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On the tracks of the ancient harbour of Tindari (NE Sicily)

Sulle tracce dell’antico porto di Tindari (Sicilia NE)
À la recherche du port antique de Tindari (Sicile du nord-est)
Carla Bottari, Maria d’Amico, Monica Maugeri, Giuliana d’Addezio, Stefano Urbini, Marco Marchetti et Biagio Privitera
p. 69-74

Résumés

Historical sources testify to the flourishing maritime activity at the ancient town of Tindari, mentioning a harbour but not supplying information on its location, size or configuration. Because a town as important as Tindari must have had a landing place for ships, we examined new sources of information with the aim to localize traces of the harbour. Holocene uplifted and submerged notches, identified along the Tindari promontory, and the mooring iron rings, testify to past sea level changes. These elements are used to reconstruct the palaeotopography of Tindari Cape and the Oliveri coastal plain in the 4th century BC. The reconstruction reveals a safe landing place southeast of the Tindari Cape suitably protected from prevailing winds.

Des sources historiques témoignent d’une activité portuaire florissante de la ville antique de Tindari et mentionnent un port sans préciser sa localisation. Comme la ville de Tindari a possédé un point d’abordage sûr et fonctionnel, nous avons recherché des indices de localisation du port antique. Nous avons identifié des encoches immergées et submergées ainsi que des anneaux d’amarrage en fer le long du cap Tindari qui témoignent de variations récentes du niveau de la mer. Ces éléments permettent de reconstruire la paléo-topographie du cap Tindari et de la plaine d’Oliveri au 4e siècle avant Jésus-Christ. Cette reconstitution permet de mettre en évidence un abri côtier bien protégé des vents dominants au sud-ouest du Cap Tindari.

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Plan

1 - The ancient Sicilian road system and relationships with the Tindari harbour activity
2 - Archaeological findings and location of the Tindari harbour
3 - Morphological evolution of the Oliveri shoreline
4 - Palaeotopographical reconstruction of Tindari Cape and Oliveri bay
5 - Data analysis and concluding remarks

Aperçu du texte

In Antiquity, the important town of Tindari must have had a harbour, considering its strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea that allows it to hold a prominent military and trading role (Reddé, 1986; fig.1).

Fig.1 - Geomorphological reconstruction of the coastline between Elicona to Tindari Cape based on IGMI Istituto Geografico Militare Italiano maps between 1865 to 1968.

Fig.1 - Geomorphological reconstruction of the coastline between Elicona to Tindari Cape based on IGMI Istituto Geografico Militare Italiano maps between 1865 to 1968.

The position of the historical buildings, as well as the position of iron rings numbers 1 to 4, are also indicated.

Due to its position, on a steep slope 280 m high, Tindari dominated and controlled the maritime traffic for many centuries. Unfortunately, the harbour remains have been lost over the centuries and historical sources, despite describing the different naval wars in the waters facing the ancient town, do not yield any information on the harbour location, its size and configuration. Polybius (I, 25) reports that in 257 BC the Carthaginians observed some of the enemies who we...

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Référence électronique

Carla Bottari, Maria d’Amico, Monica Maugeri, Giuliana d’Addezio, Stefano Urbini, Marco Marchetti et Biagio Privitera, « On the tracks of the ancient harbour of Tindari (NE Sicily) », Méditerranée [En ligne], 112 | 2009, mis en ligne le 01 janvier 2011, consulté le 17 mai 2012. URL : http://mediterranee.revues.org/3469

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Auteurs

Carla Bottari

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Via di Vigna murata 605 - 00143 Roma
bottari@ingv.it

Maria d’Amico

Osservatorio Sismologico - University of Messina

Monica Maugeri

Osservatorio Sismologico - University of Messina

Giuliana d’Addezio

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Via di Vigna murata 605 - 00143 Roma

Stefano Urbini

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Via di Vigna murata 605 - 00143 Roma

Marco Marchetti

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Via di Vigna murata 605 - 00143 Roma

Biagio Privitera

Provincia Regionale di Messina

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