Was the Hellenistic Kyrenia shipwreck a victim of piracy?

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King Xerxes

Persepolis: capital of the Persian empire

The imperial infrastructure ofthe Persian empire was undoneand replaced with Alexander’sconquests (334-323 BCE)

Geo-Politically, the Hellenistic Period (beginning with Alexander’s death in 323 BCE) is defined bycompeting and often antagonistic satrapies (kingdoms) ruled by a Greek speaking elite,

in the regions conquered by Alexander;the Mediterranean was an unstable and warring place

Reconstruction of a Hellenistic-Roman ‘Five’

Hellenistic naval innovations: warships grow exponentially in size, and once again become fighting platforms; the catapult eventually supersedes the ram as an offensive weapon in naval warfare

Unlike Athenian naval supremacy in the Aegean during the 5th century, or the later pax romanain the Mediterranean of the Roman empire, the sea was not ruled by any one Hellenistic power

And the ranks of every major military campaign were filled with mercenaries….and also pirates

The hemiolia: the fastest war galley in Hellenistic navies

One example of the mobilization of pirates during a military campaign: the siege of Rhodes (304 BCE)

Three ‘deckless’ pirate ships in the employ of Demetrios‘the Besieger’ were capturedin a Rhodian naval foray (chronicles of Diodorus)

Demetrios ‘the Besieger’ was unsuccessful; the Rhodians celebrated with the commission of the colossus of Rhodes (one of the 7 wondersof the ancient world)

Within about 3 decades of the siege of Rhodes a ship sunk off the northern coast of Cyprus

XKyreniashipwreckRhodes

The Kyrenia Shipwreck: discovered by a sponge diver in 1965, who in 1967 alerted theUniversity of Pennsylvania doctoral student Michael Katzev (then working with George Basson the Byzantine Yassi Ada shipwreck)

The significance of the Kyrenia shipwreck in the field of nautical archaeology

A couple notable observations on the hull: **it was sheathed in lead**80 repairs were made**joinery all mortise and tenon

Showing lead sheathingon the reconstruction

Though aspects of the ship construction and design were informed by iconography

But this extraordinary study of the ship itself has come at a price: the shipwreck has yet to be published (and Michael Katzev died in 2001)

The cargo of the Kyrenia ship

Kyrenia X

**380 amphoras in 10 varieties: the majority from Rhodesand several from Samos

Rhodes

Samos

29 grain mill blocks and over 10,000 almonds (!)

The cargo of the Kyrenia ship

Potential galley wares

How did this ship go down?

Folded and pierced lead ‘curse tablet’(though un-inscribed)

Eight spear/javelin points, several withthe ship’s lead sheathing attached

The excavators have suggested the Kyrenia ship was a victim of a pirate attack

Unlike Athenian naval supremacy in the Aegean during the 5th century, or the later pax romanain the Mediterranean of the Roman empire, the sea was not ruled by any one Hellenistic power

And the ranks of every major military campaign were filled with mercenaries….and also pirates

The hemiolia: the fastest war galley in Hellenistic navies

If it sunk in an act of violence what would we expect to see in the hull?

Are you convinced?