution while offering a clean spot to drink and to water the animals. To me, it is evident that this entire construction covers an old well that has been used over the centuries by local sheep and cattle herders, as well as by the merchants on this busy east-west road.

The sheer number of these hans and caravanserais is inevitably linked to the Silk Road that crisscrossed Eurasia in general (see: The Silk Road, some historical aspects of this trade route). 

For me, of course, the diversity and the presence of these caravanserais give an insight into the welcome stops Alexander may have encountered on his desert crossings. It is impossible that they served the entire Macedonian army, but the proximity of water must have been a precious asset.

After all, Alexander followed the old Persian Roads whenever possible, and these were strung with such relay posts every 30 or 40 kilometers or so. The posts certainly could not provide fresh horses for an army. However, I secretly think that the king himself may have “borrowed” an animal or two during his wild pursuit of Darius in north-east Persia. In any case, he must have welcomed whatever comfort they offered and, in these vast deserts, water was a major commodity.

Human remains found at Persepolis

Dredging works on the ancient water conduits in Persepolis have exposed eleven human skeletons and two dog skeletons. They were found near an unfinished gate leading to the courtyard of the Hall of the One-Hundred-Columns. A little later, two more human remains were unearthed.

According to the position of the skeletons, it has been established that this is not a burial site. The remains indicate that these people were killed and simply left behind.

Pending further study and closer examination, researchers tend to believe that these skeletons are related to Alexander’s conquest of Persepolis in 330 BC.

It will be interesting to hear what further information can be revealed about these skeletons. Are they male or female, civilians or soldiers, what is their age, and could it be determined whether they are Persians or Macedonians.

Boardgames in antiquity

The construction of the dam on the Tigris River flooding the ancient city of Hasankeyf has had my undivided attention in my earlier post Damned Dams! This was actually the third time I focused on the disastrous and irreversible consequences of building those dams.

The “good” news, in this case, is the recovery of a complete set of gaming pieces at Başur Höyük that was threatened by the Ilisu Dam project. This dam has been completed in 2019 and started to fill that same year. It is part of the greater Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) that counts at least 22 such dams.

Today, I’m concentrating on the beneficial side of this kind of operations, and I am not talking about the irrigation plans and the production of electric power. These are rescue excavations that are carried out in extremis to salvage as much as possible from the sites before they are flooded forever. This situation is far from ideal for in the overall hurry, choices have to be made as to what is important or unique enough to deserve care and attention. With a deep sigh, I admit that this is better than doing nothing at all, but still …

The 18 tombs that could be explored before being submerged yielded some 80 kg of metal artifacts, mostly copper but also gold and silver. Significant is also the thousands of beads and jewels made of mountain crystals, as well remains of human bones. The riches and diversity of the finds, including cylindrical seals, led archaeologists to believe that the area around the Başur Mound where these tombs were found was an important administrative center around 3,100 BC.

The most significant find was a set of gaming pieces rescued during the excavations of 2011 and 2012 from a gravesite. Meanwhile, they have been dated to 3100-2800 BC, i.e., early Bronze Age. They possibly constitute the world’s oldest board game and are the pride of the Archaeological Museum of Batman near Hasankeyf.

[Picture from Middle East Eye, Nimet Kirac]

These are 40 small stones carved in shapes varying from pigs, dogs and elephants to pyramidal, circular and bullet-shaped pieces. They were painted in red, blue, green, black and white. Dice and round tokens made of white shell topped with a round black stone also belong to this game. Nothing of the board itself has been found as it probably disintegrated over time, but some wooden sticks may eventually prove to be part of this game. Until now, the playing rules are not known, and the research team is welcoming everyone’s suggestion!

Based on the fact that this gaming set was found in a grave holding one adult and three children, archaeologists are inclined to believe that it was a hunting, strategy and racing game for two players. For now, they called it the Dogs and Pigs game. As such, it is presented on a chequerboard at the museum. 

Similar boards existed in ancient Greece as well, as for instance a form of Tavli (not unlike backgammon) which is still played today. I would not be surprised if this were one of Alexander’s favorite games!

A 2,400-year-old terracotta mask honoring Dionysos

Dascylium, the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia, is not often in the news, and is hardly mentioned in Alexander’s expedition in Asia Minor (see: Heading for Dascylium and Sardes). In fact, Alexander never went that far since he sent his general Parmenion to take the city. Less than one hundred years before Alexander, Xenophon and what remained of his Ten Thousand marched through this countryside. This means that Alexander was well aware of its role and its importance.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

As the king pressed south, Parmenion took Dascylium without trouble as the guards had abandoned the town. A new satrap, Calas, was quickly put into place. From then onward, the tribute Dascylium used to pay to Persia would come to Alexander. 

Recent excavations around the city’s acropolis have exposed a terracotta mask of the ancient Greek god Dionysus. It is thought to be a votive mask and according to the legends it is believed that whoever wore such a mask would pay homage to the god, the patron of the arts.

Archaeologists also unearthed a nearby cellar belonging to a Lydian kitchen. They hope that the seeds and other organic elements will give a better understanding of the eating habits of the Lydians - maybe even of the later Greek settlers.

The Tripolitania

Even today, Libya is generally torn between the area around Tripoli in the west and Benghazi in the east. That division goes back far into antiquity when the Cyrenaica, with the capital Cyrene, belonged to Egypt, its eastern neighbor. This was the situation when Alexander received the delegation from Cyrene while he was on his way to Siwah. 

After the king died in 323 BC, Cyrene and Cyrenaica, fell to the Ptolemies. It was only in 96 BC that the Romans incorporated it into the Province of Crete and Cyrene. The history of Cyrene and Cyrenaica was treated in my earlier blog, Picking up Alexander’s traces in Cyrene. 

The situation in Tripolitania was entirely different. In the 10th century BC, Sabratha was founded by the Phoenicians, together with Oea (Tripoli) and Leptis Magna. It soon became a Punic settlement. The power of Rome was on the rise and clashed with these people. Several wars known as the Punic Wars were fought in 264-241 BC, 218-202 BC, and 149-146 BC. In 146 BC, Tripolitania became a Roman province with Leptis Magna as its new capital and the major port.

In the first century BC, Sabratha seems to have followed Greek culture. A severe earthquake created the ideal opportunity to rebuild the city following the Hippodamian plan. Roman architects had their chance after the earthquakes of 65 and 70 AD. They rebuilt the city on a grand scale, destroying much of the Punic and even Greek remains. By the late 2nd century AD, the spectacular theater was constructed, offering seating to 5,000 spectators, and many monuments were lavishly decorated with statues and fine marble. Unique are the many private houses that arose along the Mediterranean coastline.

Leptis Magna was the second Roman port in Africa, and although its wealth is beyond imagination, only a few private villas have been found. The Phoenicians founded the city that became famous under Emperor Septimius Severus, his hometown. By 193 AD, Leptis Magna was the third-largest city in Africa after Carthage and Alexandria. In those days, many Africans occupied high positions in Rome. It is said that 15% of the Roman senators came from this region and several emperors, among which Septimius Severus was best known. He conquered the new province of Numidia for Rome. It included western Tunisia and eastern Algeria. The Regio Tripolitania was created during his reign to underscore the power of cities like Sabratha, Tripoli, and Leptis Magna. Walking among the remains of this grand city, I realize for the first time what Rome must have looked like in its heyday. I never had that feeling in Rome, but I certainly did walking around in Leptis Magna.

Tripoli, today’s capital of Libya, has few remains of what once was Oea, founded in the 7th century BC by Greeks from Thera (Santorini). The city was shortly ruled by Cyrenaica but was then taken over by Carthage. Like its neighbors, Oea was conquered by the Romans. It is tough to find any remains of Oea in Tripoli because the city has been continuously inhabited. This means that the modern city stands on top of Oea. The contemporary city has been built over the rare remaining old monuments and walls. If not, the stones have been quarried and reused as construction material elsewhere.

At least one monument testifies to Roman occupation: the Arch of Marcus Aurelius from the 2nd century AD. It stood at the very center of the city, but today it looks lost in a narrow park-like square. 

The death blow of Tripolitania came in the 4th century when a series of earthquakes occurred successively in 306, 310, and 365 AD. Some of the heavily damaged temples and official buildings were patched up to no avail. Slowly the proud cities of Tripolitania sank into oblivion and were resuscitated only in the 1930s. The Italians wanted to build a second Roman Empire and engaged in excavations all along the North African coastline. Those are the remains we can see today.

Exposing the Hellenistic past of Piraeus

Construction works often expose much of our hidden past, and the extension of Athens’ metro line to Piraeus is no exception.

What makes these digs particularly interesting is the fact that they go to deeper levels. In the present case, archaeologists have unearthed a huge amount of wooden artifacts from Hellenistic times. They were mostly thrown into the wells after the Romans invaded Athens in 86 BC. The search revealed wooden vessels, tools, parts of furniture, and even wooden construction elements. Extremely rare is the headless wooden statue of Hermes recovered from a well.

These wells and cisterns also yielded many more bits and pieces, and so far, 4,000 pieces have undergone restoration, together with 1,400 restored vessels and a collection of 1,300 wooden artifacts.

Of interest also is the excavation of the 55-meter-long central tunnel of the old aqueduct, which apparently was built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. It kept on functioning until it was destroyed by the invading Goths.

For the pleasure of today's Athenians and other visitors, the metro construction company has arranged an exhibition called Stin Epifania, meaning Brought to Light, or to the Surface, and housed in the Xylapothiki building. During the weekends, people are welcome to watch the excavation works from above.

At one of the metro stops, the Municipal Theater, an original salvaged mosaic floor will be exhibited under glass once the station is completed.

The volume of salvaged material from the eight separate excavation sites is vast, and it proves that the construction works can go hand in hand with archaeological excavations.

[Wooden statue, most likely of the ancient Greek god Hermes and an ancient Roman water tunnel from Piraeus, Greece.  EPA-EFE/GREEK MINISTRY OF CULTURE]

Rare report from the Makran Desert or the Desert of Gedrosia

Alexander’s march across the Gedrosian Desert is mentioned rather casually in history, probably because it is not one of his great accomplishments. Scholars generally label it as his greatest blunder. A few even pretend that he wanted to punish his soldiers for refusing to follow him to the edge of the world, which is absolutely ridiculous for two reasons. Firstly, he needed his troops, which he loved, meaning that he would never send them off to their death. Secondly, if Alexander did indeed want revenge, which is not in his personality, he would not have led this expedition in person.

One thing is sure, the Gedrosian or Makran Desert is one of the most inhospitable places on our planet of which we know very little. The survivors of Alexander’s daring expedition only met very few people on their way, and there is no reason why the situation would be different today.

Until now, we only had a few images of that region which reveal nothing more than a bare rocky landscape. But Iran has decided to have a closer look at the Makran Sefidkuh region, which is part of the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The first season of archaeological survey has started this year evidencing intriguing archaeological and anthropological finds. The most striking element is the circular or oval structures that closely resemble today’s dwellings.

The specific pottery that has been collected seems to date the site to the Bronze Age or the Chalcolithic era as it is known in India. This pottery is called Londo, which is typical for the region around the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Makran Desert. In Pakistan (which was India in Alexander’s days) this Londo could belong to the 3^rd/2^nd century BC, but the dating of this Baluchistan site in Iran may be slightly different.

So far, the team has identified twelve separate settlements that are no longer inhabited but surprisingly are all known by a name: Baragdan, Kuchkodam, Koddap, Tangsam, Kopidap, Javanja, Torkeguash, Dangar, Kupchu, Sorkhkalut Patgan and Siyahdan. Based on the glass bracelets and fragments of pottery, it could be established that these communities were semi-nomadic. They played a vital role in this important trade route between the Persian Gulf and the province of Sistan and Baluchestan (see: Alexander’s outpost in the Gulf).

Many questions, however, remain unanswered and will require further long-term studies, but these first excavations sound quite promising.

It remains an interesting subject altogether, not only because Alexander crossed the Gedrosian on his way west from Pattala but also because Craterus crossed the most fertile part of the Makran diagonally. He led thousands of demobilized veterans, much of the baggage train, and Alexander’s pregnant wife, Roxane to Alexandria-Arachosia to meet up with Alexander near Harmezeia (modern Hormuz).

[Pictures: Prehistoric circular structure found in the area (top) and Dwellings of the current nomad inhabitants of the area (bottom) [Credit: Hossein Vahedi)]