The Kyrenia Ship Final Excavation Report, Volume I: History of the Excavation, Amphoras, Pottery and Coins as Evidence for Dating

By Oxbow Books

The Kyrenia Ship, a Greek merchantman built around 315 BC, which sank off the north coast of Cyprus, was excavated between 1968 and 1972 under the direction of Michael L. Katzev of the University of Pennsylvania and Oberlin College. The importance of this ship lies in the exceptionally well-preserved hull that provided new insights into ancient shipbuilding, as well as the cargo it carried. The hold was stacked with transport amphoras of various types made on Rhodes, with a few examples from Samos, Kos, Knidos and Cyprus (?), supplemented by a consignment of millstones, iron billets and almonds.

The cabin pottery from Rhodes also suggests this was the vessel’s home port, a conclusion supported by most of the scientific ceramic analyses. Its trade route included Rhodes, Cyprus and the Levant with perhaps Egypt as a final destination.

This volume provides a detailed history of the excavation followed by definitive studies of the amphora cargo and the pottery associated with shipboard life. Some of the amphora stamps suggest that the ship sank between 294 and 291 BC, dates corroborated by the cabin wares. The repetition of four drinking cups (kantharoi), oil containers (gutti), wine measures (olpai), as well as bowls and saucers, suggests that the ship was sailed by a crew of four. Seven bronze coins were recovered, five minted in the name of Alexander the Great and one well-known type of Ptolemy I produced only on Cyprus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781785707537

Book preview

Front cover: Michael L. Katzev

T

HE

K

YRENIA

S

HIP

Final Excavation Report

T

HE

K

YRENIA

S

HIP

Final Excavation Report

History of the Excavation, Amphoras, Ceramics, Coins and Evidence for Dating

Volume I

Edited by

Susan Womer Katzev and Helena Wylde Swiny

Published in the United Kingdom in 2023 by

OXBOW BOOKS

The Old Music Hall, 106–108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JE

and in the United States by

OXBOW BOOKS

1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083

© Oxbow Books and the authors 2023

Hardback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-752-0

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-753-7 (epub)

Mobi ISBN: 978-1-78570-754-4

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022944602

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing.

For a complete list of Oxbow titles, please contact:

UNITED KINGDOMUNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Oxbow BooksOxbow Books

Telephone [phone]Telephone [phone], Fax [phone]

Email: [e-mail]: [e-mail]

www.oxbowbooks.comwww.casemateacademic.com/oxbow

Oxbow Books is part of the Casemate Group

Contents

List of figures

List of tables

Contributors

Preface: Susan Womer Katzev

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Susan Womer Katzev

1.2 Dedication to Michael and Susan Katzev from excavation members

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny, with contributions from David I. Owen, Robert K. ‘Chip’ Vincent†, Stephen J. Scheifele, Owen Gander, and Robin C. M. Piercy

1.3 Thanks to Laina

Susan Womer Katzev

1.4 In thanks to all who helped

Susan Womer Katzev with Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Robin C. M. Piercy

2 The excavation

2.1 How it began

Michael L. Katzev† [assembled by Susan Womer Katzev and Mary C. Sturgeon]

2.2 Kyrenia shipwreck remote sensing analysis

Jeremy N. Green

2.3 Kyrenia Ship data

2.3a. Labeling excavation objects

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Susan Womer Katzev

2.3b. Data explanation: creating the Amphora Plans

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Susan Womer Katzev

2.3c. The Kyrenia Ship Application (KSA)

Thomas L. Myette, Jr.

2.4 Evidence for Octopodia activity on the wreck site

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Susan Womer Katzev

3 The amphoras

3.1 The transport amphoras

Mark Lawall

3.2 Observations on amphora distribution

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Susan Womer Katzev

3.3 Analysis of resins from the Kyrenia Ship

Curt Beck† and Dorreen J. Ossenkop

3.4 Tales from taphonomic amphoras: marine biofouling as interpretive ecological tool on wreck site formation

Carlos Jimenez, Katerina Achilleos, Antonis Petrou, and Louis Hadjioannou

3.5 Wreck site formation process: the use of bryozoans

Katerina Achilleos, Carlos Jimenez, and Antonis Petrou

4 Goods of the crew

4.1 The goods of the crew

Andrea M. Berlin

4.2 Graffiti on the ship’s ceramics

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny, Susan Womer Katzev, Alan Johnston, Christopher Rollston, and Jo Ann Hackett

4.3 Wood identifications of objects in Volume I

Nili Liphschitz†

4.4 Plotting shipboard life: observations from the find spots of objects related to life on board the Kyrenia Ship

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Susan Womer Katzev

5 Ceramic analyses

5.1 Neutron activation analysis of ceramic samples from the Kyrenia Ship

Michael D. Glascock and Leslie G. Cecil

5.2 Petrographic analysis of the ceramics from the Kyrenia Ship

Yuval Goren

5.3 Organic residue analysis of pottery recovered from the Kyrenia Ship

Joseph A. Palatinus and Ruth F. Beeston

5.4 GC-MS analysis of contaminated Kyrenia Ship ceramic samples

Vic Garner† and Holley Martlew

5.5 Organic residue analysis of ceramic vessels from the Kyrenia Ship: searching for past contents

Lisa Briggs and Léa Drieu

6 Coins

6.1 The coins

Paul W. Keen

7 Conclusions

7.1 Summary closing wrap-up: what’s to come in Volumes II and III

Susan Womer Katzev

Glossary

List of figures

Endpapers

Front: Map of the central and eastern Mediterranean with sites relevant to Volume I, and inset map of Cyprus with cities of the Hellenistic Period, including the Kyrenia and Mazotos shipwreck sites. Map by Dan Davis.

Back: Map of Cyprus with sites relevant to Volume I. Map by Dan Davis.

Fig. 1.2.1. Michael and Susan Katzev en route to the wreck site with the walls of Kyrenia Castle in the background.

Fig. 1.3.1. Helena (Laina) Wylde working with fragments of wood from the Kyrenia Ship in the annex of Manifold Mansion.

Fig. 2.1.1. Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

Fig. 2.1.2. Position of the wreck site off Kyrenia drawn from hand-held compass readings to locations along the coast.

Fig. 2.1.3. Aerial view of Kyrenia from the east.

Fig. 2.1.4. The mound of approximately 80 amphoras as seen emerging from the flat, grassy seabed.

Fig. 2.1.5. 1967 survey grid with probes surrounding the visible amphora mound indicated.

Fig. 2.1.6. The metal detector in use.

Fig. 2.1.7. 1967 survey grid with metal deposits indicated.

Fig. 2.1.8. The magnetometer in use.

Fig. 2.1.9. Manifold Mansion, a short walk from the harbor, housed up to 55 excavation members.

Fig. 2.1.10. With eyes to see forward, simulating ancient ships on painted pottery, the barge was the diving platform.

Fig. 2.1.11. Lowering the ‘telephone booth’ to the seabed.

Fig. 2.1.12. A diver talks with the phone operator on the barge while standing in a safe bubble of air.

Fig. 2.1.13. A team of divers prepares to jump over the side and descend to the wreck site below.

Fig. 2.1.14. At the 10 ft (3 m) decompression stop excavators spent 24 minutes before surfacing.

Fig. 2.1.15. Cinematographer Bob ‘Sun-Gun Dunn’ recorded many aspects of the excavation.

Fig. 2.1.16. Excavated artifacts on display in Kyrenia Castle.

Fig. 2.1.17. Archbishop Makarios, excavation Director Michael Katzev and U.S. Ambassador Taylor Belcher on the barge examining a millstone set from the excavation.

Fig. 2.1.18. Loosening thick Neptune grass roots using a rod of bubbling air.

Fig. 2.1.19. Divers remove the silt overlay using a water ‘sucker’ left and an air lift.

Fig. 2.1.20. Plastic grid frames divide the wreck into 3 m squares (1969).

Fig. 2.1.21. Firing two cameras simultaneously, John Veltri, twice daily, maps the emerging wreck.

Fig. 2.1.22. Stereo photo-pairs are aligned by Julian Whittlesey in a viewing machine to plot the amphora cargo.

Fig. 2.1.23. Excavation architect Helena (Laina) Wylde ties numbered labels to the handles of large Rhodian amphoras.

Fig. 2.1.24. Amphoras raised in the first 1968 season lie in the Kyrenia Castle gallery that would become our storeroom.

Fig. 2.1.25. One of the many amphoras manufactured on the island of Rhodes.

Fig. 2.1.26. This stamp on a large Rhodian amphora was impressed at the potter’s workshop.

Fig. 2.1.27. Some of the amphora shapes carried within the ancient ship.

Fig. 2.1.28. Three rows of millstones lie underneath the amphora cargo.

Fig. 2.1.29. A working pair of millstones.

Fig. 2.1.30. Ancient millers work the two stones.

Fig. 2.1.31. The ancient crew ate on and drank from pottery made on Rhodes.

Fig. 2.1.32. The ship’s wooden hull begins to appear beneath the amphoras and millstone cargos.

Fig. 2.1.33. A fragment of the lead sheathing showing rows of copper tack heads and the circular impressions of barnacles.

Fig. 2.1.34. Lead sheathing still attached to the outer surface of the ship’s strakes.

Fig. 2.1.35. A diver adds broken amphora bases to hold down the layers of plastic sheeting that were used to cover the back-filled site at the end of the 1968 season.

Fig. 2.1.36. Stereo photo-pairs are used by photogrammetrist Joachim Höhle, and enabled Wylde (Swiny) to plan the hull.

Fig. 2.1.37. In 1969, after trenching around it, the hull is found to be well preserved.

Fig. 2.1.38. The excavation storeroom in Kyrenia Castle houses the hundreds of amphoras carried as cargo on board the ship.

Fig. 2.1.39. Almonds were carried in some of the jars.

Fig. 2.1.40. Bringing a millstone to a metal lifting basket already containing an amphora.

Fig. 2.1.41. One of the Greek letters chiseled on a millstone at the quarry.

Fig. 2.1.42. Pottery used for the crew’s meals.

Fig. 2.1.43. The crew fished using nets bordered by these small lead weights.

Fig. 2.1.44. The size of a small coin, this silver impression depicts Athena striding left.

Fig. 2.1.45. The ‘Big Concretion’ having been raised from the after cabin of the ship.

Fig. 2.1.46. A three-piece marble basin was also carried in the after cabin.

Fig. 2.1.47. Lead brail rings once sewn to the ship’s sail; note the two different shapes.

Fig. 2.1.48. Wooden double knobs most likely used as toggles.

Fig. 2.1.49. The only ship’s pulley block found in the excavation.

Fig. 2.1.50. Oak logs in the port bow, seen on the lower left.

Fig. 2.1.51. With ceiling planks removed, the hull and mast step complex are exposed.

Fig. 2.1.52. Joining an outer plank with tenons already in place, during construction of the modern replica Kyrenia II, in Perama, Greece (1982–1985).

Fig. 2.1.53. Kyrenia II illustrates ‘shell-first’ construction; the outer hull is built before adding any frames.

Fig. 2.1.54. The frames were attached by copper spikes clenched over like staples.

Fig. 2.1.55. Alternating frame types.

Fig. 2.1.56. Nailing lead sheathing onto the full scale section model of the hull in Kyrenia Castle, with diagonal rows of copper tacks).

Fig. 2.1.57. The mast step complex during excavation.

Fig. 2.1.58. The ‘cheese cutter’ accurately measures the curvature of the hull.

Fig. 2.1.59. Sawing a section of the starboard hull.

Fig. 2.1.60. A section of the starboard hull ready for lifting.

Fig. 2.1.61. A lifting tray of wood on its way to the surface.

Fig. 2.1.62. Washing silt from raised timbers.

Fig. 2.1.63. Plastic drafting film tracings of the ship’s frames.

Fig. 2.1.64. Timbers are kept soaking in fresh water.

Fig. 2.1.65. Conservator Frances Talbot restores a large water jar.

Fig. 2.1.66. The expedition storeroom becomes the center for conservation, recording, and photography.

Fig. 2.1.67. The Ship Gallery nears completion.

Fig. 2.1.68. Tank for treating ship’s timbers in PEG.

Fig. 2.1.69. Wylde catalogues each wood piece.

Fig. 2.1.70. Talbot supervises the ship’s mast step throughout its PEG conservation treatment.

Fig. 2.1.71. Teredo worm holes riddle the massive pine keel.

Fig. 2.1.72. Wylde reviews a timber tracing.

Fig. 2.1.73. Netia Piercy creating a 1:1 wood tracing on polyester film.

Fig. 2.1.74. Plan of the ship’s hull with mast step complex and some ceiling planking in place.

Fig. 2.1.75. Hot waxen frames come out of PEG treatment.

Fig. 2.1.76. N. Piercy cleans excess wax from a treated frame.

Fig. 2.1.77. Ancient saw marks clearly visible on a cleaned strake.

Fig. 2.1.78. J. Richard (Dick) Steffy ‘draws’ ship’s lines on the Ship Gallery wall using thin wood strips.

Fig. 2.1.79. Steffy laying a strake on his 1:5 scale hull model.

Fig. 2.1.80. Sailing the fiberglass 1:5 model.

Fig. 2.1.81. Building the full scale section model. The first strake (garboard) is joined by tenons to the keel rabbet.

Fig. 2.1.82. M. Katzev works on the 1:1 section model.

Fig. 2.1.83. Robin Piercy crafts a floor frame for the section model.

Fig. 2.1.84. The alternating frame types.

Fig. 2.1.85. A copper spike being driven through a treenail from the outside.

Fig. 2.1.86. Double-clenching a copper spike into the inner surface of a frame.

Fig. 2.1.87. The finished full scale section model ready for exhibition.

Fig. 2.1.88. Sheets of lead sheathing placed from the gunwale downwards complete the model.

Fig. 2.1.89. Mounting the conserved ancient keel onto its new concrete pedestal.

Fig. 2.1.90. The first frames are mounted on temporary wood scaffolding.

Fig. 2.1.91. Steffy joins a strake fragment using a stainless steel ‘pin’.

Fig. 2.1.92. Heating waxen timbers to make the timbers malleable for joining.

Fig. 2.1.93. Connecting heated frame pieces using wooden dowels.

Fig. 2.1.94. The last frame completes Steffy’s re-assembly in 1973.

Fig. 2.1.95. The finished hull, both sides reunited, ready for exhibition.

Fig. 2.1.96. National Geographic artist Richard Schlecht depicted the Kyrenia Ship for the magazine’s November 1974 issue.

Fig. 2.1.97. Permanent iron scaffolding supports the ancient ship.

Fig. 2.1.98. Rubber casts of 30 iron billets/ingots which helped form the ‘Big Concretion’.

Fig. 2.1.99. Attached to the ‘Big Concretion’ were an inkwell, bronze ladle, and amphora fragments. Trapped inside were many more objects.

Fig. 2.1.100. Individual concretions found throughout the excavation yielded castings of iron tools and other objects.

Fig. 2.1.101. Castings of iron javelins found beneath the hull.

Fig. 2.1.102. In 1987 the replica Kyrenia II sails seas once plied by her ancestor, the original Kyrenia Ship.

Fig. 2.1.103 a. Michael Katzev: a joyous moment in Kyrenia Castle; b. Michael and Susan Katzev: a shared moment en route to the wreck site.

Fig. 2.2.1. The 1967 method of surveying the wreck site using the magnetometer.

Fig. 2.2.2. Metal Plan: the 1967 magnetic field intensity contours and the metal detector plan.

Fig. 2.2.3. Probe Survey Plan: the 1967 probe survey plan.

Fig. 2.2.4. The magnetic field intensity profile along line D.

Fig. 2.2.5. The theoretical field intensity profile for a small spherical iron object.

Fig. 2.2.6. New Magnetometer Plan: the 2019 recalculated magnetic field intensity contours.

Fig. 2.2.7. The redrawn Katzev (1968) plan, showing the 1967 survey grids (thin lines), and the subsequent excavation grids (thick lines).

Fig. 2.2.8. The Probe Survey Plan from 1967 superimposed on the Amphora Original Mound, Millstone and Hull plans.

Fig. 2.2.9. The Metal Plan’s metal detector targets from 1967 superimposed on the Amphora Original Mound, Millstone and Hull plans.

Fig. 2.2.10. The New Magnetometer Plan superimposed on the Amphora Original Mound, Millstone and Hull plans.

Fig. 2.2.11. The Probe Survey Plan in Fig. 2.2.3 superimposed on the final Shipboard Life Plan.

Fig. 2.2.12. The Metal Plan’s metal detector targets in Fig. 2.2.2 superimposed on the final Shipboard Life Plan.

Fig. 2.2.13. The New Magnetometer Plan in Fig. 2.2.6 superimposed on the final Shipboard Life plan.

Fig. 2.2.14. A detail from the plan shown in Fig. 2.2.8 showing the Probe Survey Plan and the Amphora Original Mound Plan with the darkest area indicating the 1967 exposed amphoras.

Fig. 2.2.15. A detail from the plan shown in Fig. 2.2.9 showing the metal detector target Z11 corresponding to the lead anchor cores.

Fig. 2.3a.1. Amphora 001, from the Original Mound, the first of the cargo to be labeled.

Fig. 2.3a.2. Original Mound Plan with the numbered amphoras that protruded from the seabed.

Fig. 2.3a.3. Amphoras resting against the preserved hull receive their numbered plastic tags.

Fig. 2.3a.4. Part of the amphora cargo in the Kyrenia Ship Storeroom being catalogued.

Fig. 2.3a.5. Large Rhodian Amphora 911 from the Kyrenia Ship’s cargo and Andreas Cariolou, who discovered the Kyrenia Ship site.

Fig. 2.3a.6. On the barge diver Peter Leonard shows the Director his collection of finds; underwater plastic slate with drawing of Grid 5B and triangulated findspot of the unique fish plate assigned Bottom Tag CG (P6).

Fig. 2.3a.7. A diver prepared to record finds.

Fig. 2.3b.1. 3D recreation of the amphora cargo as drawn in the Level I Amphora Plan (Fold out Plan I).

Fig. 2.3b.2. 3D recreation of the Level II Amphora Plan (Fold out Plan II).

Fig. 2.3b.3. 3D recreation of the Level III Amphora Plan (Fold out Plan III).

Fig. 2.3b.4. Still image of the three-dimensional model of the Kyrenia Ship created in 2022 from photographs taken in 1967, of the mound of amphoras, when the wreck site was first rediscovered.

Fig. 2.3c.1. Kyrenia Ship Application Main Menu Screen.

Fig. 2.3c.2. Kyrenia Ship Application Objects Screen.

Fig. 2.3c.3. Kyrenia Ship Application Events Page.

Fig. 2.4.1. Diver Owen Gander engaging with a Common octopus on the Kyrenia Shipwreck site.

Fig. 2.4.2. Knidos region prow-stamp class amphora 029 with rounded rim and Rhodian fractional 806 concreted to its shoulder found high up in the cargo.

Fig. 2.4.3. The concretion that enveloped iron hammer Fe12, the arrows indicate two out of the three attached ballast stones.

Fig. 2.4.4. The bow area designated as AIB was full of artifacts gathered in the dens of numerous generations of octopuses that lived within the hull.

Fig. 2.4.5. Resident octopus, peering from the neck of amphora 666 its den, with tentacles wrapped around its body. Perhaps this is the culprit who stole 5 lead brail rings being excavated in Grid 6A.

Fig. 2.4.6. A Kyrenia Ship octopus crawling through the intact Rhodian amphora cargo.

Fig. 3.1.1. Amphoras illustrating Michael L. Katzev’s original field typology.

Fig. 3.1.2. Amphora Plan Level I.

Fig. 3.1.3. Amphora Plan Level II.

Fig. 3.1.4. Amphora Plan Level III.

Figs 3.1.5–3.1.15. Amphora cat. nos. 3.1.1–3.1.63.

Fig. 3.1.16. Stone lids

Fig. 3.1.17. Plan showing the distribution of Kyrenia Ship amphoras with stamps.

Fig. 3.2.1. Hypothetical reconstruction of the large and fractional Rhodian amphora cargoes stacked on top of the millstones in the stern area of the hold.

Fig. 3.2.2. The three levels of stacked amphoras were already evident during the 1967 survey and more evidence for the method of lading revealed during excavation.

Fig. 3.2.3. Hypothetical reconstruction of the deepened hull of the Kyrenia Ship with the Rhodian amphora cargoes in the cargo hold.

Fig. 3.2.4. Rhodian fractional amphora 402 (center) resting on the shoulder of Large Rhodian 438 photographed prior to excavation.

Fig. 3.2.5. The lowest level of large Rhodian amphoras placed against the curvature of the portside hull and detail of amphoras 481, 081, 498 and 034.

Fig. 3.2.6. Loading replica amphoras into the hold of Kerynia Liberty using a mast derrick.

Fig. 3.2.7. Holes in the shoulder of amphora 008 caused by its adjacent jar.

Fig. 3.2.8. Rub marks caused by adjacent amphoras or those in different levels are indicated by arrows on amphora 454.

Fig. 3.2.9. Remnants of Thorny burnet (Poterium spinosum) found on the undersurface of one of the frames in the ship’s bow.

Fig. 3.2.10. Hypothetical reconstruction of the Thorny burnet dunnage used to protect and cushion the amphora cargo.

Fig. 3.2.11. The chaotic scene in Grid 4B of the cargo that tumbled to the seabed when the starboard hull collapsed.

Fig. 3.2.12. The handles of the amphoras were aligned bow to stern.

Fig. 3.2.13. Rows of stacked amphoras running across the hold on the port side.

Fig. 3.2.14. The Amphora Mound with black arrows indicating where looting had taken place prior to the excavation in 1968, the white arrow points to an amphora that is no longer in situ.

Fig. 3.2.15. Broken bases and lower bodies of amphoras removed to the side of the wreck site.

Fig. 3.2.16. A portion of the amphora cargo from the wreck in the Kyrenia Ship storeroom.

Fig. 3.2.17. The short stubby bases of Samian amphoras rested between the ship’s frames in the bow without touching the inside of the hull.

Fig. 3.2.18. Crew members in their sleeping quarters under the bow cuddy of the replica Kyrenia II during the April 1987 voyage from Cyprus to Greece.

Fig. 3.2.19. Reconstruction of the three rows of large Rhodian amphoras stacked within the hold.

Fig. 3.2.20. Fractional Rhodian amphora 806 adhering to the neck of large Rhodian 029 illustrates how the smaller amphoras were carried as cargo.

Fig. 3.2.21. Diver Christian Keller holds bags of almonds just lifted from the wreck site.

Fig. 3.2.22. Layers of almonds in situ within the bow of the ship.

Fig. 3.2.23. PEG treated almonds from the Kyrenia Ship inside a modern burlap sack illustrating how they might have been transported.

Fig. 3.3.1. Total ion chromatogram of CMG 1694 P85.

Fig. 3.3.2. Infrared spectrum no. 3222 of CMG 1694 P85: (a) isopropyl skeletal bands; (b) isopropyl C-H deformation bands.

Fig. 3.4.1. Handling history of amphora 028.

Fig. 3.4.2. (A) Changes in the appearance and volume of marine growth (organic and inorganic); amphora 416; (B) Loss of sponge cover on amphora 014 (digitally coloured to facilitate recognition) by mechanical damage during excavation.

Fig. 3.4.3. Change in the area covered by bryozoan colonies (Reptadeonella violacea) on amphora 028.

Fig. 3.4.4. Fouling organisms on amphoras.

Fig. 3.4.5. Examples of amphoras used in the blind experiment to reconstruct position and environment in 1967 based on the marine growth (organic and inorganic).

Fig. 3.5.1. In situ amphora from the Kyrenia Ship with bryozoan colonies and autozooids of Mollia patellaria.

Fig. 3.5.2. Bryozoans on amphora 426.

Fig. 3.5.3. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis of the amphoras based on their position in the original mound as shown on a 1967 photo (right) from the archaeological site.

Fig. 3.5.4. Simplified line drawing of an amphora showing two mortality events identified as interruptions on the bryozoan colony skeletal growth due to sedimentation.

Fig. 3.5.5. Amphora 529, ‘clean’ areas (ceramic) indicated with arrows and Hermodice carunculata (bearded fireworm) feeding on a bryozoan colony at the Amathunta artificial reef, Limassol, Cyprus.

Fig. 4.1.1. Shipboard Life Plan.

Fig. 4.1.2. Single place settings.

Fig. 4.1.3. Kantharoi and olpai.

Fig. 4.1.3. Gutti.

Fig. 4.1.5. Saucers, bowls, and salters.

Fig. 4.1.6. Odd saucers.

Fig. 4.1.7. Serving vessels.

Fig. 4.1.8. Water pitchers

Fig. 4.1.9. Utility vessels

Fig. 4.1.10. Cooking ware lids and cooking pots.

Fig. 4.1.11. Copper cauldron, Cu 4.

Fig. 4.1.12. Replicas of grill stand Fe11 and iron slats in use.

Fig. 4.1.13. Inkwell P102; Miniature lamp P122 and lopadion P162.

Fig. 4.1.14. Recent bilge, saucers.

Fig. 4.1.15 Recent bilge, deep bowls and table vessels.

Fig. 4.1.16. Recent bilge, cooking vessels and strainer P105/106.

Fig. 4.1.17. Early bilge. Achaemenid cups.

Fig. 4.1.18. Early bilge, Torpedo jars.

Figs 4.1.19–4.1.22. Kantharos.

Figs 4.1.23–4.1.26. Olpes.

Figs 4.1.27–4.1.28. Saucers.

Fig. 4.1.29. P6. Fish plate.

Figs 4.1.30–4.1.36. Saucers.

Figs 4.1.37–4.1.46. Bowls.

Figs 4.1.47–4.1.50. Salters.

Figs 4.1.51–4.1.54. Gutti.

Fig. 4.1.55. P21/108. Bowl.

Fig. 4.1.56. P20/P22. Krater.

Fig. 4.1.57. P25. Covered dish (lekanis).

Figs 4.1.58–4.1.59. Table juglets.

Fig. 4.1.61. P17. Grinding bowl/mortar/mortarium.

Fig. 4.1.62. P15. Small pitcher.

Figs 4.1.63–4.1.64. Water pitchers.

Fig. 4.1.65. P27. Ladle.

Figs 4.1.66–4.1.69. Cooking pots.

Figs 4.1.70–4.1.71. Lids, cooking ware.

Figs 4.1.72–4.1.73. Large baggy jars/hole mouth jars.

Fig. 4.1.74. 573 P133. Torpedo jar.

Fig. 4.1.75. P26. Lid.

Fig. 4.1.76. P102. Inkwell.

Fig. 4.1.77. P85. Juglet.

Fig. 4.1.78. P146. Handle.

Fig. 4.1.79. P122. Miniature lamp.

Fig. 4.1.80. P162. Miniature lopas (lopadion).

Fig. 4.1.81. Cu17. Lid, small, bronze.

Fig. 4.1.82. Cu19. Duck’s head ladle, bronze.

Fig. 4.1.83. Cu20. Cup or small juglet/neck, copper.

Fig. 4.1.84. Sn1. Bowl, small, tin.

Fig. 4.1.85. Cu4. Cauldron, copper.

Figs 4.1.86–4.1.87. Iron grill stands/ends and slat fragments.

Fig. 4.1.88. S12. Pounder.

Fig. 4.1.89. W23–4.1.90. Wooden bowls.

Figs 4.1.91–4.1.94. Wooden spoon bowls and fragments.

Fig. 4.1.95. W25. Lid and wooden jar/canister W27A.

Fig. 4.1.96. P156. Kantharos.

Figs 4.1.97–4.1.98. Saucers.

Figs 4.1.99–106. Bowls.

Fig. 4.1.107. P121. Kantharos, large.

Fig. 4.1.108. P142. Krater or hydria handle.

Fig. 4.1.109. P164. Lid for a covered dish (lekanis)?

Fig. 4.1.110. P152. Table jug, small.

Fig. 4.1.111. P140. Pitcher or jar.

Fig. 4.1.112. P105/106. Strainer.

Figs 4.1.113–4.1.115. Cooking pots/chytras.

Fig. 4.1.116. P158. Casserole or cooking bowl.

Fig. 4.1.117. P161. Cooking pot.

Fig. 4.1.118. P126. Lid, cooking ware.

Fig. 4.1.119. P28. Jug or jar.

Fig. 4.1.120. P100. Jar.

Fig. 4.1.121. P132. Pitcher.

Figs 4.1.122–4.1.123. Jars.

Figs 4.1.124–4.1.125. Torpedo jars.

Fig. 4.1.126. P97. Lamp.

Fig. 4.1.127. P124a. Lid.

Fig. 4.1.128. P24. Flat sherd/tile.

Figs 4.1.129–4.1.132. Achaemenid cups.

Fig. 4.1.133. 910 P174. Torpedo jar.

Fig. 4.2.1. Greek letters EY scratched on the shoulder of amphora 586.

Fig. 4.2.2. Scratched letter or imperfection in the clay, on the interior of salt dish P104.

Fig. 4.2.3. Enigmatic incisions on the ring base of bowl P90.

Figs. 4.2.4. Bowl P103 has a most interesting series of scratched letters with Phoenician and Greek possibilities of interpretation.

Fig. 4.2.5. Probable Greek upsilon incised within the interior of bowl P130.

Fig. 4.2.6. Fish plate P6, unique example found within the Kyrenia Ship, with 3 letters EYП, and perhaps lower case Greek omicron scratched post firing.

Fig. 4.2.7. Small saucer P84 with several letters scratched inside its ring base.

Fig. 4.2.8. Greek delta, probably inscribed pre-firing, on the base of saucer P98; other scratches are unclear as to interpretation.

Fig. 4.4.1. Fragments of the bowl of a wooden spoon (indicated by the arrow) made from Populus alba or P. nigra lying in the starboard hull.

Fig. 4.4.2. Detail plan showing finds amidships to the stern in Grids 4, 5, 6 – Z, A, B, C.

Fig. 4.4.3. Copper cauldron Cu4 (indicated by arrows) trapped under starboard strake S3 and frame F13.

Fig. 4.4.4. Detail plan showing bow finds in Grids 1, 2, 3 – A, B, C.

Fig. 4.4.5. Baskets may have held the ceramics used by the three members of the crew.

Fig. 5.1.1. Scatterplot for pottery samples from the Kyrenia Ship on principal component PC 1 versus principal component PC 2 which explains 73.8% of the variance.

Fig. 5.1.2. Scatterplot for pottery samples from the Kyrenia Ship on principal component PC 1 versus principal component PC 3 which explains 71.8% of the variance.

Fig. 5.1.3. Scatterplot of chromium versus nickel for samples from Groups 2, 3, 4, and 9.

Fig. 5.1.4. Scatterplot of Manganese versus Thorium for samples from Groups 6–8.

Fig. 5.2.1. P100, Western Cyprus group fabric.

Fig. 5.2.2. 114 P66, Rhodian Fabric Class 1.

Fig. 5.2.3. P106/P105, Levantine Lower Cretaceous Clay/Shales fabric.

Fig. 5.2.4. P140 EX sub1, Ras Shamra fabric.

Fig. 5.2.5. P137, Central Israel coastal fabric.

Fig. 5.2.6. 663, ‘Samian’ amphora fabric.

Fig. 5.2.7. 566 P47, ‘Samian’ amphora fabric.

Fig. 5.2.8. 534 P56, Assumed Parian Fabric Class 2.

Fig. 5.2.9. 411 P54, Cyprus ‘Circum-Troodos’ fabric.

Fig. 5.2.10. 345, assumed Thasian Fabric Class 1.

Fig. 5.2.11. 029 P50, assumed Knidian ‘Prow-stamp’ Fabric Class 1.

Fig. 5.2.12. 817 P58, ‘East Aegean’ fabric.

Fig. 5.3.1. Chromatogram (5–30 minutes) of Ky 101, an unmarked/ unlabeled Samian amphora base sherd.

Fig. 5.3.2. Chromatogram (5–30 minutes) of P20, a krater base sherd.

Fig. 5.3.3. Mass spectra of ethylmethyldisulfide compared with National Institute of Standards and Technology Library Spectrum.

Fig. 5.3.4. Mass spectra of diethyldisulfide compared with National Institute of Standards and Technology Library Spectrum.

Fig. 5.5.1. The selection of Kyrenia Ship ceramic samples analyzed for organic residues.

Figs 6.1.1–6.1.7. Bronze coins.

Fig. 6.1.8. Possible silver inset for a ring Pb11/C8.

Fold out Plan I. Amphora Plan Level I.

Fold out Plan II. Amphora Plan Level II.

Fold out Plan III. Amphora Plan Level III.

Fold out Plan IV. Shipboard Life Plan.

List of tables

Table 2.2.1. List of contacts in 1967 survey.

Table 2.2.2. Magnetic targets based on revised software analysis of data.

Table 3.1.1. Concordance between Michael Katzev’s working typology and the present typology organized by place or region of manufacture.

Table 3.1.2. Stamps on Rhodian amphoras or isolated Rhodian amphora handle fragments.

Table 3.1.3. Stamp on a Rhodian mushroom rim (short neck) amphora.

Table 3.1.4. Stamps on Knidos region amphoras.

Table 3.1.5. Counts of complete and fragmentary amphoras found on the Kyrenia Ship.

Table 3.1.6. Amphoras with rub marks sorted by location on the site.

Table 3.1.7. Rhodian Mushroom Rim capacities.

Table 3.1.8. Capacities of Rhodian fractional amphoras in liters.

Table 3.1.9. Capacities of non-Rhodian amphoras in liters.

Table 3.1.10. Estimated values of goods.

Table 3.3.1. Neutral and acidic components in Kyrenia resins.

Table 3.3.2. Acidic components (as methyl esters) in resinous remains.

Table 3.4.1. Amphoras used in the blind experiment and the quantity of fouling categories.

Table 3.5.1. Inspected amphoras in their respective layers and total number of bryozoan species.

Table 4.1.1. Counts of in use and bilge ceramic on board the Kyrenia Ship.

Table 4.3.1. Tree species used to make the Kyrenia Ship crew’s wooden objects.

Table 4.3.2. Native distribution habitats in Turkey of the tree species used to make wooden objects found on the Kyrenia Ship.

Table 4.3.3. Native distribution in the world of the tree species used to make wooden objects found on the Kyrenia Ship.

Table 5.1.1. The first five principal components (PCs) for sherds from the Kyrenia Ship based on the least mobile elements.

Table 5.1.2. Means and standard deviations for paste group compositions from the Kyrenia Ship.

Table 5.1.3. Object IDs for Kyrenia Ship specimens in each paste group.

Table 5.1.4. Group descriptions and suggested provenance for ceramic paste groups identified in this study.

Table 5.5.1. Ceramic samples analyzed in this study.

Table 5.5.2. Results of organic residue analysis, with methods used.

List of contributors

Katerina Achilleos

[e-mail]

Curt Beck†

Ruth F. Beeston

[e-mail]

Andrea Berlin

[e-mail]

Lisa Briggs

[e-mail]

Leslie G. Cecil

[e-mail]

Léa Drieu

[e-mail]

Owen Gander

[e-mail]

Vic Garner†

Michael D. Glascock

[e-mail]

Yuval Goren

[e-mail]

Jeremy N. Green

[e-mail]

Jo Ann Hackett

[e-mail]

Louis Hadjioannou

[e-mail]

Carlos Jimenez

[e-mail]

Alan Johnston

[e-mail]

Michael L. Katzev†

Susan Womer Katzev

[e-mail]

Paul W. Keen

[e-mail]

Mark Lawall

[e-mail]

Nili Liphschitz†

Holley Martlew

[e-mail]

Thomas L. Myette, Jr.

[e-mail]

Dorreen J. Ossenkop

[e-mail]

David. I. Owen

[e-mail]

Joseph A. Palatinus

Antonis Petrou

[e-mail]

Robin C. M. Piercy

[e-mail]

Christopher Rollston

[e-mail]

Stephen J. Scheifele

[e-mail]

Helena Wylde Swiny

[e-mail]

Robert K. ‘Chip’ Vincent†

Preface

The Kyrenia Ship was found and excavated more than 50 years ago. For many decades it was a landmark project for innovation that pushed the boundaries of underwater excavation to new limits. The results of this work can be seen in the conserved and re-assembled ship and its finds on display in the Shipwreck Museum in Kyrenia Castle. The cargo and items used by the crew with their attendant stories are a feature of this small but important museum that continues to attract large numbers of Cypriot and international visitors.

Michael Katzev directed the initial survey, excavation, and study of the findings from the Kyrenia Ship starting in 1967 until his death in 2001 at the early age of 62. Michael had hoped to publish the results himself, but upon his passing, I, his wife Susan, was left to see that through. Excavation member Helena Wylde Swiny (Laina), to whom Michael had entrusted the recording of the ship’s hull, soon volunteered her help to move forward in publishing the results. Needless to say, picking up the reins from Michael’s capable hands was a daunting task. Fortunately, he was a meticulous note keeper and so, when reflecting over these and the many discussions held with him over the years, Laina and I were able to put in place a draft plan that we hoped would fulfill his dreams.

One of the major problems that faced us early on was how to update the large volume of material Michael had already studied and his early drafts of manuscripts to include more recent discoveries and work that had been published in the intervening years since the excavation. We did so by reaching out to nearly 60 specialists in the subject matter and to additional scientific laboratories world-wide to bring their expertise to form the final publication of which this is the first volume. Many of these authors have journeyed to Kyrenia to work with the excavated material first-hand. To all of them go thanks from the ancient ship for the value of their time and focus.

In the study of the ship itself, its high degree of preservation has allowed for the building of two full scale sailing replicas. They have taught us much about being an ancient mariner. For example, in a loading experiment with Kerynia Liberty we learned that with the current freeboard of that replica, the nearly 400 excavated amphoras would not have fitted comfortably into its open hold … and if they were filled with a liquid the vessel would have sunk. We had not built the replica with enough height! This then started a whole new line of enquiry and has drawn a number of talented students to recreate a deeper hulled vessel using computer graphics which show us that a further 90–100 cm of hull height would be needed for the ship to stay afloat! More questions came to our minds, inviting/generating more practical experiments: Would the amphoras have floated away and not sunk inside the ship if they had been empty? Were the seven iron javelin heads on board for protection … or do they signal an attack by pirates? These experiments will follow in later volumes.

To cover the excavation as Michael had envisaged, it became obvious that we were immersed in a massive project. To keep ourselves on track we broke the writings into three main groupings of related subjects that have become three separate volumes. This first one has probably been the hardest to write and complete. In it we set the scene for the ship’s last journey on Hellenistic seas, study the amphoras that contained its major cargo, and date the voyage through them, along with the coinage, and explore the pottery being used by the men who crewed this journey and earlier ones. Our sincere thanks go to Oxbow Books for guiding us as we have learned the ropes.

Susan Womer Katzev

1

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Susan Womer Katzev

You are one of four men on a merchant ship sailing the waters off the north coast of Cyprus. Your lifeline to shore is the small boat you are towing behind. Suddenly your ship, the home you’ve known for weeks, perhaps months, even years, is filling with water. And now your life stands in the balance. Your ship slips beneath the waves.

We will never know if you lived or died that day. But clues to the life you led on board that ship went down with her as she settled into the seabed and rested in a cocoon of silt for 2300 years. Men and women wearing rubber suits and breathing the same air you once breathed descended through the watery world that entombed your ship after all those centuries and raised those precious fragments of your story that survived.

If you were alive today, you would laugh in disbelief at the efforts we put into reconstructing the worm-eaten planks of the ship you took for granted. You would smile too at how we glue back and analyze in laboratories the shattered pieces of the pots and pans you used, never thinking that someday it would matter where you’d bought them in your wide-ranging travels. You knew your rigging by instinct. Your tools and equipment were no more than the means for getting things done.

But now, so separated in time from you, we excavators embark upon getting into your mind and piecing together how you lived, using only what remnants of your last voyage the sea preserved for us. I hope your descendants are among us on this modern voyage. More than many ancient craft, the timbers of your ship survived remarkably preserved after she hit the seabed. The huge cloud of silt she sent up buried many of them in a protective cloak of fine sand and, later, currents built up more protection as the hull gradually fell apart.

What you left on board tantalizes us with questions. What commodities were you carrying in the differently shaped amphoras? (The plural ‘amphoras’ instead of ‘amphorae’ is used throughout this text as better reflecting the Greek plural form and following the convention established in the work of Virginia Grace). We have been trying to learn this for nearly 50 years. How I wish you could tell us! You carried in the bow a giant, handsome, black-glaze drinking cup of the finest quality made by Athenian potters. Why did only the top survive? Who broke it? Was it the remnant of your leaving home and pouring ritual wine into the sea for good fortune? Was it the rule to break it? Were iron-tipped javelins there for your protection or do they signal an attack? What did an active, yet uninscribed curse tablet have to do with your ship’s fate and possibly your own?

I have come to realize that as much as we try by care and science to glean the maximum through excavation, we come to snatch only partial understanding in our open hands. The rest slips through our outstretched fingers and escapes like butterflies. In a recurring dream I am walking at dawn through the dust and babble of the ancient marketplace of Athens. The shops and canopied outdoor stalls are about to offer up trade goods, foods, tools, clever machines, all manner of objects that will make clear the broken fragments, the loose ends, the myriad unanswered questions from the excavation. And suddenly the scene goes blank. It is not meant to be that all the mysteries are solved. Still, I think you would be intrigued by how much our researchers can say about how you and your mates lived and about the skilled builders who shaped your ship and kept her sailing through waters once ruled by Alexander the Great and then into the divisive hands of his successors. Finally, you should know that more than 50 scholars have been studying your story for more years than your ship sailed. And over 50 of us dived to retrieve your ship. Is it a fair trade-off?

I can only say that a special bond formed between members of the Kyrenia Ship family that lasts to this day. We were a young group brought together by Michael Katzev, just 29 himself. Wonderful future scholars joined with skilled future career people who have never lost touch with each other since those days. We all agree that we loved being part of a pioneering team in ship preservation. We loved each day’s fresh challenges in problem solving. And at the time we realized that we were set down in a special place in a special time when we were welcomed into Kyrenia town and enjoyed its friendly ease of life. We named the ancient ship accordingly in thanks.

Some of our mates have left us now. Those who remain rejoice that our golden days live on in this publication. Cyprus was good to us, and we return to her this record of our labors. Our shared joys were made possible by our director, Michael Katzev. He did the hard work to make it all appear so easy.

1.2 Dedication to Michael and Susan Katzev from excavation members

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny, with contributions from David I. Owen, Robert K. ‘Chip’ Vincent†, Stephen J. Scheifele, Owen Gander, and Robin C.M. Piercy

I don’t think that any of us knew the effect that the Kyrenia Ship excavation would have on our lives when we arrived in Cyprus for the first season in 1968. We were young, vital, energetic, keen to dive, and ready for the adventure. Some of us had worked for George Bass at Yassiada and it was there that we met Michael and Susan. For other members the meetings had been earlier, as recounted first by David Owen and then Chip Vincent below:

It seems so very long ago, 1964, that I first encountered Michael as he drove into Bodrum, Turkey, in his beloved 190SL. Little did he, or I, know that the encounter, indeed our involvement with George Bass’s dream to establish underwater excavation as a legitimate field within archaeology, would have such a lasting influence on the rest of our lives.

Fig. 1.2.1. Michael and Susan Katzev en route to the wreck site with the walls of Kyrenia Castle in the background. Photo: courtesy of the National Geographic Society (hereafter NGS).

Michael fell in love with Susan soon after that summer’s expedition and subsequently, my wife, another Susan, and I began a friendship that has remained intact until today.

When the Kyrenia Ship was discovered and Michael and Susan embarked on their Cyprus project, he asked me to be the assistant director, and so they invited us to join them in what was to become an extraordinary two-year adventure in discovery. Michael’s talent for organization, his warm and easy going personality, and his ability to delegate responsibility to those he trusted, were just a few of the attributes that made working with him such a distinct pleasure. As the only two married couples on the Kyrenia Ship excavation we shared adjacent rooms, often ate and drank together on days off at the Harbor Club overlooking picturesque Kyrenia harbor, and shared the excitement and occasional frustrations with the excavation and politics.

I recall his passionate commitment to the wonderfully preserved ship, his meticulous control of excavation detail, his ability to innovate excavation safety and techniques and his interpersonal skills when dealing with the international team. Michael and Susan became genuine members of the Kyrenia community that they had hoped to remain part of ‘forever’. Of course, history and circumstances have a way of their own and neither the permanence in Cyprus, Greece, or even life was predictable.

The half-century plus that has passed since our first encounter did not diminish the fondness that I, and my wife Susan, hold for Susan and continue to hold for Michael and his memory. While the culmination of the publication of the Kyrenia Ship excavation is a fitting monument to Michael’s skill as a director and scholar, it is the lasting affection all of us had for each other that truly matters.

David I. Owen

~

‘So you are at the Law School’, Michael said. ‘You never know … we might need your services on the expedition’. The underwater office in the basement of the University Museum was reached through a maze of corridors filled with water pipes – a fitting start to joining Michael and Susan’s team for the first season of underwater excavation on the Kyrenia Ship. That first meeting marked the beginning of a friendship that became life-long and deep.

Michael realized the value of assembling a team that was highly motivated and skilled. Unlike many leaders he did not feel threatened or intimidated by bringing together staff that was better than he at certain skills. He was also unafraid to say so, and gave us the freedom we needed to move the project along. What we achieved was truly stunning and included a conserved and reassembled ancient ship in Kyrenia’s Crusader Castle, a museum in adjoining rooms, as well as two full-scale sailing replicas whose images on Cypriot stamps, passports, and the Island’s first Euro coins reflect its status as a cherished symbol.

Successful leadership can be elusive if a certain unspoken distance is observed. But Michael’s style of warm leadership engendered remarkable loyalty from his large diving teams. And then the smaller group which stayed on for the post-excavation work of recording, conserving, and reassembling the ancient ship drew us all closer into deep enduring friendships.

Michael was a gifted speaker. I was proud to be in the standing-room only audience at the National Geographic Society headquarters when his narration of the first rushes of the excavation film dazzled the room; and again the next summer when he filled the huge courtyard of Kyrenia Castle delivering an expanded film account of what was being achieved to the townspeople.

He spent his post-Kyrenia years researching all aspects of the ship. His sudden death was a shock to us all. When Susan rang my wife Fran and me, amongst her first words were that she was going to take Michael’s lifelong work and put it into the publication he was working towards. That will be a lasting tribute to his leadership of one of the most successful of all archaeological excavations whether terrestrial or nautical.

Robert K. (Chip) Vincent†

~

Michael touched the lives of many people in a life-altering way. He was able to accomplish this with confidence that belied his young age. His keen intellect, gracious charm, and personal warmth created camaraderie amongst an international group of strangers that led to lifelong memories and friendships. For me personally, he enabled an experience that broadened horizons beyond imagination. I continue to share Michael’s memory and legacy and have traveled back to revisit Kyrenia with my family. I still remember the first time I met Michael with his tanned skin, windswept hair, and bright gaze that would forever change my life.

Stephen J. Scheifele

~

I learned of the Kyrenia shipwreck from a talk given by Helena Wylde in England and was told that the expedition was looking for a chief diver for the 1969 season. I applied and was asked to join by Michael Katzev. I could see from the start how Michael’s leadership and his respect for the team joined us all together. As a professional commercial diver I was impressed with the whole team and how it managed to seamlessly put in two dives a day to the site. Now 47 years later many of us are still in touch. I retired to Cyprus and now live not far from Kyrenia, so my association continues through weekly visits to monitor the Ship’s condition in its display gallery.

I recall that after the close of the diving season and the last tray of the ship’s wood had been raised, Alasia the barge we had used was to be taken to Cyprus Mines Corporation in Xeros. Michael always referred to the barge as ‘Mother’. Much to my delight, a 1917 oil-fired, steam tug with a triple-expansion-engine came from CMC to tow us. When we arrived at Xeros a water spout passed right over us. Its violence broke the mooring chain and ‘Mother’ was driven ashore. Fortunately she was quickly salvaged and repaired, and I still have the wonderful letter from Michael thanking me for everything and suggesting that we meet up in London.

In 1985 my wife Enid and I received an invitation to attend the official launching of the replica Kyrenia II in Greece. I have a photograph of Michael, myself, and Yiannis Cleanthous who is about to anoint Robin Piercy with Metaxas brandy. What fun we had! After the launch, we all boarded Kyrenia II and sailed across the bay and into the sunset.

A wonderful tribute to Michael, Susan and all the team for a job well done – you will always be remembered!

Owen Gander

~

In these last decades I have come to understand just how unique was Michael’s contribution to the field of Nautical Archaeology. The restored ship in its gallery within Kyrenia Castle will remain a beacon and memorial to his persistence and dedication in following a dream of excellence which may be equaled, but never eclipsed.

I had the great fortune to work with Michael over the years of the Ship’s excavation, conservation and display and have many fond memories of our times in the store room, ‘doing science’ as he would say, or working on the 1:1 section model of the hull. We spent many hours adzing the interior and exterior surfaces to the smooth fair curve of the original. The monotony of this work was only alleviated by furious rounds of ‘tric-trac’ (backgammon) over many cups of tea.

His energy, leadership, and total dedication to the project was evident as work progressed from the reassembly phase of the hull to its final display, and carried us through the uncertain days of political upheaval in 1974.

To this day I look back and marvel at what we achieved. Whenever I have the chance to visit Kyrenia Castle I take the opportunity to sit in the Ship Gallery and marvel once again, and remember Michael and all those who helped make it possible.

Robin C.M. Piercy

~

As one sees in the photograph at the beginning of this dedication, Susan Womer Katzev is at Michael’s side. This was almost always the case!

During the excavation she was a regular diver working in the area of the after cabin. She was a photographer; she wrote the script for the film With Captain, Sailors Three; she was the expedition’s artist and her drawings of archaeological objects are the best that I have ever seen. Post the excavation seasons Susan helped to deconstruct the so-called ‘Big Concretion’ and wrote up very perceptive and detailed observations. When Michael was a researcher at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens Susan literally scoured every shelf in the Library, hunting out comparanda for Michael’s research. I still have the picture in my head of her painting the aprotropaic opthalmoi on the bows of the replica Kyrenia II prior to her launching in Perama.

Susan took over the Kyrenia Ship publication after Michael’s death in 2001 and has worked tirelessly since then to bring the volumes to fruition. She has borne the expenses for scholars to visit the material in the Castle and she has instigated scientific testing not available at the time of the excavation. Our voyage together on Kerynia Liberty from Santorini to Latchi was an experience of a lifetime!

Back on Cyprus she ordered over 400 replica amphoras to fill the hold of Liberty and she even para-kited over the ship to get the best aerial photographs possible recording that experiment. Now too, there is the Kyrenia Application – a database – in which all the Kyrenia Ship records are archived and will be accessible to future researchers.

Thank you to both Susan and Michael; and Michael please know that all of us have tried our best to do what you would have called A Parthenon Job.

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny

1.3 Thanks to Laina

Susan Womer Katzev

Friends used to say that my husband and I were so close a team that they could not refer to one of us without the other. It was always ‘Michael and Susan’ in the same breath.

After Michael died in 2001, within a few days Laina Wylde Swiny phoned to express her sorrow and asked, ‘What can I do to help you with the publication? What if I were to come up to Maine and help finish off the plans of the amphoras and other finds that we started in the field?’.

Laina had been on the excavation team from the start and Michael had given her the responsibility of recording the unfolding hull and labeling it for lifting piece by piece. Next to our hull guru, Dick Steffy, Laina had come to know the wooden ship – its saw marks, lead patches, repairs, and refitting – the best of anyone. Now, a break of 30 some years separated her from her last connection with the Kyrenia Ship. But, sensing my need for support in facing the responsibility for the final publication, Laina threw her energies my way. Soon she was making the four-hour drive north from Boston to spend a week of every month helping me through the nitty-gritty of completing the plans, and she took on chapters in the publication that dealt with rigging and wood mystery items that she was particularly capable to explore. If anyone could become Dick Steffy’s ‘soul-mate’ in his later years, it was Laina who absorbed his wisdom and shared his wonderful humor and love of the Kyrenia Ship. On his passing she has taken the responsibility of editing his volumes, interpreting his final thoughts, and adding her own discoveries to fulfil Steffy’s prediction that the hull would continue to reveal new secrets.

It is no exaggeration to say that I could never have seen this publication to the press without Laina’s constant support and vigilance to detail. We have had truly happy years working together to make sure that the authors have the best information possible from Michael’s meticulous records. Many times, when one of us would despair of ever figuring out our confusion, the other would see where in the records we could go to find the answer. Together we have raised questions that the excavated evidence could not answer. Being too curious to let the subjects drop, we organized experiments, most of them conducted in Cyprus. These have added years to the wait for the published story of the ancient ship, but they have overthrown earlier assumptions and brought current technology to enrich an excavation done 40 years earlier.

Fig. 1.3.1. Laina Wylde working with fragments of wood from the Kyrenia Ship in the annex of Manifold Mansion. Photo: courtesy of the NGS.

And so, the team of ‘Michael and Susan’ has become ‘Laina and Susan’. I know that Michael would be grateful that I have had such a gracious and generous helpmate to see his dreams for the excavation report realized. Laina, thank you for the years you have given and the joys we’ve shared.

It has been worth it.

1.4 In thanks to all who helped

Susan Womer Katzev with Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny and Robin C.M. Piercy

A host of supporters and generous helpers has made the excavation and this publication possible in the more than 50 years since excavation began. Another entire group has cared for and protected the preserved ship since it went on exhibit in Kyrenia Castle.

Our work was carried out with the kind permission of the Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus and we are extremely grateful for its support before and following the conflict of 1974. Dr Vassos Karageorghis first invited the Katzevs to search the island for ancient wrecksites and guided us through government formalities, followed by Director Drs Sophocles Hadjisavvas, Pavlos Flourentzos, Maria Hadjicosti, Despo Pilides and Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou as Acting Directors, and Dr Solomidou-Ieronymidou.

United States ambassadors to Cyprus, Taylor G. Belcher, David H. Popper, William R. Crawford, and their staffs frequently provided the project with much needed assistance. And, in particular. Neil Austrian, working with a Cypriot in the north sprang into action in the summer of 1974 when military conflict left Kyrenia without electricity. They restored power to the ship gallery and saved the wax-filled ship from melting in the heat.

Keith Peterson, Public Affairs Officer, beginning in 2011, continued directing attention to the ship’s needs. In his words, ‘The American Embassy and the Cyprus Fulbright Commission through the years have supported American archaeology in Cyprus and specifically have worked to assure that the Kyrenia Ship and its artifacts were protected. In recent years the Embassy was also supportive by using bicommunal funds and its influence to promote cooperation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots so that they might work together to assure that the ship would be well cared for’. As an example, Ambassador John M. Koenig gave a luncheon at the Embassy residence in 2014 so that Laina Wylde Swiny could explain the project to members of the Bicommunal Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage.

The Crusader Castle at Kyrenia became the new home for the raised ship and its contents. To all its directors and custodians go our thanks for its safe keeping. In particular, Custodian Yiannis Cleanthous was our constant companion and enlivened every single day with his enthusiasm for life. Just outside the castle, the police had their offices and generously shared their Canteen, run by ‘Mr Costas’ where we had meals and delicious Cyprus specialties at affordable prices. More recently, Tülay Kaki, and the courtyard Kale Café have kept us well fed when at work in the castle. The Onar family has provided a second home to us at their hotel, Onar Village, above Kyrenia.

Housing for the excavation staff of nearly sixty was generously provided in the vacant Manifold mansion Harbour Heights in Kyrenia through the generosity of Archbishop and President Makarios and the Bishop of Kitium.

Our excavations were sponsored institutionally by the University of Pennsylvania Museum from 1967–9 and the conservation and restoration of the Kyrenia Ship and its contents by Oberlin College from 1970–73, and the then newly-formed Institute of Nautical Archaeology from 1974–5. Since that time its scholars have become valued consultants and its students among our authors.

We are extremely grateful for financial support from: the John Brown Cook Foundation, Cyprus Mines Corporation, Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Louise Taft Semple Foundation, Ocean Search Incorporated, Dietrich Foundation, Oberlin College, Houghton-Carpenter Foundation, National Geographic Society, American Council of Learned Studies, and the European Union funding, administered by Tiziana Zennaro and Martina Zaccaro of the United Nations Development Programme, working with the Bicommunal Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage of Cyprus. Particular thanks go out to the Honor Frost Foundation that, in the spirit of its pioneering namesake, funded conservation of the ship’s finds from 2016–18 with eventual installation of air conditioning for the storeroom in Kyrenia Castle. Under their aegis conservators Cassy Cutulle and Veronica Ford placed all the finds in archival storage. Earlier, in 2004, Michael West preserved our rubber castings of the iron tools by recasting them in permanent solid resin.

We are indebted to the Cyprus Mines Corporation for the loan of equipment, the medical services of Dr Rose, O.B.E., and technical support from their headquarters at Skouriotissa through their chief engineer Colin Thom. John Burgess, their general manager, kindly lent us his private motor yacht Copper Queen out of Kyrenia Harbor to use in our 1967 survey around the island, with Michael Katzev as captain. Later, support came from the Institute for Photogrammetry and Topography at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, and we are indebted to the Canadian Government for the loan of a small recompression chamber. Dow Chemical Co. donated its fungicide ‘Dowicide A’, to keep the soaking ancient wood bacteria-free. Bruker Elemental’s Bruce Kaiser and Andrea Tullos sent Lee Drake with a portable XRF analyzer to study the Kyrenia Ship’s ceramic and metal finds.

Special thanks go to several individuals who worked on the excavation, conservation, museum display, and subsequent publication. They are long-term staff members of the excavation: Robin C. M. Piercy, assistant director; Frances M. Talbot Vassiliadou, conservator; Laina Wylde Swiny, architect and cataloguer; J. Richard Steffy, ship reconstructor; Susan Womer Katzev, artist/photographer; and Netia Donati Piercy, illustrator.

Team Members 1967–1975

Susan Anet, Assistant 1969–70

Kemper D. Arnold, Diver 1969

Dr David S. Ashdown, M.D., Physician, Diver 1968–9†

Dr Angus Blair, M.D., Physician, Diver 1968–9

Jonathan Blair, National Geographic Photographer, 1974

Ronald M. Braun, Diver 1968†

Dr Anthony S. Calabrese, M.D., Physician, Diver 1969

Diskin Clay, Epigraphist, Diver 1968–9†

Lady Jane Cook, Draftsperson 1968

Bruce H. Dahlin, Divemaster 1968, early 1969

Charles H. Dold, Diver 1969

C.R. (Bob) Dunn, Cinematographer, Diver 1968–9†

Dian Duryea, Diver 1968

Claude Duthuit, Chief Diver 1967†

Eva Duthuit, Photographer 1967

Chiya Edelman, Diver 1968

Dr Harold E. Edgerton, Advisor, Side-Scan Sonar 1968†

Gregory L. Farman, Diver 1969

Jeffrey N. Feld, Recompression Chamber Technician, Diver 1968

Dr Alan L Freeman, MD., Physician, Diver 1969

Owen Gander, Divemaster 1969

Jeremy Green, Metal Detector, Magnetometer Technician, Diver 1967–8

Robert Grenier, Diver 1968

Dr Edward T. Hall, Metal Detector, Magnetometer Supervisor 1967–8†

Daniel Hitchcock, Diver 1968–9

Joachim Höhle, Photogrammetrist, Diver 1969

Otis Imboden, National Geographic Photographer, Diver 1969

Alfred Kann, Mechanic, Diver 1968–9

Nancy Newark Kaplan, Chief Cook 1967

Matthew Kaplan, Architect 1967

Michael L. Katzev, Director 1967–75†

Susan Womer Katzev, Artist, Diver, Film Director and Photographer 1967–75

J. Christian Keller, Diver 1968–9

Peter N. Leonard, Diver, Model Builder, Surveyor, Draftsperson, 1968–72†

Bates Littlehales, National Geographic Photographer, Diver 1969

Henry I. MacAdam, Diver 1969

Jody Maxmin, Ceramics Cataloguer 1973

Dr John W. Morris Ill, M.D., Physician, Diver 1969

Jill Scott, Assistant 1970–71

David I. Owen, Assistant Director, Diver 1968–9

Susan Owen, Darkroom Technician 1968–9

Nancy Delia Palmer, Draftsperson, Diver 1967–9†

Barbara ‘Mumsie’ Piercy, Supporter 1968–74†

Netia Donati Piercy, Illustrator 1971–5

Robin C. M. Piercy, Assistant Director, Diver 1968–75

Lars Kann Rasmusson, Diver 1969

Costas Rossides, Mechanic 1967

Stephen S. Scheifele, Surveyor, Diver 1968–9

Jill Scott, Assistant 1970–71

Niki Scoufopoulos, Diver 1969†

Steve Shane, Diver 1969

Anthea Spencer, Cataloguer 1970–71

Marilyn Rosenberg Simon, Cataloguer, Diver 1968–9

J. Richard (Dick) Steffy, Ship Reconstructor, Hull Specialist 1971–5†

Lucille Steffy, Secretary 1972–73†

Helena (Laina) Wylde Swiny, Chief Architect, Ship Cataloguer, Diver 1968–73

Stuart Swiny, Diver 1969

Frances Talbot Vassiliadou, Conservator 1969–74

John Veltri, Staff Photographer, Photogrammetric Photographer, Diver 1968–9

Robert K. (Chip) Vincent Jr., Diver, Law Advisor/ Consultant 1968–9, 1971–5†

Frances Bevan Vincent, Assistant 1973–4

Lucy Weir, Conservator 1968, 1971†

Lesley Whale, Assistant 1970–71

Julian H. Whittlesey, Photogrammetry Supervisor 1968–9†

Fred Winter, Cataloguer and Photographer

John I. ‘Papa’ Wylde, Supporter 1969, 1972–3†

Eleftherios (Fred) Yalouris, Draftsman, Diver 1968

Walter Zacharchuk, Logistics Chief, Diver 1968

We cannot thank enough the many individuals who contributed their expertise to our publishing the finds from the excavation. First editor Gloria Merker† has been followed by