Johannes Preiser-Kapeller Falko Daim (eds.

), Harbours and Maritime Networks as

Complex Adaptive Systems (RGZM Tagungen). Mainz 2014 [forthcoming]
This volume collects selected papers given at the International Workshop Harbours and
maritime Networks as Complex Adaptive Systems at the Rmisch-Germanisches
Zentralmuseum in Mainz, 17.-18. 10. 2013, within the framework of the Special Research
Programme (SPP-1630) Harbours from the Roman Period to the Middle Ages, funded by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (http://www.spp-haefen.de/en/home/). The volume is
devoted to the conceptualisation and analysis of maritime history within the framework of
complexity theory on various levels: the selection, construction, utilisation, maintenance or
abandonment of a harbour site depended on the interactions of a multiplicity of actors
(population on-site and in the hinterland; local, regional and central authorities; merchants and
sailors, etc.) against the background of an equally complex interplay between society and
environment (natural conditions on land and on sea and their dynamics). Within this framework,
also the concept of path dependence is of relevance: decisions and efforts made for the
selection and construction of a harbour determine the parameters for subsequent contexts of
decision making. Ports are integrated into local and regional settlement systems via multiplex
connections with their hinterland and co-determine the distribution of demographic and
economic potentials within these systems. Local, regional and over-regional sea-routes link
ports of various sizes and importance in complex maritime networks, which are equally
characterized by the emergence of hierarchies of harbours. On the basis of these sea-routes,
also individuals and groups in various localities are connected in social networks, which can
be characterised by mercantile, political, religious or cultural interactions, but especially
through the mobility of individuals. A systematic survey of these entanglements between
individuals, groups and localities contributes to a more adequate analysis of the complexity of
these phenomena as do detail studies on the interplay between social and environmental
factors for the development of selected ports.
Contributions:
Falko Daim, Foreword
Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Harbours and Maritime Networks as Complex Adaptive Systems -
Thematic Introduction
Franck Goddio, Damian Robinson and David Fabre, The life-cycle of the harbour of Thonis-
Heracleion: the interaction of the environment, politics and trading networks on the maritime
space of Egypts northwestern Delta
Myrto Veikou, Byzantine ports and harbours within the complex interplay between environment
and society. Spatial, socio-economic and cultural considerations based on archaeological
evidence from Greece, Cyprus and Asia Minor
Pascal Arnaud, The interplay between actors and decision-makers for the selection,
organisation, utilisation and maintenance of ports under the Roman Empire
Flora Karagianni, Networks of Medieval City-Ports in the Black Sea (7th-15th cent.). The
Archaeological Testimony
Sren M. Sindbk, Northern Emporia and Maritime Networks. Modelling past Communication
using Archaeological Network Analysis
Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, The Maritime Mobility of Individuals and Objects: Networks and
Entanglements