method of fixing the age of the ancient wrecks we find, it has its 

 drawbacks. The wood of any wreck is bound to be impregnated 

 with modern marine organisms which throw the count off. The 

 only reliable method is analyzing the wreck's cargo. But the under- 

 water archaeologist is interested in the cargo for purposes other 

 than dating alone. It is a primary-source sample of objects which 

 were all in use at the same time, and from the items making up the 

 cargo we can deduce the ports of call on the voyage, and therefore 

 the nature of the trade between these points. 



Early mariners of the Mediterranean nearly always hugged the 

 coast and limited their voyages to the summer season, unless famine 

 or outbursts of piracy forced them to set out during the winter. For 

 purposes of navigation, a rugged coast with easily identifiable land- 

 marks was preferable to a flat one with no points of reference. For 

 this reason many of the conspicuous headlands and islands of the 

 Mediterranean are mentioned in the Odyssey. 



Such was the fear of the low Egyptian coast line that all ships 

 on an east-west route across the Mediterranean sailed north of 

 Cyprus into the lee of the Taurus Mountains, past Side, Phaselis, 

 Myra, and Patara to the southern side of Rhodes. From here they 

 continued on to Crete, north past Cythera, Zacynthos, and Corcyra, 

 across the Strait of Otranto to Hydruntum, along the coast of 

 Magna Graecia to Sicily, then by Pantelleria to Utica and Carthage, 

 and finally along the coast of North Africa to the Pillars of Hercules. 

 It was possible to cross the Isthmus of Corinth overland by roller 

 tramway, but the tolls were so heavy that most cargo ships sailed 

 round the dangerous shores of the Peloponnesus. 



All along the busy routes the sailors were never out of sight of 

 one mountain peak or another. Dotted around the Mediterranean 

 are hundreds of minute islands and volcanic mountains which 

 bridge the gaps between the major land masses, and these were 

 indispensable guides to the early navigators. A perfect example is 

 Pantelleria, a volcanic cone between Africa and Sicily, rising more 

 than 2500 feet high. Although the island was completely barren it 

 was an important link in the Phoenician trade system. With this 

 brief background about the key civilizations of the classical world, 

 and something about their ships and methods of navigation, let us 

 now turn to the underwater archaeologist and his methods of 

 "digging" under the sea. 



Part of a frieze showing Roman siiips nearing 

 a lighthouse. Carved about AD. 200, it 

 came from Ostia, the port for Rome. 



This Theban vase of the eighth century B.C. 

 shows a steersman about to board a Greek 

 ship fitted with two banl<s of oars. 



133 



