基本説明
In Volume One we published the results of the three excavation campaigns
conducted on the port of Amathus and the light shed by these results on
the history of this sunken monument (Études Chypriotes XIX). Here
we shall present in two distinct sections the archaeological material
that was revealed during the excavations (1984-1986). First. we shall
study the artefacts discovered in the harbour basin: pottery. amphorae
and metallic objects dating from the Early Hellenistic period (end of
4th and beginning of 3rd century BC). The second section covers the
material found in freshwater wells that were dug during the Late Roman
era in the northern part of the harbour basin. which was then above sea
level. As regards the pottery. including sakieh jars and other pottery
fragments from the upper to the lower layers of the wells. as well as
the amphorae. the ensemble uniformly displays features of the end of the
6th – beginning of the 7th century AD. linked to artisanal activities in
the lower part of the town which was abandoned by its inhabitants a few
decades before the arrival of the Arabs. The metallic material presents.
in a similar fashion to that of the Hellenistic era. a variety of
fishing gear. while the ensemble of animal bones provides us with a rare
picture of the fauna that was present on Cyprus in the Late Roman
period. Lastly. the analyses conducted on wood from the sakiehs reveals
the use of tree species that grew in the region at that time. and 14C dating of the wood fragments confirms the dating proposed
by the ceramologists.
Après avoir livré dans le
volume 1 les résultats des trois campagnes de la fouille du port
d'Amathonte et leurs conséquences sur l'histoire de ce monument submergé
(Études Chypriotes XIX).
Full Description
We present here the results of three underwater excavation campaigns
conducted between 1984 and 1986 on the harbour of Amathus, Cyprus, an
exceptional monument of military architecture from the Early Hellenistic
era. After a description of the twenty sondages undertaken along the
moles, there follows a nomenclature of the blocks employed in the
construction, their modules, the typology of bosses for hoisting and
placing by a vertical boom crane, which gradually advanced along the
mole as it was being built. We describe the nearby quarries in which
negatives of the blocks used in the moles were found. The coins have
pointed to the attribution of the construction to Demetrius Poliorcetes
after his naval victory at Salamis in 306 BC, and the abandonment during
the reconquest of the island by Ptolemy I in 294.
In the
second part, we study the Late Roman wells that were excavated on the
north side of the harbour basin, which testify to large changes in sea
level.
Nous livrons ici le résultat des trois
campagnes de la fouille sous-marine du port d'Amathonte de Chypre en
1984-1986, exceptionnel monument d'architecture militaire de la haute
époque hellénistique. Après une description de la vingtaine de sondages
entrepris le long des môles, on trouvera une nomenclature des blocs mis
en œuvre dans la construction, leurs modules, la typologie des systèmes
de préhension pour leur levage ainsi que pour leur mise en place par une
grue à flèche verticale qui progressait au fur et à mesure de la
construction du môle. On décrira les carrières voisines dans lesquelles
ont été retrouvés les négatifs des blocs employés dans les môles. Les
monnaies contribuent à attribuer la construction à Démétrios Poliorcète
après sa victoire navale à Salamine en 306 avant J.-C. et l'abandon lors
de la reprise de l'île par Ptolémée Ier en 294.
Dans
une seconde partie, nous étudions les puits romains tardifs fouillés sur
le côté nord du bassin, témoins des forts changements du niveau marin.
