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

This monograph focuses on the history and development of the topography, layout, and facilities of the ancient port of Seville, located in the lower Guadalquivir River Basin, between the 1st century BC and the 13th century AD. Until now, despite its commercial importance, little has been known about the port’s exact position, layout and facilities.

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.