A remarkable series of antefixes (Silenoi and Gorgoneia) and other terracotta architectural elements and cover-tiles, found mainly in shipshed 3, derive from an earlier building on the same site, which seems to be an early phase of shipshed with an unexpectedly rich decoration of its roof. The two southern slipways seem to have been extended westwards (landwards) in the second phase and here there are traces of a final burnt destruction. The existence of sand ramps, probably supporting timber skid ways, provides conclusive evidence that the shipsheds were roofed. A fourth-century burial in the corner of one shipshed shows that by then the dockyard was out of use (confirming the historical tradition of the destruction of Naxos by Dionysios I in 403 B.C.). No traces have been identified of hauling machinery. Light has been shed on the operations carried out within the shipsheds, with the definition of side-passages and the discovery of traces of red and blue pigment, showing that at least parts of the ships were painted in the shipsheds.The ships housed were triremes, but probably of a narrow type. Systematic excavations have revealed all that remains of the ancient dockyard of Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily. Hundreds of colonnades and side-walls carried the massive tiled roofs of these shipsheds, which clearly conveyed Athens' determination to 'monumentalise' and glorify the naval bases that protected the city's fleet of swift triremes at the height of her power. In the late 330s BC, the shipsheds at Zea extended over an area of more than 55,000 m2 including the shipsheds in Kantharos and Mounichia Harbours, the total area covered by the shipshed complexes in the Piraeus was close to 110,000 m2. The naval installations built in Zea Harbour in the 4th century BC were amongst the largest building complexes of antiquity and were essential for maintaining an operational fleet. Also among the principle discoveries are the establishment and measurement of the relative changes in sea level since antiquity - a key piece of the puzzle, and one that has led to a broader understanding of the topography of the ancient harbours of the Piraeus. Dragátsis (1885) are dated to 375-350 BC (terminus post quem) and architecturally redefined as double-unit shipsheds designed to house two ships stored end-to-end. In addition, shipsheds (Phase 3) that have been documented previously by W. This is the first solid material evidence of the naval installations dating to the zenith of Athenian military, political and cultural hegemony. The study focuses on Zea Harbour, where two previously unidentified building phases were discovered: the unroofed Phase 1 slipways, most likely belonging to the early 5th century BC, and the Phase 2 shipsheds built later in that century. This first volume in the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series is the culmination of the first phase of archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project, 2001-2006. With Athens navy's importance came that of her harbour city, the Piraeus, where naval bases in Zea, Mounichia and Kantharos Harbours housed hundreds of triremes that served as the primary arm of Athenian power. 340 The immense historical importance of the navy of Classical Athens is evident in her struggles against Persia ending at the Battle of Salamis, the city's central role in the First Delian League, the decades of Athens' supremacy as an imperial naval power, the victories and vicissitudes of the Peloponnesian War, and the revival and fall of the Athenian navy during the 4th century BC. The architectural glories of the Acropolis stood in second place to her naval bases according to an unknown Athenian writer: O Athens, queen of all cities! How fair your naval base! How fair your Parthenon! How fair your Piraeus! - Com. Athens in the Classical period was preeminent because of her naval power.
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