The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus – I.1. The Zea Shipsheds and Slipways: Architecture and Topography. By Bjørn Lovén; The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus – I.2. The Zea Shipsheds and Slipways: Finds, Area 1 Shipshed Roof Reconstructions and Feature Catalogue. By Bjørn Lovén & Mette Schaldemose with contributions by B. Klejn-Christensen & M.M. Nielsen. (Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, Vol. 15, 1-2, 174 and 314 pages, illustrated in black & white, semihardcover). The first volume in the Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001–2006.Booklaunch of The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus – I.1. The Zea Shipsheds and Slipways: Architecture and Topography, Bjørn Lovén; The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus – I.2. The Zea Shipsheds and Slipways: Finds, Area 1 Shipshed Roof Reconstructions and Feature Catalogue. By Bjørn Lovén & Mette Schaldemose with contributions by B. Klejn-Christensen & M.M. Nielsen (Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, Vol.15, 1‐2, 174 and 314 pages, illustrated in black & white, semihardcover) (see more on the book below).
Introduction by the main author Dr. Bjørn Lovén, director of the Zea Harbour Project, followed by a lecture in English: The Piraeus and the Athenian Navy: Recent Archaeological and Historical Advances by Prof. dr. phil. Vincent Gabrielsen, Saxo-Institute, University of Copenhagen.
This study focuses on the naval base at Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. Dörpfeld and I.C. Dragátsis (1885) are dated here to 375–350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity – a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus.
In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2, and the naval base built in Zea Harbour was amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity.
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