The Dimensions of Tektaş Burnu: The Benefits of Computer Generated Modeling in Archaeology

Summary

Tektaş Burnu is a Classical Greek shipwreck from the 5th century BCE which sank off the coast of Tektaş Burnu, Turkey. Excavated between 1999 and 2001, this ship was found to carry a cargo of, pine tar, pottery, kitchen tools and wine in over 200 potentially Erythraen amphorae. The ship itself was consumed by shipworms so the size was determined by the location of the cargo, a pair of marble opthalmoi and lead-filled anchor stocks. This project has taken the findings from this excavation – the remaining amphorae, anchor stocks and the ship’s metal fastenings – and used them to render a potential model of the ship, and digitally recreate the entire catalog of amphorae and anchor stocks using Rhinoceros 5.0 digital modeling software. Once scaled and combined into a single file, the project aims to "load" the render of Tektaş Burnu to determine whether the estimates of size are accurate, and if there would have been space for a now lost organic cargo. With the assistance of the Rhinoceros add-in Orca 3D, the project further hopes to determine the seaworthiness of such a ship, and what its marine capabilities and hydrostatic qualities might be.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16551