Enemy ships at ampi: a cry from Byblos

Abstract

Threatened by an Amurru invasion in the 14th century BC, the king of Byblos Rib-Hadda cries: "He {Abdi-Ashirta} has now [st]ationed ships of Arw[ad}a' {i}n Ampi and in Šigata" in one of his numerous begging letters to the Pharaoh Akhenaten for protection. In another letter, Ampi is listed as one of the "cities with ships". Ampi, identified with modern Anfeh, must have therefore held one (or more) harbour(s), at least from the Late Bronze Age. These papers consider recent on land and underwater investigations conducted by the Department of Archaeology and Museology at the University of Balamand at the site of Anfeh in order to identify possible harbour installations. The first paper presents a multifaceted project aiming at reconstructing the history of Anfeh. It combines archaeological data from surveys and excavations, with an in-depth study of ancient epigraphic and literary sources; as well as ethnographic data collected from oral histories. Continuous research promises to locate the ancient city of Ampi and to investigate its maritime activities. The second paper draws on a multi-disciplinary approach — including remote-sensing, photogrammetry, and an in-depth study of sea-level changes — to contribute an appreciation of the characteristics of the bio-physical settings and how these influenced past maritime activity. Such results also enrich our understanding of the development and use of Anfehs underwater and coastal environments by people in the past. By the same token, a systematic assessment of the underwater cultural heritage at the site would be reached and would help in identifying potential shipwrecks, dump sites, and offshore anchorages to name a few. Such non-intrusive methods of investigation form a baseline of knowledge on which to develop future research initiatives.