Ancient harbours & canals

Nordic harbours

• King Øystein's harbour at Agdenes, Norway, 12th century AD
• Harbours and trade during the Viking Age, Dan Carlsson
• Hedeby/Haitahabu. Viking age trading port destroyed by fire in 1050 AD. In the old harbour, presently situated in north Germany, 4 Viking ships have been found.
• Avaldsnes, Norway. Medieval harbour investigated by Stavanger Maritime Museum.

Roman harbours

• Ostia and Port of Claudius. Ostia was the first harbour of ancient Rome, later replaced by the Port of Claudius, present Fiumicino. The abandoned city was buried by sediment and sand, and excavated during the last century. The necropole of Ostia has several good ship images on the gravestones. The museum area is easily accessed from Rome.
• Portus Julius (Portus Iulius), Bay of Napes, Italy. In 37 BC this naval port was constructed by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa close to the ancient city Puteoli (present Pozzuoli). Later the area was partially submerged, partially dried up, because of volcanic activity. Now several parts are visible underwater.
• Marseilles, France. The Greek colony Massilia was founded around 600 BC. The Roman docks were discovered in 1947, investigated and made into a museum.
• Pisa. Roman port in Italy. In 1998 several well-preserved wrecks were located.
• Brioni. Roman port at the Croatian coast. Investigated by German and Croatian archaeologists.
• Caesarea, Israel. Caesarea Maritima was founded by King Herod in 22 B.C., constructed as an artificial harbour with concrete breakwaters, along the straight unprotected coastline. The old port is partially submerged, now being investigated. It has been arranged as un underwater archaeological park for visiting scuba divers.
• Leptis Magna (Lepcis Magna), Libya. Roman port that silted up. Has been excavated on land.
• Roman Salt Ports, MR Bloch Archive, Israel

Worldwide harbours

• Carthage, Tunisia. Traditionally founded by Phoenicians in 814 BC. Remains of the Phoenician naval base can be seen near Tunis. The circular boat house was reported to have slipways for 220 warships.
• Kition, present Larnaca, Cyprus. Phoenician naval port from 5th and 4th centuries BC. Fragments of boat houses and slipways are still visible.
• Alexandria, Egypt. The city was founded in 332 BC. This was the location of the famous lighthouse of Pharos, maybe 100 m tall. In Medieval times it was all destroyed by an earthquake.
• Tyrus (Tyre), Lebanon. The Phoenician port was taken by Alexander the Great in 332 BC and used through Roman times. According to Herodotus, in his Account of Egypt, Tyrus was founded in the 28th century BC.
• Piraeus, Greece. The naval ports of Zea, Mounychia and Kantharos in Pireus are said to have had roofed slipways for 372 warships in the 4th century BC. Fragments are still visible.
• Dwarka. Indian port from from 1500-1400 BC and later, that was washed into the ocean by floods.

Ancient canals

Some ancient inland waterways were very sophisticated. Transport on rivers or canals was easier and safer than on open sea. Some of these constructions have been investigated.

• The ancient Suez canal. This was a fully navigable passage between the Nile River and the Red Sea. Constructed c 500 BC, abandoned in the 8th c AD. Ref Skyllis 1/2000.
• The Xerxes Canal. Constructed by the Persians in northern Greece in 480 BC. This passage was one-two kilometres long, crossing the Chalkidke peninsula, as part of the Persian invasion on Greece. Link.
• The ancient Florida canal. Constructed ca 200 AD. Link.

Note on military harbours:
Hangar-looking boat houses and slipways were used during Antiquity for warships. The light, fragile and expensive warships, like the triremes, were only on water during missions, while on the other hand the heavier merchant ships were permanently in the sea. According to Herodotus, such slipways were used already in the 6th century BC. Ref Les dossiers d'archéologie, Editions Faton, juin 1993.