Revisiting the construction techniques of harbour structures in classical and Hellenistic Cyprus, 480-31 BC

Abstract

This short report presents a preliminary study of harbour structures in Classical and Hellenistic Cyprus, 480–31 BC. Previous research on the island has already compiled a rich corpus of information on the subject (e.g., Raban, 1995; Leonard, 2005; Theodoulou, 2006; Empereur et al., 2017). Despite these considerable efforts, the construction techniques of harbours have been constantly examined through the interpretative framework of the Phoenician and Greek traditions (Raban, 1995; Marangou, 1997; Theodoulou, 2006). While acknowledging its limitations, this study attempts to objectively characterize the construction techniques identified in Cyprus through the case study of Amathus, a submerged Hellenistic harbour on the south coast.