Studied Geological Sciences (1984) and he earned a PhD in Quaternary Neotectonics from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA, 1990). He has been working as a Consultant Engineering Geologist of Civil Engineering works for 35 years. Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Nottingham, UK (2023). Member of the Central Archaeological Council (ΚΑS) of the Ministry of Culture (2004-2011, 2019 to date). Partner of the scientific Society for the Study of Ancient Coastlines – AKTES NPO (2019). Member of the Committee for Climate Change and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, which is assigned the task of formulating the guidelines of the National Action Plan for the protection of cultural heritage from the impact of climate change (2020-2021). Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the New Archaeological Museum of Patras (2007-2009) and member of various Committees for the Protection of Archaeological Sites. Contract professor of Engineering Geology, Civil Engineering Department, University of Thessaly (1998-2000). In the context of numerous archaeological and geoarchaeological surveys, he focused on the relative sea level changes during the Quaternary and the palaeogeographic reconstruction of coastal archaeological sites. He has published 45 research articles on coastal geomorphology and geoarchaeology.

CONFERENCIA

The Roman rock-cut fish tanks of Crete (Greece): design, construction and functionality 

Viveros de pescado tallados en la roca de Creta (Grecia): diseño, construcción y funcionalidad

Fishing and fish eating was widely spread in Roman times. Fish, along with other luxury foods, became a symbol of the extravagant display of wealth experienced by post-Republican and Imperial Rome. The big innovation in Roman fish farming came at the beginning of the first century BC, when saltwater fish began to be raised in freshwater, either in specially constructed tanks or in natural lakes. In the 1st century BC Varro described the possibility of profiting from fish farming, and later, in the 1st c. AD, Columella provided detailed instructions on the construction and maintenance of fish tanks, together with recommendations on the best species of fish to be cultivated in them. Processing fish for later use was necessary and salt was the natural preservative of antiquity. In the Roman provinces, remote from the empire’s center, fish tanks were noticeably smaller than those on the Tyrrhenian coast. However, they retain the specifications of the Latin agricultural writers for the construction and preservation of fish. 

In 67 BC the Roman General Metellus occupied Crete, which then became a Roman province with Gortyna as its capital. Seventeen (17) complexes of Roman rock-cut fish tanks and fish traps of Crete are known, which were were located near important urban centers of this period: eleven fish tanks in Matala, near Gortyna on the south coast of central Crete, two fish tanks in Ferma and Koutsounari, close to the ancient harbour-city of Ierapytna on the south coast, and the complex of fish tanks in Chersonissos, an important port on the north coast of Crete. Other fish tanks seem to have served local needs of smaller settlements or farmsteads, such as those of: Mochlos, near a Late Roman settlement on the northeastern coast, Phalassarna, close to a small Roman settlement south of the important Hellenistic harbour-city of Phalassarna on the north-westernmost tip of the island, and Kato Zakros that served the needs of a Roman villa some kilometers inland form the bay, on the eastern side of Crete. The dating of the fish tanks results from the archaeological age of the settlements and villas they were served and also the adjacent harbourworks and coastal installations operating at the same time. 

The rock-cut fish tanks of Crete are impressive monuments from Roman times, not only in terms of their use and functionality but also concerning their architectural features and construction technique, which are presented in detail. They were designed carefully and constructed diligently, so as to recreate the natural habitat of the fish. The renewal and ventilation of the water was achieved through channels, one per each seaward entrance. They were carved exactly at the same elevation as the then sea level so as to communicate with the sea. 

Following the complicated relative sea level history and the related seismotectonic regime of Crete, all the fish tanks presented here are now submerged, with the exception of that in Phalassarna, the only example of uplifted fish tank in Greece. Based on literary sources, we provide evidence of the period of submergence of the Matala fish tanks, probably related with the 1604 earthquake, of magnitude 6.8, centered off the southern coast of central Crete.

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La pesca y el consumo de pescado estaban muy extendidos en la época romana. El pescado, junto con otros alimentos de lujo, se convirtió en símbolo del extravagante despliegue de riqueza que experimentó la Roma postrepublicana e imperial. La gran innovación en la piscicultura romana se produjo a principios del siglo I a.C., cuando se empezaron a criar peces de agua salada en agua dulce, ya fuera en tanques especialmente construidos o en lagos naturales. En el siglo I a.C., Varrón describió la posibilidad de sacar provecho de la piscicultura y, más tarde, en el siglo I d.C., Columela proporcionó instrucciones detalladas sobre la construcción y el mantenimiento de viveros de pescado, junto con recomendaciones sobre las mejores especies de peces para cultivar en ellas. El procesamiento del pescado para su posterior uso era necesario y la sal era el conservante natural de la antigüedad. En las provincias romanas, alejadas del centro del imperio, las piscifactorías eran notablemente más pequeñas que las de la costa tirrena. Sin embargo, conservan las especificaciones de los escritores agrícolas latinos para la construcción y conservación del pescado. 

En el año 67 a.C., el general romano Metelo ocupó Creta, que se convirtió entonces en una provincia romana con Gortyna como capital. Se conocen diecisiete (17) complejos romanos de viveros y trampas para peces excavadas en la roca, que se encontraban cerca de importantes centros urbanos de la época: once peceras en Matala, cerca de Gortyna, en la costa sur de Creta central, dos peceras en Ferma y Koutsounari, cerca de la antigua ciudad portuaria de Ierapytna, en la costa sur, y el complejo de peceras de Chersonissos, un importante puerto de la costa norte de Creta. Otros estanques parecen haber servido a las necesidades locales de pequeños asentamientos o granjas, como los de: Mochlos, cerca de un asentamiento romano tardío en la costa nororiental, Phalassarna, cerca de un pequeño asentamiento romano al sur de la importante ciudad-puerto helenística de Phalassarna, en el extremo noroccidental de la isla, y Kato Zakros, que atendía las necesidades de una villa romana a unos kilómetros tierra adentro desde la bahía, en el lado oriental de Creta. La datación de los estanques se debe a la antigüedad arqueológica de los asentamientos y villas a los que servían, así como a las instalaciones portuarias y costeras adyacentes que funcionaban en la misma época.

Los viveros para peces excavados en la roca de Creta son impresionantes monumentos de la época romana, no sólo por su uso y funcionalidad, sino también por sus características arquitectónicas y su técnica de construcción, que se presentan en detalle. Se diseñaron cuidadosamente y se construyeron con diligencia, para recrear el hábitat natural de los peces. La renovación y ventilación del agua se conseguía mediante canales, uno por cada entrada al mar. Se tallaron exactamente a la misma altura que el nivel del mar de entonces, para comunicar con el mar. 

A raíz de la complicada historia relativa del nivel del mar y del régimen sismotectónico relacionado de Creta, todos los viveros presentados aquí están ahora sumergidos, con la excepción de la de Falasarna, el único ejemplo de piscifactoría elevada en Grecia. Basándonos en fuentes literarias, aportamos pruebas del período de sumersión de las peceras de Matala, probablemente relacionado con el terremoto de 1604, de magnitud 6,8, centrado frente a la costa sur de Creta central.