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COULD YOU TAKE A PICTURE OF MY BOAT, PLEASE? THE USE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MEDITERRANEAN SHIP REPRESENTATIONS
Author(s) -
LÓPEZBERTRAN MIREIA,
GARCIAVENTURA AGNÈS,
KRUEGER MICHAŁ
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0092.2008.00312.x
Subject(s) - pottery , phoenician , archaeology , variety (cybernetics) , cave , history , visual arts , ancient history , art , computer science , artificial intelligence
Summary Representations of ships, sailors and seafarers are common in many ancient societies. They were carved, drawn or painted on a great variety of raw materials – stone, wood, metal, textiles and pottery – and can be found in settings such as caves, tombs or royal palaces. Their presence at these sites raises the possibility that these images of maritime life have symbolic or ritual connotations. This paper presents examples of representations of Phoenician and Punic ships from the first millennium BC, in an attempt to understand the role of both their creators and their audiences. These images are subsequently analysed in more detail, focusing on their technical features and their historical contexts. This paper concludes with a consideration of the social and religious aspects of ancient Mediterranean navigation.