Preserved remains of part of the Hellenistic Wall of the Military Harbour of Rhodes on Geor. Papanikolaou, to the west of Mandraki Harbour.
"The topography of ancient Rhodes has come to light in the last decades thanks to the contribution of Ioannis Kontis and Ioannis Papachristodoulou during rescue excava-tions , and to the recent detailed study of the fortification by Melina Filimonos-Tsopotou . Its extent has been traced through rescue excavations all around the city, thus outlining the West harbour, the limen kleistos of Mandraki, the Great harbour, the basin of Akantia and the South-East harbour. In the area of the West harbour, research has shown that the basin was silted by the end of the 4 th century B.C. and that the town extended north. This was probably the first commercial harbour used by the city: it had storage facilities and commercial buildings behind a reinforced quay that had been misidentified as a part of the fortification. However, excavations north of that quay wall have shown that the town was extended north after siltation of the basin, therefore the North-West harbour was no longer in use from the 3 rd century B.C. onwards.
The military harbour on the east side of the town, also called Mandraki, is better known. Its fortifications have been studied and two of the shipsheds that were built along its shores have been excavated . On the west shore of the harbour, a building with central column bases was discovered on the Tsouvala plot : since the long building with a central line of square pillar bases is oriented east-west at a right angle to the shore, it has been assumed that these were remains of shipsheds . On the south shore, under the remains of the Roman tetrapylon, D. J. Blackman and A. Giannikouri have excavat-ed the remains of several phases of neosoikoi . Altogether it was possible to trace 100 slipways around the basin , since in the Hellenistic period this harbour was exclusively dedi-cated to naval purpose and a restricted area – circula-tion was forbidden for citi-zens, according to Strabo’s testimony .
The commercial harbour, south of the military harbour, was protected to the west by a fortified mole, built in the 4 th century B.C. A complex stratigraphic se-quence illustrates the life of this quay, with several circu-lation layers, and post holes obviously for lighter structures, but no evidence for commer-cial buildings or storage facilities has been recovered .
On the other two harbour areas to the south of the Great harbour, the Akantia basin and the south-east one, the only structures that have been revealed are the submerged remains of the mole in the first case, the fortification line around both basins and several structures outside that line in the case of the South-East harbour: four pillar bases were discovered at 150 m north of the east shore as well as three similarly constructed bases and foundations for three more , although one can assume that they played a role in the commercial activities and exchanges of Rhodes.
Concerning our matter of spatial development in harbours, the most interesting sector in Rhodes is the junction between the commercial Great harbour and the military harbour, Mandraki. Indeed, on the south shore of the military harbour, the superimposition of the remains of the tetrapylon and of several phases of the shipsheds testifies to a substantial remodelling of this area after the earthquake of the middle of the 2 nd century A.D.: the new building programme included the arch and a monumental transformation of the street to the south, which penetrated the city and extended towards the agora. The cross-ing of the cardo and the decumanus of the Roman city was emphasized by a tetrapylon arch which had two main openings. The Roman monument was excavated by the Italians in 1925 and published in the 80’s by M. Cante, allowing a reconstruction of the arch . It was a rectangular building with four arches carried by pillars and offering two main faces, one to the north, i. e. towards the sea, and the other to the south, marking the beginning of the decumanus which was lined on either side by porticoes in front of shops. The two other sides, east and west, gave access to terraces.
In the earlier planning, this area was dedicated to the Rhodian navy and its protection: the military harbour excluded any other activity – religious, commercial – these taking place instead at the Great Harbour and very likely at the other two basins to the south. It was cut off from the rest of the city by the back walls of the neosoikoi and closed – or closable – from the sea by the maritime fortification which left a narrow entrance to the basin from the north . After the pax romana the Rhodian military fleet did not play the same role as it had during the Hellenistic period; the shipsheds were therefore not a necessary expense anymore. In fact, the report for the Tsouvala plot excavation mentions the remains of a later building and a pipe, built on top of the remains of the shipsheds : one can assume that by then the west shore must also have been transformed into a commercial space. The construction of the tetrapylon on the south side in the 2 nd century A.D. radically changed the function of the area of the military harbour of Rhodes which became a space open to the sea, and if the remains of the Tsouvala plot are correctly identified, then this sector became a place of exchange and commerce during the Roman period, while the tetrapylon played the role of a monumental gate and a key articulation between the har-bour area and the city ."
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Diatiriména leípsana tmímatos tou Ellinistikoú Teíchous tou Stratiotikoú Limanioú tis Ródou sto Geórgio. Papanikoláou, sta dytiká tou limanioú tou Mandrakíou.
"I topografía tis archaías Ródou échei érthei sto fos tis teleftaíes dekaetíes chári sti symvolí tou Ioánni Kónti kai tou Ioánni Papachristodoúlou katá tis anaskafés diásosis kai stin prósfati leptomerí meléti tou ochyrómatos tis Melínas Filímonos-Tsopótou. anaskafés se óli tin póli, perigráfontas étsi to dytikó limáni, ton limenikó kliísto tou Mandrakíou, to Megálo limáni, ti lekáni tis Akántias kai to limáni tis Notioanatolikís Evrópis. Stin periochí tou Dytikoú limanioú, i érevna édeixe óti i lekáni tou sta téli tou 4ou aióna p.CH. kai óti i póli epektáthike sta vóreia.Aftó ítan ísos to próto emporikó limáni pou chrisimopoioúse i póli: eíche enkatastáseis apothíkefsis kai emporiká ktíria píso apó enischyméni apováthra pou eíche exakrivotheí lanthasména os tmíma tis ochýrosis. , oi anaskafés vóreia tou toíchou tis apováthras édeixan óti i póli epektáthike vóreia metá tin ektóxefsi tis lekánis aporroís, epoménos to voreiodytikó limáni den ítan pléon se chrísi apó tis 3 prótou aióna p.CH. emprós.
To stratiotikó limáni stin anatolikí plevrá tis pólis, pou onomázetai epísis Mandráki, eínai gnostótero. Oi ochyróseis tis échoun meletitheí kai échoun anaskafeí dýo apó ta nafpigeía pou kataskevástikan katá míkos ton aktón tis. Sti dytikí óchthi tou limanioú anakalýfthike sto oikópedo Tsouvála éna ktírio me kentrikés kolónes: afoú to makrý ktírio me kentrikí grammí tetragonikón pylónon eínai prosanatolisméno anatoliká-dytiká se orthí gonía pros tin aktí, échei ypotetheí óti aftá ítan apomeinária fortigón. Sti nótia óchthi, káto apó ta ereípia tou romaïkoú tetrapýlou, oi D. J. Blackman kai A. Giannikoúri échoun anaskápsei ta ereípia arketón fáseon ton neosóikon. Synoliká ítan dynató na entopistoún 100 géfyres gýro apó ti lekáni, kathós katá tin Ellinistikí período to limáni aftó aforoúse apokleistiká naftikó skopó kai periorisméni periochí - i kykloforía apagorévetai stous polítes, sýmfona me ti martyría tou Strávona.
To emporikó limáni, nótia tou stratiotikoú limanioú, prostatéfthike dytiká me ochyroméno mólo, chtisméno ton 4o aióna p.CH. Mia sýntheti stromatografikí allilouchía katadeiknýei ti zoí aftís tis apováthras, me pollá strómata kykloforías, kai tis opés metá apó profanós gia elafróteres kataskevés, allá den échoun anaktitheí stoicheía gia emporiká ktíria í enkatastáseis apothíkefsis.
Stis álles dýo periochés tou limanioú sta nótia tou Megálou limanioú, sti lekáni tis Akantías kai sti notioanatolikí plevrá, oi monadikés domés pou apokalýfthikan eínai ta vythisména ypoleímmata tou potamoú stin próti períptosi, i grammí ochýrosis gýro apó tis dýo lekánes kai arketés domés ektós aftís tis grammís stin períptosi tou notioanatolikoú limanioú: tésseris pylónes váseis anakalýfthikan sta 150 métra vóreia tis anatolikís aktís kathós kai treis ídies kataskevés váseon kai themelíon gia álla tría, an kai boreí kaneís na ypothései óti épaixan rólo stis emporikés drastiriótites kai tis antallagés tis Ródou.
Óson aforá to théma tis chorikís anáptyxis sta limánia, o pio endiaféron toméas sti Ródo eínai i diastávrosi metaxý tou emporikoú Megálou limanioú kai tou stratiotikoú limanioú, tou Mandráki. Prágmati, sti nótia óchthi tou stratiotikoú limanioú, i epikálypsi ton ypoleimmáton tou tetrapýlou kai arketón fáseon ton fortigón martyreí tin ousiastikí anadiamórfosi aftís tis periochís metá to seismó sta mésa tou 2ou aióna m.CH.: to néo ktírio to prógramma perielámvane tin apsída kai mia mnimeiódi metamórfosi tou drómou pros ta nótia, i opoía dieísdyse tin póli kai epektáthike pros tin agorá. I diastávrosi tou kartó kai tou decumanus tis romaïkís pólis ypogrammístike apó éna tetrápylo toxoeidés pou eíche dýo kýria anoígmata. To romaïkó mnimeío anaskáfike apó tous Italoús to 1925 kai dimosiéfthike sti dekaetía tou 80 apó ton M. Cante, epitrépontas tin anakataskeví tis apsídas. Prókeitai gia éna orthogónio ktírio me tésseris kamáres pou metaférontai apó pylónes kai prosféroun dýo kýria prósopa, éna voreiótera, mi. pros ti thálassa kai to állo pros ta nótia, simatodotóntas tin archí tou decumanus, pou ítan ependedyméni apó tis dýo plevrés, dípla sta katastímata. Oi dýo álles plevrés, anatoliká kai dytiká, édosan prósvasi stis verántes.
Katá ton proigoúmeno schediasmó, aftí i periochí ítan afieroméni sto naftikó tis Ródou kai tin prostasía tou: to stratiotikó limáni apékleie káthe álli drastiriótita - thriskeftikí, emporikí - pou élave chóra sto Megálo Limáni kai polý pithanó stis álles dýo lekánes sto nóto. Apokópike apó tin ypóloipi póli apó tous píso toíchous ton neosóikon kai ékleise - í na kleísei - apó ti thálassa apó ti naftikí ochýrosi pou áfise mia stení eísodo sti lekáni apó to vorrá. Metá tin pax romana, o stratiotikós stólos tis Ródou den diadramátise ton ídio rólo pou eíche katá tin ellinistikí período. ta fortigá den ítan epoménos anankaía dapáni. Stin ékthesi gia tin ekskafí tou chorioú Tsouvála anaféroun ta ypoleímmata enós metagenésterou ktiríou kai enós solína, pou eínai chtisména páno sta apomeinária ton ploíon: boreí kaneís na ypothései óti méchri tóte i dytikí aktí prépei na metatrapeí se emporikó chóro. I kataskeví tou tetrapýlou sti nótia plevrá tou 2ou ai. M.CH. állaxe riziká ti leitourgía tis periochís tou stratiotikoú limanioú tis Ródou pou égine énas chóros anoichtós sti thálassa kai an entopistoún sostá ta ereípia tou orófou Tsouvála, tóte o toméas aftós égine tópos antallagís kai emporíou katá ti diárkeia tis romaïkís periódou, enó to tetrapýlio épaixe rólo mnimeiakís pýlis kai vasikís arthróseos metaxý tis periochís tis pólis kai tis pólis ".
PIGI - (sýndesmos epískepsis)