The Classical naval installations in the Piraeus

Extract

In his recent book The Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus I.1, Bjorn Lovén notes that archaeological investigation of the Classical naval installations in the Piraeus goes back almost as far as the discipline of archaeology in the modern Greek state (Lovén 2011: 15). This enduring archaeological interest in the Piraeus installations is not some ungrounded fascination, but rests on the importance of these facilities not only for the Piraeus, but for the whole of Classical Athens. The commission of these installations was an integral part of a Classical building programme that saw the construction of triremes and the fortification of the Piraeus peninsula. As Vincent Gabrielsen (2007: 256–57) has shown, the building of warships is not necessarily synonymous with the construction of a navy. The latter implies the centralization of war reserves by the city-state and the provision of infrastructure (naval facilities and walls to protect both these facilities and the ships stationed in them), and it would be essential for the state to maintain and operate these resources. Investigations of the Piraeus shipsheds therefore shed light not only on the size of Athenian triremes, but also on the overall planning and works undertaken by the Athenian state in Classical times, in order to command and sustain a large navy.