From Hispalis to Ishbiliyya: The Ancient Port of Seville, from the Roman Empire to the End of the Islamic Period (45 BC – AD 1248)

From Hispalis to Ishbiliyya: The Ancient Port of Seville, from the Roman Empire to the End of the Islamic Period (45 BC – AD 1248) focuses on the history and development of the ancient port of Seville, which is located in the lower Guadalquivir River Basin, Spain. This unique study is important because, despite its commercial importance, little has been known about the port, and so the purpose was to examine the topography, layout, and facilities of the ancient port of Seville, their history and development from approximately the 1st c. BC to about the 13th c. AD. This longue durée study was conducted adopting a holistic and interdisciplinary approach by examining a diverse range of information (historical, archaeological and scientific), a maritime archaeological perspective as well as a diachronic study of three different historical periods (Roman, Late Antique, Islamic). As a result, it has been possible to offer a description of the construction, development, and demise of the port. The study was one of the first comprehensive studies of an ancient port in Spain and one of the first to be conducted in a combined holistic and diachronic manner in Europe. This methodology has produced significant results not obtained with other simpler approaches, thus serving as a model for studies of other archaeological sites, especially those in relation with maritime or riverine culture.
About the Author
CARLOS CABRERA TEJEDOR is a maritime archaeologist with a diverse and multi-disciplinary background and an interest in shipbuilding and ports. He started as a conservator, completing two bachelor's degrees, one in Fine Arts Restoration and the other in Archaeological Conservation. He also completed a Master of Arts degree in Nautical Archaeology from Texas A&M University, worked as a project director and research associate at the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), and a received a DPhil in Archaeology at the University of Oxford.
Regarding the study of ancient ships, Dr Cabrera conducted the study of the Mazarrón 1 timber remains, the only known example of hull-remains from the 7th century BC. He also completed a post-doctoral research study, at the University of Oxford, on the hull of Ship 11, a 5th–4th century BC boat excavated in the Grand Canal of Thonis-Heracleion (Egypt). Included among Dr Cabrera's on-going international collaborations is a project with the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arte e Paesaggio per le Province di Pisa, where he is responsible for studying and publishing the naval architecture of five Roman vessels excavated at the Pisa-San Rossore train station.