Theodore Spyropoulos

Theodore Spyropoulos () is a Greek archeologist who is a regional official of Greece's Central Archaeological Council.
Excavations at Tanagra.
At Tanagra, Spyropoulos began excavating a large Mycenaean cemetery in 1968. Every year, until Spyropoulos moved to the ephorate at Sparta, the excavation site yielded larnakes, pottery and terracottas. The chamber tombs uncovered were apparently in use from LH IIIA up until the end of LH IIIB and perhaps beyond.
Excavations near Thebes.
Near Thebes, Spyropoulos excavated the supposed tomb of Amphion and Zethus between 1971 and 1973. He identified the structure of the tomb as a step-pyramid or ziggurat built during the 3rd millennium BC.
Excavations at Pellana.
Spyropoulos discovered an alternative site for the palace of Menelaus at Pellana located 25 kilometers north of Sparta. The site itself is near a series of large Mycenean chamber tombs. This has led Spyropoulos to believe that his excavations uncovered the lost Homeric capital of Laconia. The palace itself is 32 meters by 14 meters and is dated to around 1200 BC. Cyclopean walls surround the palace and a wide road leads up to the entrance. During Antiquity, the tombs were all plundered. However, the palace was unscathed since it yielded jewelry, wall paintings, pottery, and a plethora of Linear B tablets. Currently, there exists a major clash of interpretation between Spyropoulos and members of the British School at Athens. The former believes that Pellana was the Mycenean capital of Laconia and the latter believe that the Menelaion was the capital.


Ushakovskoye, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Ushakovskoye () was a rural locality (a "selo") on the south east coast of Wrangel Island, Shmidtovsky District in the Russian Arctic that was deserted in 2003. Ushakovskoye was named after the explorer and founder of the polar station in Rogers Bay, Georgy Ushakov, who discovered a number of new islands in the Russian arctic. The settlement was founded as part of an attempt by Russia to assert sovereignty over the island following attempts by British and Canadian parties to claim the island and in 1935 was the scene of a grisly murder by the local Governor. The whole area experiences a severe, almost year-round arctic climate, with temperatures rarely above freezing.
History.
Early settlement.
Although Ushakovskoye was to become the main settlement on the island, it was not the first time that attempts had been made to settle the island. From the late 19th century, Canada and the United States were interested in Wrangel Island, and both attempted to claim the island, despite the fact that Russia had claimed it in 1911. During the Russian Civil War, the countries intensified their efforts.
In 1921, an expedition financed by Vilhjalmur Stefansson and led by Canadian Allan Crawford attempted to settle a small party to claim the island for Canada, on behalf of Great Britain, with Stefansson stating that, "We want to have Wrangel Island for the development of [British] air routes, so that it will be the home base for airships and airplanes in the same way as the Falkland Islands provide a base for our ships and cruisers". However, conditions were not favourable, with a lack of hunting available once the expedition members ran out of rations forcing the majority of the party to flee across the Chukchi Sea, leaving party member Ada Blackjack as a castaway on the island for two years.
In 1922, the Canadian Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King officially announced the Canadian claim that Wrangel Island was British territory. In 1923, in the Bay of Rogers, an American expedition landed to claim the island.
Russian settlement.
In response, in 1924, the Soviet Union sent the gunboat ; the crew stopped the activities of American firms and Stefensson, declaring the island to be Soviet territory. The Soviet Government, in 1926, declared its sovereignty over the island; and, to confirm this, Ushakovskoye was founded by Georgy Ushakov's expedition on August 14, 1926. Ushakov had stopped off in Provideniya Bay and had brought with him several Inuit families from the village of Ureliki
The initial population of the settlement included Chukchi and Russian families, totalling about 60 people In 1928, the first child, PI Pavlov, was born in the village. During the first three years, a hydrometeorological station was established on the island. The settlers established themselves on the island and few chose to return to the mainland after their first posting ended in 1929. Indeed, so successful was the initial settlement that resulted in the founding of Ushakovskoye, that a second village, Zvyozdny, literally, "Star", was founded some 30 km west of Ushakovskoye on the shores of Somnitelnaya Bay. Zvyozdny would later become linked with Russian airbase at Cape Hawaii and would become the landing point for supplies delivered to the island from Mys Shmidta as well as mail, which would be delivered to Ushakovskoye along the dirt track which links the two settlements.
Murder.
The establishment of the Russian claim and the settlement was also not without its troubles when, in September 1934, a new governor, Konstantin Semenchuk, previously posted to Iran, took office to supervise the attempts by the Russians to turn the tundra into a vegetable garden for all Russia, allegedly announcing the commencement of his time in office by gathering the people of Ushakovskoye together and informing them that, "Up here I am everything. I have all the rights, up to shooting people!"
Due to the isolated nature of the settlement, it was only in the winter of 1935, over a year after Semenchuk's arrival, that suspicions were first aroused when Otto Schmidt received a communication from Semenchuk requesting additional medical assistance to deal with an outbreak of typhoid and scurvy, despite there having been no previous outbreaks of typhoid being reported in the arctic. This radio message, swiftly followed by the news that hitherto loyal party member Mrs Wolfson, the doctor's wife, was being returned to the mainland as a result of counter-revolutionary activities, resulted in dispatching of a GPU agent to investigate.
The agent amassed a large quantity of evidence against Semenchuk including the murder of the doctor, rape of local Inuit women and assault against the local Inuit men and charges of banditry, a more serious charge simply than murder, were brought against Semenchuk. The case was deemed so important as an example to dissuade other rural governors from lapsing into autocracy that Chief Public Prosecutor André Vishinsky took personal charge of the trial and, despite allegedly presenting signs of insanity during the trial, Semenchuk was convicted and sentenced to death by firing squad.
Modern history.
The settlement grew and developed, until at the end of 1970 it had a school, club, shop, post office, hospital, helipad, a modest museum of natural history, an underground repository in the permafrost for storing meat, a temporary corral (for the slaughter of reindeer), the polar station "Rogers Bay" airport for An-2, Mi-2, Mi-6 and Mi-8 aircraft, fuel storage and bulk storage of coal, library and a communal bath. Electricity was supplied to the homes.
The airbase at Cape Hawaii closed in the 1970s and the settlement of Zvyozdny was abandoned, but for a handful of Chukchi hunters, in the 1980s.
In 1984, a monument to Georgy Ushakov was erected in the settlement by the Geographical Society of the USSR, and the population of the settlement had grown to around 180 people.
From the early 1990s, subsidies were reduced and in 1994 the last supply ship brought provisions and fuel to the settlement. Afterwards, cargo and mail were carried by helicopter. People began to leave Ushakovskoye and in 1997 it was decided to resettle the inhabitants at Mys Shmidta. The last resident of Ushakovskoye, Vasilina Alpaun, was killed by a polar bear on October 13, 2003 not far from her home.
However, Google Earth satellite imagery dated 21 July 2016, shows that in the preceding two years there had been considerable development of habitation and radar facilities to the east and north east of the village.
Weather.
With a tundra climate (Köppen climate classification "ET"), Ushakovskoye experiences harsh weather almost all year round, and with temperatures only struggling above freezing for a few brief summer months, with temperatures often below freezing from September all the way through to the following June.


Dalberg, Rhineland-Palatinate

Dalberg is an "Ortsgemeinde" – a municipality belonging to a "Verbandsgemeinde", a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the "Verbandsgemeinde" of Rüdesheim, whose seat is in the municipality of Rüdesheim an der Nahe.
Geography.
Location.
Dalberg lies in the Gräfenbach valley in the Hunsrück and has a population of about 250, who are mainly Catholic, and who live mainly along the Gräfenbach and the Mehlbach, two of the village's three streets.
Neighbouring municipalities.
Clockwise from the north, Dalberg's neighbours are the municipalities of Wallhausen, Argenschwang and Spabrücken.
History.
The village of Dalberg arose in the Gräfenbach valley at the like-named castle at a rather arbitrarily chosen spot that was rather ill-suited for agriculture. Part of the village's history is inextricably bound with the Lords of Dalberg. Castle Dalberg was built sometime about 1150 to 1170. Because of the noble family's association with the village and the castle, the name "Dalberg" is well known in German history. The family Dalberg has brought forth many important politicians, scientists and bishops. Their name is drawn from the castle, which is also known as the Dalburg ("Berg" and "Burg", both common placename endings in Germany – as well as standalone words in German – have different pronunciations and meanings: the former is [bɛʁk], meaning "mountain", and the latter [bʊʁk], meaning "castle"). Even now that it is a ruin, this once mighty building still bears witness to its former owners’ might and influence. It was at the foot of the castle that the village of Dalberg sprang up.
Religion.
Besides the castle and the old village bakehouse, the chapel is among the village's most historically important buildings. The bells there are still rung by hand. Dalbergers are mostly Catholic and have kept the traditions of the liturgical year. As at 31 August 2013, there are 257 full-time residents in Dalberg, and of those, 49 are Evangelical (19.066%), 171 are Catholic (66.537%), 3 (1.167%) belong to other religious groups and 34 (13.23%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.
Politics.
Municipal council.
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor.
Dalberg's mayor is Karl Heinz Leister.
Coat of arms.
The municipality's arms might be described thus: Azure a fess Or between three fleurs-de-lis of the same and charged with a cross moline sable.
Culture and sightseeing.
Buildings.
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
Saint Leonard’s Chapel.
The more than 500-year-old chapel, "St.-Leonhard-Kapelle", is consecrated to Saint Leonard. By 1485, the village below the castle had grown so greatly that it seemed quite fitting for it to have its own chapel. Shortly before this time, on 24 April 1483, the church at Spabrücken, given what a long way it was to Wallhausen, was granted leave by the Church to put up a baptismal font, thus making a decisive stride towards a kind of parochial autonomy. It might also have strengthened the Dalberg dwellers’ wish to have their own church. The master builders in charge of the project might well have been Philipp I (1428-1492) and Friedrich (1459-1506) of Dalberg, who also appear in historical records as the caretakers of the churches in Spabrücken and Wallhausen. The noble pastor of Wallhausen was Friedrich's brother Johann (1455-1503), who as of 1482 was also the Prince-Bishop of Worms. Generally held to be the one who actually built the chapel in the dale is Prince-Bishop Johann. His coat of arms graces a console inside the chapel. The year 1485 in an inscription over the chapel's east window may confirm the building date. Dating from the same time are the wall paintings, among them one of Saint Leonard himself, surrounded by prisoners (of whom he is patron saint). In this region, it was rather unusual for a church or chapel to be consecrated to this saint. What decided this might well have been a certain fashion, but rather likelier was a longstanding reverence that the family of chamberlains, for Gerhard, Chamberlain of Worms, and his wife Margarete, the last of the Dalberg line from the family von Schöneberg, had endowed a Saint Leonard's Altar at Saint Martin's Church at Worms as early as 1331. It is likely that the Lords of Dalberg forthwith put the two chapels together, the one at the castle (Saint Anthony's) and the one in the dale (Saint Leonard's), putting them both in one altarist's care. Dalberg's first clergyman, as far as is known, was a man named Nikolaus Vickis, who from 1500 to 1506 was likewise the altarist of Saint Valentine’s Altar at the hospital in Oppenheim. It is believed that he also took on clerical duties for the village in the dale (Dalberg). It could be that the remuneration for this post was low, for even the Michael Schmitt from Wallhausen that Wolff von Dalberg appointed in 1538 had already been working since 1536 as the altarist of Saint Margaret's Altar at Spabrücken.
Economy and infrastructure.
There are hardly any earning opportunities in Dalberg, only a few small businesses and the village's last winemaker. The inhabitants commute to Bad Kreuznach and the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.


Torra di Portu

The Tower of Portu () is a ruined Genoese tower located in the commune of Ota (Corse-du-Sud) on the west coast of the Corsica. The tower sits on a rocky outcrop at a height of in the Gulf of Porto.
The construction of the Tower of Portu began in around 1551. It was one of a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates. The tower was one of the earliest towers built on the west coast of Corsica. The design of the tower is unusual in being square rather than round. It is owned by the department and in 1946 was listed as one of the official historical monuments of France.


Prince George, Duke of Cambridge

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a male-line grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by profession and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (military head of the British Army) from 1856 to 1895. He became Duke of Cambridge in 1850 and field marshal in 1862. Deeply devoted to the old Army, he worked with Queen Victoria to defeat or minimise every reform proposal, such as setting up a general staff. His Army became a moribund and stagnant institution. Its weaknesses were dramatically revealed by the poor organisation at the start of the Second Boer War.
Early life.
Prince George was born at Cambridge House in Hanover, Germany. His father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. His mother was the Duchess of Cambridge (née Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel).
He was baptised at Cambridge House on 11 May 1819, by the Reverend John Sanford, his father's Domestic Chaplain. His godparents were the Prince Regent (represented by the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews), the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews (represented by the 4th Earl of Mayo) and the Dowager Queen of Württemberg (represented by the Countess of Mayo).
Military career.
Prince George of Cambridge was educated in Hanover and from 1830 in England by the Rev. J. R. Wood, a canon of Worcester Cathedral. Like his father, he embarked upon a military career initially becoming a colonel in the Hanoverian Army and then, on 3 November 1837, becoming a brevet colonel in the British Army. He was attached to the staff at Gibraltar from October 1838 to April 1839. After serving in Ireland with the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's), he was appointed substantive lieutenant-colonel of the 8th Light Dragoons on 15 April 1842 and colonel of the 17th Lancers on 25 April 1842.
From 1843 to 1845, he served as a colonel on the staff in the Ionian islands, then was promoted Major-General on 7 May 1845. He succeeded to his father's titles of Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, and Baron Culloden on 8 July 1850.
The Duke of Cambridge became Inspector of the Cavalry in 1852. In February 1854, at an early stage in the Crimean War, he received command of the 1st Division (Guards and Highland brigades) of the British army in the East. On 19 June 1854, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general.
He was present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman, and at the siege of Sevastopol.
Owing to illness the Earl of Cardigan returned first to Malta and then to England: before the conclusion of the campaign he was back in London. Meanwhile, Lord Raglan died at 9.30 pm on 28 June 1855 from dysentery and Field Marshal Viscount Hardinge, the serving "general commanding-in-chief", was forced to resign in July 1856, on grounds of ill-health.
On 5 July 1856, the Duke was appointed "general commanding-in-chief" of the British Army, a post that was retitled "field marshal commanding-in-chief" on 9 November 1862 and commander-in-chief of the forces by Letters Patent on 20 November 1887. In that capacity he served as the chief military advisor to the Secretary of State for War, with responsibility for the administration of the army and the command of forces in the field. He was promoted to the rank of general on 15 July 1856 and to the rank of field marshal on 9 November 1862.
Policies.
The Duke of Cambridge served as commander-in-chief for 39 years. Early in his term he encouraged the army to trial various breech-loading carbines for the cavalry, one of which—the Westley-Richards—was so effective that it was decided to investigate the possibility of producing a version for the infantry. In 1861, 100 were issued to five infantry battalions; in 1863, an order of 2,000 was placed for further trials. He was also involved in the creation of the Staff College, the Royal Military School of Music, and became governor of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich: he further sought to improve the efficiency of the army by advocating a scheme of annual military manoeuvres. In 1860, he introduced a new system to restrict corporal punishment: soldiers were then eligible for flogging only in cases of aggravated mutinous conduct during wartime, unless they committed an offence serious enough to degrade to the second class and make them once again subject to corporal punishment. A year's good behaviour would return them to the first class, meaning that only a hard core of incorrigible offenders tended to be flogged.
Opposition to reforms.
Under his command, the British Army became a moribund and stagnant institution. There were no new ideas. It is said that he rebuked one of his more intelligent subordinates with the words: "Brains? I don't believe in brains! You haven't any, I know, Sir!" He was equally forthright on his reluctance to adopt change: "There is a time for everything, and the time for change is when you can no longer help it."
In the wake of the Prussian victory in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War, the Liberal Party government of Prime Minister William Gladstone and Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell called for the Army to undergo major reforms. Cardwell succeeded in pushing through a number of reforms, including one that made the Commander-in-Chief nominally report to the Secretary of State for War.
The Duke was opposed to most of the reforms because they struck at the heart of his view of the Army. According to Theo Aronson, he "stoutly resisted almost every attempt at reform or modernization." He feared that the newly created force of reservists would be of little use in a colonial conflict, and that expeditionary forces would have to strip the most experienced men from the home-based battalions in order to fill the gaps in their ranks. His fears seemed to be confirmed in 1873, when Wolseley raided battalions for the expedition against the Ashanti. In 1881, when the historic numbers of regiments were abolished and facing colours standardised for English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish regiments, the duke protested that regimental spirit would be degraded; the majority of facing colours were restored by World War I, although their numbers were not.
The reforming impetus, however, continued. Parliament passed the War Office Act 1870, which formally subordinated the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces to the Secretary of State for War and abolished the custom of purchasing an office which had done much to instil elitism in the form of discipline and training. The Duke of Cambridge strongly resented this move, a sentiment shared by a majority of officers, who would no longer be able to sell their commissions when they retired.
Pressures for reform built up as the Duke of Cambridge aged; his strongest ally was his cousin Queen Victoria. While the Queen insisted on reform, she was also protective of the Household brigades, and their long association and traditions. An 1890 royal commission led by Lord Hartington (later the 8th Duke of Devonshire) criticised the administration of the War Office and recommended the devolution of authority from the Commander-in-Chief to subordinate military officers. A number of reformers opposed to the duke banded together, including Campbell-Bannerman and Lansdowne, the Liberal and Conservative Secretaries for War. The leading generals eager to replace him were Wolseley, Buller, Roberts, and the Duke of Connaught. The Duke of Cambridge was forced to resign his post on 1 November 1895, and was succeeded by Lord Wolseley. On his resignation he was given the title of honorary colonel-in-chief to the Forces.
Historian Correlli Barnett blames the failures in the Second Boer War on the Duke, stressing the Army's "Lack of organization, ignorant and casual officers, inferior human material in the ranks" as well as "soldiers drilled to machine-like movements [versus the Boer] with a rifle working on his own initiative."
Friend of Haig.
During the Duke's long career he helped to further the career progress of Douglas Haig, a talented and able young officer, who succeeded through Staff College to gain promotion. As Commander-in-Chief, the Duke was able to admit any candidate to the College so long as they passed three out of eight of the tests. Haig, who was also acquainted with Sir Evelyn Wood, left for India in 1893 knowing that the Duke had also made a friend of Henrietta Jameson (née Haig), his older sister. The Duke's nomination was made in 1894 and 1895, but Haig did not take up the place until 15 January 1896 under Army Regulations Order 72 (1896). The Duke, who was replaced by Lord Wolseley, after 32 years was not the only patron of preferment. The Staff College was not intended to educate a "General Staff" until much later in its historical development. However the traditional system of informal patronage was gradually giving way to more than gifted amateurs.
On 22 November 1909 the reforms to which Haig, as Director of Staff Duties was a part, abolished the post of Commander-in-Chief which the Duke had made his own. In setting up the Army Council, with its head being called the Chief of the General Staff by Order in Council, the Liberal government separated the army from the monarchy.
Marriage and mistress.
It is believed William IV, who had been his godfather when Duke of Clarence, had George brought up at Windsor in hope of his eventual marriage to his cousin Princess Victoria of Kent, who was two months younger. This prospective match was favoured by George's own parents, but was forestalled by Victoria's uncle Leopold I of Belgium. He secured Victoria's betrothal to his nephew, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which became formal after she succeeded to the British throne. In 1839 Queen Victoria wrote to Albert about George's father: "The Duke told Lord Melbourne he had always greatly desired our marriage, and never thought of George: but that "I" don't believe." George was one of a range of suitors considered by Victoria, the most prominent of whom, Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, was openly favoured by William.
The Duke of Cambridge made no secret of his view that "arranged marriages were doomed to failure." He was married privately and in contravention of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act at St. John's Church, Clerkenwell, London, on 8 January 1847 to Sarah Fairbrother (1816 – 12 January 1890), the daughter of John Fairbrother, a servant in Westminster. Sarah Fairbrother (whose stage name was Louisa) had been an actress since 1827, performing at Drury Lane, the Lyceum, and Covent Garden Theatre. As the marriage was contrary to the Royal Marriages Act, the Duke's wife was not titled Duchess of Cambridge or accorded the style "Her Royal Highness", nor was their son born after the marriage eligible to succeed to the Duke's titles. Indeed, Sarah's very existence was ignored by the Queen. Instead, Sarah called herself "Mrs. Fairbrother" and later "Mrs. FitzGeorge". The Duke was a very weak man where women were concerned, and it seems likely that he had been cajoled into marriage by Sarah (then pregnant for the fifth time), she herself obtaining the licence. Legend has created for the couple an ideal relationship that is far from the reality; the Duke having other affairs.
From 1837 the Duke had known Louisa Beauclerk, whom he later described as "the idol of my life and my existence." He saw much of her in 1847, and she was his mistress from at least 1849 until her death in 1882. As early as 1849 he had decided that he would be buried near Beauclerk and it was solely on her account that Sarah Fairbrother and he were deposited in the mausoleum in Kensal Green Cemetery, west of the main chapel, about sixty feet away from Beauclerk's grave.
Later life.
The Duke of Cambridge served as colonel-in-chief of the 17th Lancers, Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers; The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) and King's Royal Rifle Corps; colonel of the Grenadier Guards; honorary colonel of the 10th (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) Bengal Lancers, 20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Punjabis, 4 Battalion Suffolk Regiment, 1st City of London Volunteer Brigade and the Scots Fusilier Guards. He became the ranger of Hyde Park and St. James's Park in 1852, and of Richmond Park in 1857; governor of the Royal Military Academy in 1862, and its president in 1870. He was the patron of the Oxford Military College from 1876–1896.
Cambridge's strength and hearing began to fade in his later years. He was unable to ride at Queen Victoria's funeral and had to attend in a carriage. He paid his last visit to Germany in August 1903. He died of a haemorrhage of the stomach in 1904 at Gloucester House, Piccadilly, London. His remains were buried five days later next to those of his wife in Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
In 1904, his estate was probated at under £121,000.
The Duke is today commemorated by an equestrian statue standing on Whitehall in central London; it is positioned outside the front door of the War Office that he so strongly resisted.
Titles, styles and honours.
Titles and styles.
As the male-line grandson of a King of Hanover, Prince George of Cambridge also bore the titles of 'Prince of Hanover' and 'Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg'.
His title, 'Duke of Cambridge', fell into extinction upon his death. It was not revived until 107 years later, when Elizabeth II awarded the title to her grandson, Prince William, on 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding.
Honours.
"British:"
"Foreign:"
Issue.
The Duke of Cambridge and Mrs. FitzGeorge had three sons, two of whom were born before their marriage in contravention to the Royal Marriages Act 1772,
and all of whom pursued military careers.


Pons Aluti (castra)

Pons Aluti was a fort in the Roman province of Dacia.


HMS Isham (M2703)

HMS "Isham" was a of the Royal Navy.
Their names were all chosen from villages ending in "-ham". The minesweeper was named after Isham in Northamptonshire.


Erik Hornung

Erik Hornung (born 1933) is an Egyptologist and one of the most influential modern writers on ancient Egyptian religion. He is Professor Emeritus of Basel University.
Biography.
Hornung was born in Riga, Latvia in 1933 and gained his PH.D. at the University of Tübingen in 1956. He was Professor of Egyptology at the University of Basel from 1967 to 1998. His main research field has been funerary literature, the Valley of the Kings in particular. He published the first edition of the "Book of Amduat" in three volumes between 1963 and 1967. J. Gwyn Griffiths described Hornung as the foremost authority in such literature. His book "Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt, The One and the Many" has become his best-known work, in which he concludes, whilst acknowledging previous work by Henri Frankfort and his "multiplicity of approaches" and John A. Wilson's "complementary" treatment of Egyptian modes of thought, that "Anyone who takes history seriously will not accept a single method as definitive; the same should be true of anyone who takes belief seriously". Hornung became Vice-President of the Society of the Friends of the Royal Tombs of Egypt in 1988. His books have been published in German, but many have been translated into English.


Giannitsa

Giannitsa ( , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece.
The municipal unit Giannitsa has an area of 208.105 km2. Its population is 31,983 people (2011 census). It includes a few outlying villages (Mesiano, Melissi, Pentaplatanos, Archontiko, Ampelies and Damiano). The municipality Pella as a whole includes many villages and has 63,122 inhabitants. The city is located in the center of Macedonia between Mount Paiko and the plain of Giannitsa, and is the economic, commercial and industrial center of the Pella regional unit. European route E86 (Greek National Road 2) runs along the south of the city.
The former shallow, swampy, and variable-sized Giannitsa Lake or (ancient) Loudias Lake, fed by the Loudias River and south of the city, was drained in 1928-1932 by the New York Foundation Company. It or the surrounding marshland were sometimes called Borboros 'slime' or Borboros Limen.
About from Giannitsa are the ruins of ancient Pella, birthplace of Alexander the Great and capital of ancient Macedonia. The city is from Thessaloniki.
Name.
The city was founded as "Yenice-i Vardar" Ottoman Turkish يڭيجۀ واردار 'new (town) of Vardar' in around 1383 – 1387. It was sometimes called "Evrenos Beg yöresi" 'Evrenos Bey's town'.
The Turkish name, in the form Γενιτσά, was used until February 1926 when its name was Hellenized as Yannitsa/Γιαννιτσά. In other languages, the city is called: Ottoman Turkish "Yenice-i Vardar" ('new-town of Vardar', as opposed to "Yenice-i Karasu", modern Genisea, near Xanthi and known for tobacco), Turkish "Yenice" or "Vardar Yenicesi", , "Pazar" or "Enidže Vardar", , "Enidzhe Vardar'
History.
Prehistoric.
In the area of "Old Market", on the southern hill of the city, there was an Early Neolithic settlement (late 7th to early 6th millennium BC). Giannitsa was also inhabited through the Bronze and Iron Ages. Incidental findings, such as coins, inscriptions, and sculptures indicate that the area was inhabited during the Hellenistic period (323-30BC). In ancient times, the area was called Bottiaea. In the vicinity of the city ancient towns of Pella and Kyrros and medieval metropolitan centre of Gianitsa were presented.
Ottoman.
Though there was probably a pre-existing Byzantine castle in the vicinity, the importance of the city of Yenije begins with its foundation by Gazi Evrenos in around 1383 – 1387. Yenije became the base of the ghazi followers of Evrenos who took Macedonia and later Albania. The city was an important Ottoman cultural center and sacred area in the 15th and 16th centuries. Starting in the mid-15th century, Yenice became a center of literature and the arts. Under Ahmet Bey, a descendant of Gazi Evrenos, many mosques, schools, workhouses and charitable projects were founded.
In the early 20th century, Yenije was a battleground between Bulgarian and Greek-Macedonian partisans in the Macedonian struggle. Penelope Delta's novel "Secrets of the Swamp" (referring to the shores of Giannitsa Lake) is a romanticised account of this from the Greek point of view.
Balkan wars.
Yenice "retained its emphatically Turkish character up to 1912" and members of the Evrenos family lived in the city in a large palace in the center of town until then. In the First Balkan War, the Battle of Yenice (20 October 1912) was one of the most important battles the Greek army fought.
German occupation.
The German army invaded Giannitsa on April 11, 1941 . On April 20, 1941, some Austrian forces arrived. The municipal registry of Giannitsa confirms four random killings in various parts of the city. On 16 September 1943, the Municipality of Giannitsa, headed by the Mayor, Thomas Magriotis and the help of local soccer teams organized a demonstration in the city and indulge in German commandant a text against the intention of the Germans to surrender Central Macedonia to the Bulgarians. According to oral testimony on November 13, 1943, the Germans arrested around 50 people, whom they transferred to the camp of Pavlos Melas at Thessaloniki and they killed thirteen. At the same time, the Germans invaded for the first time the village Eleftherohori away from the city, steal and destroy. In this attack there were no casualties. On 23 March 1944, the village was burned, and the place deserted. Eleftherohori lost 19 lives. On 5 August 1944, the Austrian soldier Otmar Dorne left the German occupation army and joined the 30th Constitution of the E.L.A.S, based in Mount Paiko. The defection of Dorne, and the presence of the SS sergeant Schubert, led to mass reprisals on 14 September 1944 in Giannitsa: about 120 residents of Giannitsa were executed by forces of the Jagdkommando Schubert with the collaboration of Greek units under the command of G. Poulos. Among those executed was the Mayor, Thomas Mangriotis. The Swedish ambassador Timberg indicated that one third of the city was destroyed by fire. The citizens left the city. Emile Wenger visited Giannitsa few days after the mass execution, as a representative of the International Red Cross and wrote "Giannitsa is already a dead city". On 20 September 1944, a citizens' committee sent a message to the National Government stating the facts and asking for weapons. The Germans left Giannitsa on November 3, 1944.
During this period in the city is formed Bulgarian action committee and later Central Bulgarian-macedonian committee, headed by the local citizen Georgi Kayafov. Also a Thessaloniki bulgarian club branch was formed by locals Georgi Yankulov, Perikle Gyupchinov, Hristo Panayotov and Georgi Kayafov.
Landmarks.
Monuments.
Yenice was an important center in the Ottoman period, and several important monuments survive, such as the "Tombs of Gazi Evrenos" (built in 1417) and "Gazi Ahmed Bey", the "Kaifoun Baths," the "Great Mosque", the "Army Mosque", the "hammam of Evrenos", and the "Clock Tower", built from 1667 to 1668 by the Ottomans. (The choice of location was made with military criteria because they wanted to control the commercial activity that took place across the city and throughout central Macedonia.) These monuments have been declared historical monuments by the Greek Archaeological Service.
Points of interest include also the Cathedral Church of Giannitsa (achieved in 1860), the Neoclassical Multicenter, the Filippeio tourist center, the Macedonian tombs, and the prehistoric settlement of Archontiko.
Aravissos.
About northwest of the city is the spring of Aravissos, which produces drinking water. The surrounding grove and creek include a popular park.
Economy.
Giannitsa is predominantly a rural area. The draining of the Lake Giannitsà left fertile soil for agriculture, leading to population growth in the region.
Entertainment.
The focus of the social life of the city is at the central pedestrian street, where people gather to eat and drink or to take a walk. Giannitsa was one of the first cities that founded Open Theatre (3000 seats) and became an institution for cultural events and big names in theater and music, every year, the last month of summer giving a culture festival character . Also various theatrical and musical events take place in a closed theater located internally of the Cultural Centre which has a modern architecture. In the first days of September there is a big market for about a week. The DI. K. E. P. A. P. (ΔΗ. Κ. Ε. Π. Α. Π) is a charitable non-profit cultural organization founded in 1996 that develops music, visual arts, dance, film and other arts.
Loudias river.
Seven kilometers () south of the center is the Loudias River, which has a sailing center. The Nautical Club of Giannitsa (NOG) teaches canoeing, kayaking, and rowing.
Sports.
The most popular team is the Anagennisi Giannitsa football team which plays at the Municipal Stadium.
There is a motocross track northwest of the city, in the foothills of Mount Paiko, where local, Greek, and European races are run.
At the river Loudias, there are rowing races in which the Nautical Club participates.
Twin towns and sister cities.
Giannitsa is twinned with three cities:


Peter Stead (writer)

Peter Stead (born 1943) is a Welsh writer, broadcaster and historian.
Stead was born in 1943 in Barry, Wales, and attended grammar schools at Barry and Gowerton. A graduate of Swansea University, he was subsequently a visiting Fulbright scholar at Wellesley College, and at the University of North Carolina. He is Chairman of the Dylan Thomas Literary Prize, and along with the late Patrick Hannan, Stead has been a member of the Welsh team in the radio series "Round Britain Quiz" for several years.


Heinkel Kabine

The Heinkel Kabine was a microcar designed by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke and built by them from 1956 to 1958. Production was transferred under licence to Dundalk Engineering Company in Ireland in 1958. However, the licence was withdrawn shortly afterwards due to poor quality control. Production restarted in 1960, again under licence, under the Trojan 200 name by Trojan Cars Ltd. in the UK, and continued until 1966.
Heinkel Kabines were also assembled under licence by Los Cedros S.A. from 1959 until 1962. As Heinkel in Argentina, they were built alongside Studebaker pickups.
The Kabine Model 150 used the 174 cc 9.2 hp single-cylinder four-stroke engine that powered the Heinkel Tourist scooter. In October 1956, Heinkel introduced the Kabine Model 153 (with three wheels) and the Kabine Model 154 (with four wheels), both with 204 cc engines. The engines in these models were later reduced in capacity to 198 cc for insurance purposes.
The Kabine had a steel unit body. Access to the interior was by an opening front. In order not to infringe Iso Rivolta's patent used on the Isetta, the steering wheel did not hinge outwards with the door to ease passenger access. However, it did feature a reverse gear, unlike some other bubble cars. The fabric sun roof served as an emergency escape hatch should the sole door in front become jammed in a collision.
The Kabine prominently featured in the 1959 film "I'm All Right Jack". And was briefly featured in the 1957 films “Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s” and “Your Past Is Showing” (aka “The Naked Truth”).
"Kabine" is the German word for "cabin".


Trier (region)

Trier was one of the three "Regierungsbezirke" of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located in the west of the state.
The region was created in 1815 as part of the Prussian Rhineland. Until 1920 the bulk of what then became the Territory of Saar Basin was part of the Trier Region. Only the east of the Saar Territory, today's Saar-Palatinate district, formerly the western fringes of the then Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate, was previously no part of the Trier Region. In April 1937 the St. Wendel-Baumholder district, formed in 1920 from those parts of the St. Wendel district that had not been seceded to the Saar Territory, was dissected from the Trier Region and merged in the new Birkenfeld district within the Koblenz Region.
After the Second World War the French military government several times extended the Saar area before forming the Saar Protectorate, also including additional 109 municipalities belonging until July 1946 to the Trier Region and some to the Koblenz Region. Koblenz Region's former areas make up part of today's St. Wendel district in the Saarland. In December 1946, when a new customs boundary dissected the Saar Protectorate (later becoming the Saarland) from the area under the Allied Control Council over Allied-occupied Germany, the Trier Region with its then remaining territory had become one of the then five regions forming the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate, founded in August 1946. Later, the French occupation government again redeployed some municipalities – some returned to Allied-occupied Germany, some newly annexed to the protectorate – between the Saar area and the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1947 and 1949, before the border was finally fixed.
Since 2000, the employees and assets of the Bezirksregierungen (i.e. regional administrations) form the "Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion Trier" (ADD; Supervisory and Service Directorate Trier) and the "Struktur- und Genehmigungsdirektionen" (SGD; Structural and Approval Directorates) "Nord" in Koblenz and "Süd" in Neustadt (Weinstraße). These administrations execute their authority over the whole state, i. e. the "ADD Trier" oversees all schools.
"Kreise"
(districts)
"Kreisfreie Städte"
(district-free towns)


Front Morges

The Front Morges was a political alliance of centrist political parties (Polish Christian Democratic Party, National Workers' Party, Związek Hallerczyków) of interbellum Poland. It was founded in 1936 in the Swiss village of Morges by General Władysław Sikorski and former Polish Prime Minister Ignacy Paderewski.
Prominent activists included Józef Haller, Wojciech Korfanty, and Karol Popiel. They opposed Poland's Sanation regime – which had caused some of them to emigrate abroad. They wanted to form a new government with Paderewski as president and Wincenty Witos as prime minister. They demanded Poland's democratization and closer ties with France.
The Front Morges gained little publicity or support in Poland, but in 1937 led to the formation of a new political party there, the Labor Party ("Stronnictwo Pracy"), which would become part of the political basis for the Polish Government-in-Exile during 1939-1945.


Corpus Chronicorum Bononiensium

The Corpus Chronicorum Bononiensium is a collection of Renaissance-era chronicles dealing with the history of Bologna.
The collection includes the closely related "Cronaca Rampona" and "Cronaca Varignana". "Cronaca Rampona" was formerly misattributed to Ridolfo Ramponi (whence its conventional title). The text of these chronicles mostly consists of the "Antichità di Bologna" by the Franciscan friar Bartolomeo della Pugliola (c. 1358–1422/5), which consists of annals down to 1420, which in the case of the "Cronaca Rampona" was extended in similar style down to the year 1535.
The texts of the collection were edited by Albano Sorbelli in 1906 and the years following.


Filstingpound

Filstingpound or fulstingpound was an occasional duty paid by villeins in medieval England to the manor. It is thought by historians to be an insurance against corporal punishment or excessive fines. Its etymology appears to be a compound of the obsolete English word "filsting", which means help or aid; and "pound", in the sense of being struck.
The duty was typically annual and received on All Hallows' Day. It was usually £1 paid by the vill or 1 s. by the individual villein. It was a relatively advanced insurance scheme for the High Middle Ages.
See also.
These were also customary duties paid to the lord of the manor:


Cyclone Zorbas

Cyclone Zorbas, or Medicane Zorbas, was the first officially documented Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, or medicane, since Cyclone Numa in 2017. Zorbas originated as an extratropical cyclone in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Warm sea surface temperatures allowed the system to quickly deepen and transition into a tropical cyclone. Zorbas intensified as it headed northward towards Greece, finally reaching its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph) and a minimum central pressure of on September 29.
Heavy rain and flash flooding from Zorbas killed 5 people in Tunisia. One person was killed and two were declared missing in Greece. The storm was estimated to have caused millions of dollars (2018 USD) in damages.
Meteorological history.
A first outlook about the possible development of a shallow warm-core cyclone in the Mediterranean was issued by ESTOFEX on 25 September 2018, and a second extended outlook was issued on 26 September 2018. On 27 September 2018, an extratropical storm developed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Water temperatures of around 27 °C (81 °F) supported the storm's transition into a hybrid cyclone, with a warm thermal core in the center. The storm moved northeastward toward Greece, gradually intensifying and developing characteristics of a tropical cyclone. On September 29, the storm made landfall at peak intensity in the Peloponnese, west of Kalamata, where a minimum central pressure of was reported. ESTOFEX reported on Zorbas as "Mediterranean Cyclone 2018M02", with the same pressure of at Kalamata, further estimating the minimum central pressure of the cyclone to be , with one-minute maximum sustained winds of and a Dvorak number of T4.0, which all translate into marginal Category 1 hurricane characteristics for the cyclone. Early on 1 October, Zorbas emerged into the Aegean Sea, while accelerating northeastward. On 2 October, Zorbas moved over northwestern Turkey and dissipated. A cold wake was observed in the Mediterranean Sea, with sea surface temperatures dropping along the track of Zorbas due to strong upwelling.
It is unknown who named the system "Zorbas", but the name is officially recognized for a "medicane" by the Deutscher Wetterdienst.
Preparations.
Ships were ordered remain docked in the ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio on Saturday by port authorities due to gale-force winds up to 10 on the Beaufort scale blowing in the Aegean Sea. Ferry services of Rio to Antirrio, Kyllini to Zakynthos, and Kyllini to Kefalonia were also suspended.
Impact and aftermath.
During its formative stages, the storm caused flash flooding in Tunisia and Libya. The Tunisian government pledged financial assistance to residents whose homes were damaged. In advance of the storm's landfall in Greece, the Hellenic National Meteorological Office issued a severe warning. Several flights were canceled, and schools were closed. The offshore islands of Strofades and Rhodes reported gale-force winds during the storm's passage. A private weather station in Voutsaras measured wind gusts of . The storm spawned a waterspout that moved onshore. Gale-force winds in Athens knocked down trees and power lines. A fallen tree destroyed the roof of a school in western Athens. Dozens of roads were closed due to flooding. In Ioannina, the storm damaged the minaret on the top of the Aslan Pasha Mosque, which dates to 1614. From 29 to 30 September, Zorbas produced flash flooding in Greece and parts of western Turkey, with the storm dropping as much as 200 mm (8 in) in Greece and spawning multiple waterspouts. Three people were reporting missing in Greece after the flash floods; one person was found but the other two individuals remained missing, as of 3 October.


Sanisera

Sanisera was one of the Roman cities located in the island of Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain), which was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his book "Naturalis Historia", III, 77–78 in the 1st century BC:
The Baleares, so formidable in war with their slingers, have received from the Greeks the name of Gymnasiæ. The larger island is 100 miles in length, and 475 in circumference. It has the following towns; Palma and Pollentia, enjoying the rights of Roman citizens, Cinium and Tucis, with Latin rights; and Bocchorum was a federate town. At thirty miles' distance is the smaller island, 40 miles in length, and 150 in circumference; it contains the states of Jamnon, Sanisera, and Magon.
Location.
The archaeological site of Sanisera is located in the natural port of Sanitja, next to the Cavalleria Cape or Cap de Cavallería (Es Mercadal), which is placed on the rocky northern coast of the island. Cavalleria Cape is a peninsula which points to the north, whose eastern end is called Punta Llevant (eastern point), an 89-metre-high cliff which presents a 19th-century lighthouse; and whose most important inlet is the Port of Sanitja. The western part of the port consists of a long sub-peninsula, whose most characteristic element is an English watchtower built at the beginning of the 19th century, located at its northeastern end. Close to the coast, there are two small rocky islands which act as breakwaters. Regarding the eastern side of the port, it presents similar characteristics to those of the western side, and where S’Almadrava is located, a house which was built in the 18th century as a shelter for fishermen. Moreover, an old quarry of limestone and a lime kiln are located to the south of the port, possibly belonging to the 18th or 19th century. All these elements help the visitor understand the importance of the port of Sanitja, which, despite its small dimensions in comparison to other ports in the island, has always been an inducement of different nature throughout History.
As has already been mentioned, the different structures that can be seen at both sides of the port of Sanitja discern the importance of the place, which is attested by its stratigraphy, since it presents the ideal conditions for the entrance and anchorage of vessels, as well as being a good place for protection in bad weather conditions, such as when the northern wind (tramontane) blows. The port, following a south-southeast orientation, is 800 metres in length and c. 150–200 metres in width, and its entrance is flanked by the island of Porros and a rocky arm which measures around 200 metres, belonging to the northern end of the Cavalleria peninsula, being both of them united underwater and in this way creating a natural dike that abates the swell during bad weather conditions. These characteristics have been key factors for many peoples who have settled down in this place; since the Roman army, during the conquest of the Balearic Islands that took place in 123 BC., decided to establish itself in this location as a strategic military enclave. A similar aim was carried out here later on, when the British army, which occupied the island during most of the 18th century, built a watchtower, possibly encouraged by the strategic conditions of the place, something which is also attested by the many bunkers which date from the Spanish Civil War.
Since the area remains undeveloped, archaeological investigations are not limited and will continue revealing more of the rich archaeological potential that Sanitja presents.
Historiography.
The first written source that makes reference to the city of Sanisera is the mention which Pliny the Elder makes in his book " Naturalis Historia" in the 1st century AD. However, later sources have served as clues in order to locate it. One of them consists of the portulan charts from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, such as the maps designed by Abraham Ortelius in the year 1590 and Petrus Bertius in 1602; the place name Sanisera appearing in many of them in different ways: Zenage, Porto Senello, Seneua, Seneli, Sa Nitja, Senige, Senitja, Seniya, Seniglles, Senigta, Cenegta, Senoli, Seniga, Seneli, Leneli, Cenega, Senege, Sauia, Sonige, Ceneglia, Zenega, Ianisera, Zenhaga or Zenega.
Apart from cartographical records, with entries for place names that appear in many different maps, it is a very different source which has helped researchers trying to identify the location of the ruins of the ancient Sanisera with the port of Sanitja. Since neither the mention of the city by Pliny nor the maps show or indicate whereabouts exactly in the island of Menorca it was located, the writings of some authors and explorers from the 18th century onwards have been able to shed light on its location. In this way, some writers while describing the area surrounding the port of Sanitja, have pointed out the existence of pottery fragments and other objects scattered on the surface, as well as some structures belonging to old buildings.
Furthermore, there are legends derived from local folklore about the place, such as the legend of "Ses Vilotes" gathered by F.Camps i Mercadal, which mentions the existence of a past population, and the fact that the names Sanisera and Sanitja are similar seems to support this hypothesis. Lastly, its location in a port presenting excellent characteristics makes one think in the logical possibility of a stable human occupation in this spot of the northernmost part of Menorca.
In recent decades, since underwater sports activities started in 1974, a great number of amphorae dating from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD started to be found and recovered from the seabed, thus proving the presence of Roman ruins in this place.
The place name of Sanisera.
The study of the place name of Sanisera raises some problems, since no analogous forms have been found in the Mediterranean. The work done by J.S. Hernández has shed some light on its origins and composition, without establishing a clear etymological root and possibly ruling out its Latin origin.
The name Sanisera could be made up of two elements: SANI + SERA. The first element, the alleged root Sani-, could be related to the Iberian anthroponim sani- as found in many epigraphical records., and, if that would be the case, it would be related to the Iberian language spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. However, we have not found a single analogous term to the suffix –sera in pre-Roman languages. There is a hypothetical explanation, as in the Indoeuropean there exists the root *ser-/*sor-, which means “to run, to flow”. Due to the geographical location of Sanisera, in a natural port in the northern part of the island and close to a stream of fresh water that flows into the sea, the second element could be a geographical reference.
Nevertheless, all this information is hypothetical, since the origins of the name have not been clarified yet. More research should be done in order to find out the etymology of this place name, even though few analogous forms have been found.
Archaeological interventions.
During the ‘80s, between the years 1979 and 1984, a series of surveys and excavations which took place at the western side of the port, brought to light the first vestiges of the city of Sanisera: a building with a possible industrial usage, which demonstrate the occupation of the city approximately from the 1st century BC to the 6th century AD; with an alleged period of splendor which lasted until the 3rd century AD.
Also, between 1985 and 1987 the same team located a different building which presented graves both inside and outside its limits. Some years later, it was discovered that the building was an Early Christian basilica (See below for more information on these two buildings).
From the archaeological surveys carried out before excavations started, archaeologists found out that the extension of the Roman city was roughly 60,000 square meters.
Roughly a decade later, from 1993, the study of this site was taken up again with a series of both land and underwater surveys in order to get to know the extension of the archaeology of the port of Sanitja (See below for more information on surveys and excavations carried out from 1993 to the present in the Port of Sanitja).
From that year until the present, the area is under archaeological investigation, having brought to light a Roman military camp which dates from the times of the conquest of the Balearic Islands (123 BC.) to the east of the port, whereas current excavations are focusing on finding the extension, urbanism, function of different spaces and phases of occupation in the city of Sanisera, which is located to the west of the port.
Terrestrial surveys and topography.
After the excavations carried out during the ‘80s, archaeological investigations were taken up in 1993
Because the site covers a considerable area, it was divided up into plots. A plan was drawn showing all these plots, which were numbered in correlation. In this way, the selected archaeological material from the surface of the terrain would be identified according to these areas
The study of the pottery recovered from the systematic surveys of the area as well as from a private collection shed light on the chronology of the site. The oldest materials are the Punic amphorae, type Maña C and the Punic Ebussitan (PE 14, PE 17). Besides, the most recent materials collected were from North Africa: ARS D type Hayes 105 and amphora Keay LXI, dating from 450-700 AD.
From the late Republican period there was a large quantity of Dressel 1 amphorae which represent the 4% of the total of fragments collected on site (21% of all the amphorae). Apart from Italic materials, a large quantity of South Gaullish and North African productions were recorded.
From North Africa it is significant the presence of fineware: ARS productions, such as ARS A and ARS D. The most frequent types of ARS A collected during the surveys were: Hayes 3, 6, 9 and 14. Regarding ARS D, which is the most numerous variant of this category of fineware, the most frequent productions (among 48 different types) were: Hayes 91, 94, 99 and 104.
Also from North Africa there was a significant number of coarse wares (21% of the total number of ceramics recovered from the surveys). The most frequent cooking ware varieties were: Hayes 23, 185, 196 and 197. The material of North African origin represents 57.5% of the total number of ceramics from Sanitja. This corroborates the commercial relationship between Menorca and North of Africa.
Another important pottery group which was detected during the surveys is an oxidised coarse ware which comprises the 20% of the total of fragments recovered. Even though it was difficult to ascertain its origins, it could be a type of local handmade pottery or produced in the Iberian península.
From the Iberian Peninsula it is important to mention the presence of amphora from Tarraco (Tarraconenses amphora), which was produced during the first stages of the Early Empire period (around 2.9% of the total). From Southern Spain material collected included amphorae for preserving fish, Dressel 7/11 and Dressel 20, for oil (1.2% of the total).
Furthermore, in 1994 a topographical and planimetrical survey was carried out at the port of Sanitja. In this way, structures which could be seen on the surface were mapped in order to start studying the city planning and areas of significant concentrations of materials.
The Underwater Archaeology of the Port of Sanitja.
The first archaeological materials studied from the area were recovered from the seabed. This happened in 1974, when the first scuba diving clubs were set on the island. A series of amphorae dating from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD started to be found and recovered from the seabed, thus proving the presence of Roman ruins in this place. Five years later, the first underwater survey was carried out. Some of the amphora rims which were found presented stamps. Two of them read LEPMI BSCD and TEP/LOP. Also, some Late Empire amphorae (Dressel 26) were found. During the following years some archaeologists and historians from the island published articles on amphorae and different types of ceramics recovered from different underwater sites in Menorca. Some of the amphorae types which were identified were PE 17, 25 y 26. Also J.C. de Nicolás wrote about the Roman anchors found in Menorca, where he mentioned an anchor stock from Sanitja which weighed 26 kilograms.
In 1994 an underwater visual inspection was carried out, where some materials were identified and topographically recorded, including isolated materials (anchor sites). Some of them were recovered, including an intact inkwell from South Gaul (type Hermet 18). Also, a group of six anchors were found and a map was compiled in order to show their location. Four of them were Roman, while the other two were possibly Medieval or post-Medieval. Also, it is worth mentioning that in 1999 a well preserved glass vessel was found, which dated from Imperial Roman times (Vessberg type C. I/II). This vessel must have been transported on board a ship.
A different survey was performed in 2001, combining remote sensing techniques such as side scan sonar and an echo sounder with visual survey by archeologist divers. The results shed more light on the submerged archaeology of the area, since thirteen amphora clusters were located as well as five more anchors. These and the six found in 1994 add up to a total of eleven identified anchors from different periods. Regarding amphorae, these findings confirmed the long occupation of the Roman city, from the 2nd century BC until the 6th century AD, and the intense maritime trade which took place in this part of the Mediterranean. The amphorae presented different typologies which ranged from Republican times (Italian Amphorae from Campania, such as Dressel 1) to the Early Empire (Betic amphorae, such as Dressel 20) and the Late Empire period (African amphorae, such as AFR 2d).
From 2006 underwater archaeological surveys are regularly taking place in the area. The diver-based surveys aim at identifying the already known artifacts and sites’ limits, as well as previously undetected features, with the related tasks of compiling a topographic map of the seabed, documenting and fully recording all the elements found, evaluating their preservation and protection, etc. Further features haven been located, such as Roman amphorae clusters, anchors and lead stocks, as well as other features of Modern times, such as post-1700 anchors and others of indeterminate periods such as stone anchors and other potential metal anchors. In 2009 a number of artifacts (amphorae and stone anchors) were recovered from the seabed to ensure their safety and allow a detailed archaeological analysis to be carried out. Also, a series of Modern perdiod shipwrecks are being investigated, including elements like framing timbers, planking timbers and ceiling timbers(See below more on these shipwrecks). All the remains which lie at the sea bottom can explain a great deal of information about key factors such as sea-crossing, external influences, economy, trade and migration patterns in the northern coast of Menorca.
Roman occupation of the port of Sanitja.
Roman Military Camp (123 B. C. – 50 B. C.).
In 123 BC., the general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus (son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus) initiated the conquest of the Balearic Islands, which were inhabited by the native population of the island which formed the Talayotic society. Having been previously ignored by Rome, the islands became a problem in order to hold dominion of the Mediterranean, since due to the lack of military control, they became infested with pirates which affected the distribution of italic products to the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea. The origin of these pirates is unknown, and they could have been the native inhabitants themselves, those of the Talayotic society, represented by the figure of the Balearic slinger so well known in the Mediterranean, since they played a very important role in the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage as mercenaries in the Carthaginian army. Some written sources describe this fact, such as Strabo:
"[…] Because of the land’s fertility the inhabitants are peaceful, the same as those from Ebussus (Ibiza). However, when a few bad ones got together with the sea pirates, everyone got the bad reputation and Metellus the Balearicus conquered them and founded the cities there. It was due to this fertility that they were attacked, even if they were peaceful, and were famous for being the best slingers…They train in the use of the slings from childhood in such manner that the children were not given bread to eat until they were able to hit it with their slings. For this reason, on approaching the islands, he ordered animal hides to be extended over the decks (of the ships) to protect them from their sling shot. He took three thousand Romans from Iberia as colonizers [...]".
Due to this problem related to piracy, even though this might have been a pretext for proceeding with the annexation of the islands to the Roman Republic (for these possible reasons: in order to get new territories for the creation of new cities and colonies in strategic points with fertile lands for agriculture; due to the presence of the skillful Balearic slingers who could serve as mercenaries in the Roman army; for the establishment of commercial routes, which at the same time enhanced a better control of the Mediterranean; apart from questions regarding power, honour, prestige and glory that a general belonging to a family like the Metellus clan needed to reach in order to strengthen his supremacy over the rest members of the Roman aristocracy), the Senate decided to start the Conquest of the Islands, led by the consul Metellus, which was carried out in two years, after which they formed part of the province of Hispania Citerior or Nearer Hispania. In 121 BC., Quintus Caecilius Metellus went back to Rome in order to receive the honours for his successful triumph, getting the nickname ‘the Balearicus’. In these two years a military garrison was established in the port of Sanitja, which is located at the south end of the port, in the highest point (c. 15–20 meters high). Metellus, considering the place to be an important strategic enclave, built a military settlement which included defensive towers placed near the coastline in order to control the entrance of vessels into the port as well as dominate most of the northern coast of the island. Once the conquest came to an end, the military camp continued being use until around 45 BC., something which is attested by some reorganizations of the space and the presence of pottery and other elements which date from the time of the Conquest to the middle of the 1st century BC. On many occasions, the Roman military camp at Sanitja could have participated in the events that took place in the Iberian Peninsula, such as rebellions and civil wars in which the islands got involved with the decisive participation of their armies including the Balearic slingers. One of these episodes is framed in the context of the so-called Sertorian Wars between Sulla and Sertorius, which took place in Hispania between 83 and 72 BC.). Around the same time, there is evidence of the military camp at Sanitja continued being used in a subsequent phase of occupation. After other possible uses of this military camp, the abandonment of the military camp could have taken place around the year 45 BC., when Caesar reorganized the Roman army. Moreover, the Balearic Islands and most of the peninsula enjoyed a period of peace in which the Romanization of the native population might have taken place.
In this way, the military camp at Sanitja turned out to be an important focal point not only during the conquest of the Balearic Islands carried out between 123 and 121 BC., but also in other key moments of the late Republican period, amidst an environment characterized by several disputes among senatorial members, until a period of relative peace was established in times of Caesar in the middle of the 1st century BC. Part of the importance of this military camp would be given by its strategic location and the native element in the army, since part of it was composed of Balearic slingers. In this way, in a military camp presenting a series of barracks and other spaces for the carrying-out of different daily activities (“soldiers in charge of healing wounds after the trainings, the tailoring of the military attire, the mending of boots, the melting of lead for the production of bullets, the maintenance of equipment […]”, and surrounded by a defensive system formed by a trench, Roman soldiers, such as lancers ("hastate") and infantry ("principe"), along with native slingers ("auxiliae") would have lived and trained together. These slingers would have been trained and instructed in the camp in order to learn the Roman military tactics, as well as to adopt, to some extent, the Roman customs and way of living.
Due to its location in a port, the provision of food, wine and other goods for the camp was brought by sea, thanks to vessels with cargoes consisting in amphorae containing food and liquids, such as fish, wheat, wine, olive oil, etc.; which would follow maritime routes around the western basin of the Mediterranean, from Ostia to Menorca. This permanent provision of goods through the sea, caused the arriving of different people who participated in the process of supplying for the Roman army, such as sailors and tradesmen, who could have started to settle down in the area surrounding the camp in a more or less permanent way. Along with them, the presence of a garrison in Sanitja, would have attracted to other people, such as craftsmen, prostitutes, magicians, tavern workers, native population and veteran soldiers; who could have started to live in the vicinity of the camp, and in this way forming an improvised settlement of civilian population in the port of Sanitja.
Development of the City of Sanisera (1st century BC – 6th century AD?).
Roman Period (1st century BC - 5th century AD).
This improvised bunch of people gathered in houses which lacked any form of urban planning, and which was located in the surroundings of the military camp, a "cannabae", would have been gradually growing and becoming more organized until it turned out to be the "civitas" of Sanisera mentioned by Pliny. Thus, at some point after the establishment of the Roman army at Sanitja, the civilian settlement would have started to be created, and as the population grew, it would have started to adopt some sort of organization at the eastern side of the port. The wide chronology of the city shows that it became a stable and permanent settlement which ended up adopting the status of a city, and in which economic and subsistence activities of different nature, such as farming, herding and fishing, were developed. The archaeological investigations have been able to determine an area measuring approximately of perimeter, which would represent the largest expansion of the city in its peak period (which could have taken place around the 1st and 3rd centuries AC). An important factor for the development of the city of Sanisera was its coastal location in an excellent natural port, which made it become a Roman portuary city protected from bad weather conditions, and that it could have held a relevant role in the maritime trade of the western basin of the Mediterranean. This transportation of goods from and to the city is attested by pottery and other artifacts produced in places out of the island of Menorca, which have been found both in the city and the port's seabed. During and after the Crisis of the Third Century which affected all the territories belonging to the Roman Empire, Sanisera started to decay as well, shrinking both its perimeter and population, and, probably modifying the distribution of the different spaces still in use, which would have caused major changes in the urbanism. Among some of those, it would have been possible to find in areas of domestic use the introduction of zones of production for the self-sufficiency and/or supplying and distribution of products on a small scale. Nevertheless, this decay would have not meant a total breaking-off of the relations with other parts of the Mediterranean, since the site presents different types of pottery dating from that late Empire period which arrived from places such as Northern Africa.
Late Antiquity.
After the Fall of Rome, Menorca was conquered by Vandals in the 5th century AD and Byzantines in the following century. Even though it is still unknown the impact of this two cultures on Sanitja, materials which date from both periods have been recovered. This means that during the 5th and 6th centuries AD there was an intense commerce which arrived at the Port of Sanitja. This can be stated due to the presence of pottery such as ARS D (African red slip ware D), DSP (Dérivée de sigilée paléochrétienne), Late Roman C, Early Christian oil lamps, Late Ebussitan ware and a group of handmade productions which could be possibly local or from the east of the Iberian peninsula. Connections between Menorca and North Africa (which existed during Roman times) continued after the Roman period and they were even intensified by the trade routes.
From the last phase of the Roman Empire and Late Antiquity archaeological investigations have revealed different buildings:
1. Building C (4th-6th centuries AD).
This structure was excavated during the early '80s. Archaeologists revealed a building which consisted of 8 rectangular rooms, known as Building C. Some of them were used as storage rooms, while other presented a press for the production of local wine. This press consisted of a system of interconnected cisterns, which were lined by opus signinum. However, it can be thought that the cisterns were used for the production of purple dye or salted fish. The building was occupied between 450 and 524 AD. In one of the rooms (C14) 5 large African amphorae (RITA, 1984: 44) and a fragment of marble altar table were found. (RITA, 1997: 79). The pavement was made up of a layer of very compacted clay. Also, several stone slabs were recorded which marked to entrances to the different rooms. Some years later, the most significant materials recovered from the excavation of Building C and its surroundings were published.
2. Early Christian Basilica.
After the excavation of building C, the same team started to investigate an area where there was a large concentration of materials as well as a monolithic stone sarcophagus on the surface. Archaeologists located a building with rectangular rooms and Opus signinum pavements that presented a cluster of tombs both inside and outside its limits.
The four tombs located inside the building (underneath its pavement) were of the cista type (rectangular pits lined by stone slabs). Also, 21 cist tombs were excavated in its surroundings, all of them containing single burials (except one tombs that presented a multiple inhumation). All the tombs shared the same characteristics: they did not present any type of grave goods and the individuals were lying in supine position.
However, the building remained partially excavated and, for this reason, they could not ascertain what type of structure was. Years later, due to natural weathering in the area, a semicircular apse has been revealed. For this reason it can be stated that the building was an Early Christian basilica, possibly dating from the late 4th and early 5th centuries AD.
This religious building could have been built in the last years of the Roman Empire, when Christianity became the state religion of the Empire during the 4th century. Bearing possible African and Syrian influences, it presents an east–west orientation and a rectangular plan, which is divided into three naves, the central and widest one finishing with a semicircular apse at its head. The existence of a religious building like this would indicate the continuity of some degree of importance of the city of Sanisera as an administrative and political centre; and represents further evidence in the island of Menorca of the ferver acceptance of the new religion around the 4th and 5th centuries.
3. Ecclesiastical complex.
Excavations carried out between 2008 and 2010 have revealed an ecclesiastical complex at the west side of the port of Sanitja. This complex, which possibly dates from the 6th century AD, consists of a basilica and a large multi-functional building, called Building 10. This building presents a series of rooms, some of them used as stores, deposits and cisterns, while others were bedrooms, kitchens, latrines, dining-rooms and courtyards.
This type of complexes were very common during the Late Antiquity period, with examples all around the Mediterranean. They usually included stables, baptismal fonts, baths, hospitals, hostels and even second houses for bishops. Many of them presented more than one basilica, such as the complex of Francolí in Tarragona, Spain, and San Giusto in Apulia, Italy. This is also the case of Sanitja, since the basilica excavated between 1985 and 1987 is located in the proximity of the newly found structures. Future excavations will determine the whole organization of the space and the relation between the two basílicas, as well as other possible buildings and necropoleis.
Other sites of similar characteristics and chronology are: El Bovalar (Lleida, Catalonia, Spain) which presents a basilica next to a building that could have served as monastery or unit of production; Mount Gelato outside Rome, with a basilica and several buildings including baths, courtyards, cisterns and baptistery; San Pietro in Canosa di Puglia (Italy), with a basilica, guesthouse for pilgrims and second residence of the bishop; Son Peretó and Illa del Rei, in Mallorca and Menorca respectively. The two last sites present basilicas and buildings, as well as tombs located in its surroundings. The former examples are ecclesiastical centers which were located outside the city limits. From the Late Antiquity period there are also religious centers inside the Roman cities, such as the complexes in Tolmo de Minateda (Albacete), Tarragona, Barcelona, Terrassa and Valencia among others, all of them nowadays located in Spain.
Whereas Building 10 started to be revealed in 2008, the second basilica was found in 2010. A semicircular apse, a presbytery and 3 naves (central nave and two aisles) have been recorded so far. It presents well-preserved masonry blocks, which were nicely worked. This and the basilica found in the 1980s point to the importance of the area during the 5th and 6th centuries AD, when population living in the surroundings must have gathered there. Complexes of this type were often built, both inside and outside the city limits, due to the presence of saints’ relics, which might have caused the desire to visit the place and even be buried near them. Also, the constant arrival of pilgrims that might have gone to the complex in order to visit the relics could have caused the necessity of building a guesthouse. However, Building 10 could have also been a monastery located next to the basilica.
Be that as it may, the presence of a complex presenting these characteristics shows the high degree of organization that Christianity experienced in Menorca during the 5th and 6th centuries AD.
2011 excavations continued to revealed more of this important building. So far the areas which have been completely excavated show evidence that the floors presented pavements consisting of stone slabs. Also, the new exposed walls continued to present big masonry blocks and a great width. Partition walls were also located inside the two naves: the central and the left naves, resulting in two separate rooms in each of them.
Regarding the apse's base, it is slightly higher than the rest of the naves of the building, which indicates the importance of this part of the basilica.
Having found the wall that presents the limits of the basilica at its Eastern side, part of an exterior wall has been found, which is parallel to and just three meters away from this Eastern limit of the building. Future excavations between the two mentioned walls will determine the function of this space. Also, it will be found out if the exterior wall is an outer wall that could be enclosing the basilica and, perhaps, the entire ecclesiastical complex.
An important characteristic which was noticed in this basilica is that it presents different construction and occupation phases. There is a total of three different construction phases:
The first one belongs to some walls from a previous building which was in the same location before the basilica was built. During the construction of the basilica, some parts of the previous building were reused.
The second corresponds to the moment when the basilica was built and use as a church, roughly from the middle of the 5th century.
The third and last phase is characterized by the partition of some areas in order to create smaller rooms used for domestic purposes. This is attested by the presence of domestic structures such as hearths and amphorae used for the storage of goods. This last phase would have taken place once the building stopped being used as a church and was reused by the locals to make different domestic activities inside.
As for the findings, pottery from the 5th and 6th centuries AD continued to be found, including African productions such as ARS D vessels and ARS oil lamps, D.S.P. from Gaul and Late Roman C from Phocea, as well as a big amount of coarse wares of local production. Also, some personal items such as glass-paste beads, pendants and belt buckle pins have been found, all of them presenting the same chronology as the pottery finds. Also, it is the same type of personal items that have been found at the necropolis (see information below).
4. Necropolis 6.
Between 2008 and 2011 a necropolis was excavated in the surroundings of the Port of Sanitja. It consists of 44 tombs that form several rows with passageways between rows and tombs. The majority of these tombs are of the cist type. However, there are two simple pit tombs and one amphora tomb.
The tombs were rectangular pits cut into the calcareous bedrock and then lined with tiles and covered with stone slabs. The tomb cut and stone slab covers were both noted to be of a rough, unrefined workmanship. They follow an east–west orientation, typical of the Christian burial rite, with the head placed at the west end. The tombs contained multiple and single burials, generally in a supine-extended position. The presence of multiple burials were due to the reuse of the tombs, deliberately moving interred individuals to the sides of the tombs in order to make room for subsequent inhumations. Even following disturbance by tomb robbing activity, the cranium tends to remain at the west end of the tomb, no matter the extent of the disturbance of the rest of the skeletal or corporal remains; most probably a sign of respect for and recognition of the individual(s) interred. In some cases deposits of disarticulated remains have been found and suggest that the tombs could have also served as ossuaries.
A minimum number of individuals for the work carried out during the 2008 - 2011 seasons, on tombs 1-44 from Necropolis 6, has been determined as two hundred and fifty, apart from the vast number of disarticulated bones and teeth.
There is a minimal representation of perinates and babies, most probably because there was some level of discrimination in the burial of infants within the community funerary space (as is often seen in necropoles of Early and Late antiquity dates). Also, analysis carried out to the skeletal remains showed that mortality rate increases dramatically during early childhood and it remains quite high throughout the later sub-adult years. Adult mortality is also high in this population, with a very low representation of older adults, making the life expectancy fairly low (between 31–40 years). Similar high indices of mortality are seen in other Roman era populations experiencing high levels of epidemic disease and where medical knowledge was limited. In the adult group, males and females show almost equal percentages of mortality.
Regarding pathologies, the three most common conditions observed in the skeletal remains analysed from necropolis 6 were dental calculus, joint disease and non-specific infection, and this is typical for a rural, non-industrialised population.
It is important to mention that in 2011 an amphora tomb, identified as tomb 42, was found in this necropolis. The amphora, African in origin, contained the remains of a one-year-old child. This type of graves, along with the cist tombs, are usually found in this type of Late Antique necropolis.
As for grave goods, personal ítems have been found in some of the tombs. They include earrings, rings, pendants, ceramic beads, glass paste beads and clothes pins. The key features missing to provide us with a more concrete date and a more concrete cultural influence are brooches, cloak pins and belt buckles. Most of the materials recovered from the graves date from the 6th century AD and are comparable to objects located in other Late Antiquity necropolei from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Without being able to ascertain if the interred population was of Hispano-Roman, Vandal, Byzantine or Visigoth origin, it can be asserted that Necropolis 6 contained the remains of a population living in or around the Port of Sanitja during the 6th century AD.
Among the most frequently found materials, it is worth mentioning the bronze and silver hoop earrings, bronze rings and glass paste beads of different shapes and sizes, some of them even reused from Punic times.
Future excavations will determine if there was some sort of connection between the ecclesiastical complex and this necropolis, since both share the same chronology.
Evidence of occupation in the port from the Middle Ages to the present.
According to the material collected, it is possible that the city was abandoned at some point around the 6th century, even though a small population could have continued to live or use the area.
What happened in the area during the centuries of transition between Antiquity and Middle Ages, around the 5th to the 10th centuries, has not been clarified yet. In this way, this period presents a problem for the study of the city of Sanisera, since no convincing information has been found due to lack of written and archaeological sources. It is possible that during some of these centuries, the two basilicas would have had an important role for the organization of the population living in Sanitja and its surroundings, and could have been used by foreign peoples that could have arrived to the port of Sanitja as colonizers and settlers after the Fall of Rome.
Muslim Occupation.
There is evidence in Sanitja of a much later occupation represented by a population living in the port during the Muslim period, due to the presence of a small mosque built by reusing Roman constructive material, which could be related to a possible Muslim farmstead which has not been located yet. Due to this occupation, the port could have continued to be witness of the navigation and maritime commerce taking place in the easternmost territories of Al-Andalus.
In 903 ‘Isâm al-Khawlânî conquered Mallorca and Menorca, due to their strategic position in the Mediterranean. The Islamic occupation lasted until 1286, when Christians conquered Menorca under King.
In Menorca and Mallorca, the placename Sa Mesquida indicates the places where mosques used to be located. The mosque located in Sanitja is the first one found in the Balearic Islands. It consists of a rectangular room with a semicircular projection (mihrab) at the center of its southern wall. Even though the entrance has not been recorded, it could have been opposite the mihrab, at the center of the northern wall.
Modern Period.
S’Almadrava (18th and 19th centuries).
To the east of the Port of Sanitja there is a small traditional white house which was built at the end of the 18th century. It was the first fishing industry set in Menorca and was called S’Almadrava.
In 1787 a group of Menorcan fishermen set this firm in order to fish tuna. Because the company was unsuccessful, it was dissolved one year later. Some decades later, in 1859, they decided to try again with the help of fishermen from the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the project was abandoned after several attempts. From that moment onwards S'Almadrava was used as a refuge by fishermen from the town of Fornells.
British tower in the Port of Sanitja.
The strategic location of the island was the main reason for the British army to occupy it during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
War between Napoleon and England made necessary the presence of watchtowers in different territories between 1798 and 1801. The British ruled Menorca for 70 years in three main phases: 1708-1756; 1763–1781 and 1798-1802. In between phases, the French (1756–1763) and the Spanish (1782–1798) governed the island as well.
From the British period in Menorca there are several military buildings, some churches and colonial houses. Another legacy of this British past can be found in the language, since it presents loads of anglicisms.
At the entrance to the port there is an English watchtower, which was built in 1800. It was erected during the last phase of British occupation (1798–1802), forming part of a system of eleven towers whose function was that of averting enemy armies from disembarking in the port. For this reason, this type of towers presented small detachments and swivel guns on their top floor.
The Sanitja watchtower – identical to the tower in the port of Addaia- is circular in plan and its diameter is 100 m2. It presents four levels or floors:
A subterranean ground which was used as a cistern to collect rain water; the ground floor that was divided up in three rooms to store supplies and weapons. The third level served as bedroom for the garrison. The fourth or top floor presented a swivel gun at its center. From there a vast territory could be controlled, including two other towers located in Fornells and Mount Toro. At a distance of 30 meters to the east of the tower there was a set of batteries (small cannons) protected by a short dry wall (80 centimeters tall) which was parallel to the coast line.
This type of military structures can be found in Ireland, where they are known as Martello towers. They were also built during the early 19th century, such as the tower in Shenick Island.
Another important element which is related to the British watchtower is located right in the coastline of the Port of Sanitja. It consists of two semicircular structures formed by irregular limestone blocks. Next to one of them there is a wall which follows an east–west orientation, entering into the sea. This could be a dock used by the British soldiers, whereas the two semicircular structures could be small bulwarks that controlled the arrival of boats to the port.
Cavalleria lighthouse and shipwrecks.
In 1857 a lighthouse was built on the northernmost point of Cavalleria Cape under the petition of the authorities of the island, due to the frequency of wrecks taking place on the northern coast. The lighthouse tower is 15 metres high and it is located 94 metres above the sea level. It shows two white lights every ten seconds and reaches a maximum of 26 nautical miles.
In fact, more than 700 wrecks between the 14th and the 19th centuries are documented in different charts. According to these written records, many of them wrecked during the 18th and 19th centuries, such as "San Josef" (1712), "La Asunción" (1821), "San Jaume" (1892) and "Bourgianen" (1900). Two of them, "La Asunción" and "Bourgianen" were located in the past few years.
The "Bourgianen".
In 2006 a comprehensive underwater survey was undertaken to identify any potential remains from the wreck of the "Bourgianen", a late 19th-century schooner wrecked at the mouth of the inlet in June 1900. The survey identified the presence of a section of timber wreckage and also identified a number features associated with this wreckage, including iron concretions and a possible swivel-gun.
This schooner, which was of Italian origin and built in August 1899, was commanded by captain Narciso Antonio Barsello. The vessel was on-route from the port of Catania to Barcelona with a cargo of broad-beans and other perishable goods. The vessel's rudder was damaged and broke apart.
La Asunción.
A large number of masonry blocks and rectangular anthracite blocks were encountered scattered across the seabed. These blocks are thought to represent the debris-field from the wreck of the Sardinian xebec La Asunción, a vessel commanded by captain Antonio d’Así which was reported to have been wrecked in 1821.
2009 discovery.
A survey carried out in November 2009 made the discovery of a previously unknown section of timber wreckage. The exposed section of timber from the wreck comprises fourteen framing timbers, four ceiling timbers, and two partially visible outer planking timbers.