An alternative historya maritime archaeological study of menorca as a key ancillary in the roman epoch

Resumen

The island of Menorca is identified as the second largest in the Balearic archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, now a province of modern Spain. The original purpose of this project was to investigate Menorca’s ancient history of connectivity via maritime networks during the Roman epoch, and to determine the significance of its position within the network(s) in which it was involved. What the study has disclosed is that Menorca's relevance and utility to Rome lay not so much in its facilitation of connectivity as in its capacity to disrupt maritime transmissions and abet actors in regional destabilization. Issues of piracy figure most prominently in this respect, although other security concerns, such as rebellion and warfare, are also considered. Research of these topics disclosed problems arising from terminologies commonly used in all language publications which cover the history of Menorca during the Roman epoch, in particular those which stem from the notion of a Roman 'conquest' of the Balearic Islands. Therefore, the primary aim of this study has evolved to present an alternative interpretation from that of Menorca as a ‘conquered’ Roman territory. Extending beyond the limiting traditional narratives, the Roman annexation of Menorca's ports and pacification of its waters were integral to the security of critical western sea lanes and perhaps even, to some degree, greater geopolitical stability in the Western Mediterranean region. Ultimately, the history of this underrepresented island will be better understood, and may at last be recognized as a key ancillary in the Roman Mediterranean. The thesis is organized into chapters within four parts, with a final chapter for conclusions. After an introductory chapter, the second chapter of Part I is devoted to the discussion of Menorca's geography, coastal morphology and maritime conditions, as together they directed practically every aspect of the island's historical destination. Also discussed are how these features fit into broader systems such as trade and supply routes. A few selected sites in Menorca are highlighted and examined in greater detail due to their relevance, but also because they are simply better documented. These include the Roman port of Sanitja on the northern side of the island, identified as the site of the ancient Roman city of Sanisera (Nicolás Mascaró, 2003; Rita, Latorre and Orfila, 1988), the well-documented shipwreck of Binissafúller just off the southern coast, the ancient city and port of Maó (also in the south of the island), and the coastal settlement and underwater deposits of Calascoves on the southern coast just a few kilometers northwest of the Binissafúller site. In the third chapter, an overview of the relevant historiography is provided in order to highlight the foundational work from which all current research in this area stems. Following this, the practical and theoretical methodologies are outlined as they apply to this study in chapter four. Two fields of theoretical study which feature most prominently in this work are globalization in archaeology, and piracy. With respects to the former, the topic of globalization relies heavily on trade, networks and connectivity, all of which form key aspects of island archaeology and maritime studies. Therefore, a thorough understanding of its correct application is considered critical to the analysis presented in this volume. With regards to the study of piracy, my research into the origination of the Roman presence on the island of Menorca was to discover the extent to which Roman intervention was catalysed by a sudden outbreak of piracy amongst the Balearic Islands in 123 B.C. (Strab. 3.5.1-2; Flor. 1.43; Oros. 5.13.1). Consequently, a survey of the various causes and manifestations of piratical activity, as well as repercussions and countermeasures taken with a view to its suppression, necessarily factor heavily in the interpretation of the circumstances surrounding the Roman intervention in the Balearic Islands, and in Menorca specifically. Other theoretical areas which also related to my study included topics in materials studies and island archaeology. The organization of Part II of this volume follows generally recognized phases and circumstances of the pre-Roman history in Menorca and the western Mediterranean which inevitably impacted on the destiny of the island. The first chapter of this part broadly identifies the indigenous people of Menorca, including ancient accounts of their general habits and customs, and their external trade relations. The political and economic orientation of the Balearic Islands in general, and Menorca in particular, are introduced and then contextually woven throughout the paper. The second chapter of Part II discusses the nature of piracy in the Roman Republic, including some of its strategies and policies towards the suppression and management of piracy in the Mediterranean during that period. Part III of this thesis concerns the event which catalyzed the slow process of Romanization in Menorca, namely the intervention led by Quintus Caecilius Metellus (subsequently surnamed ‘Balearicus’) in 123 B.C. to seize control of the Balearic Islands, ostensibly prompted by the sudden outbreak of piracy referenced above. Also addressed are the direct consequences of that campaign in terms of trade and acculturation. Firstly, the campaign itself is discussed, especially with regards to the precipitating factors and potential motives for such an action. This highlights the need for a more individualized examination of Rome's specific objectives towards each of the islands, in addition to the more general purposes of the intervention in the archipelago. The result of which forms an evaluation of Menorca's utility toward establishing and maintaining regional hegemony and maritime security during the Roman epoch. The second chapter of Part III examines the impact of Rome's presence in the Balearics and its annexation of Menorca's three primary ports on inter-island trade. Also included in the discussion is Menorca's subsequent exposure to novel imports and the development of new trade routes and networks with which it became associated. The fourth and final part of the body of this thesis takes an evaluative look at the efficacy of Rome's strategies, particularly as they pertained to Menorca, toward an ongoing suppression of piracy in the western seas and its ultimate objective of maintaining security and hegemony in the western Mediterranean. To this end, incidences of piracy are examined, beginning in the Late Republic, following the intervention led by Q. Metellus against pirates in the Balearics in 123 B.C. This discussion includes western Mediterranean uprisings and conflicts in which pirates and rebels made strategic use of the Balearic islands subsequent to that intervention until the Late Empire. Whether the geography of the islands, that is, their distance from the governing authorities of mainland Hispania, hindered effective governance is an important factor in this respect. Times of relative peace, as well as incidences of insecurity due to civil wars, uprisings and heightened levels of piracy are also reflected in the records of middle to late Roman period trade, as covered in the second chapter of Part IV. Similar to the ways in which modern countries have established foreign military bases, ostensibly for the purposes of peacekeeping, Rome did likewise at Menorca's ports. Rome’s dominion over the Balearic Islands had already been established in its final treaty with Carthage after the Punic Wars finally ended in 146 B.C. (Liv. 30.30.24-25). It was not until piracy based in the Balearics became a substantial hindrance to maritime trade that Rome finally interfered in the islands in any way. In any case, there is little evidence of direct rule in Menorca for two centuries after Metellus’s campaign. In light of land-based anti-piracy initiatives as were later employed in Joppa and elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean, the reason for the installation of Roman troops at the ports of Menorca was to deprive pirates of their use as bases, and should in no way be assumed to indicate any imperial designs on the resources or population of the island itself. It might be more accurate to say that Rome simply held an informal hegemony over Menorca. The very facts of Rome’s intervention and its continued occupation of the island's ports thereafter for defensive purposes prove Menorca's strategic importance as a key ancillary in the suppression of piracy and the security of vital sealanes in the western Mediterranean. If we revise the original premise that Romanization in Menorca resulted from conquest, then potential new avenues for the study of the Roman period in Menorca can be pursued, such as the motives, means and modes of intentional incorporation - at least to some extent - on the part of the native population. Viewing indigenous Menorcans as conquered subjects of Rome has effectively relegated them to the role of passive receptors of Roman culture and administration. On the contrary, archaeological evidence from persistent Talayotic sites suggests quite the opposite, that native Menorcans were in fact active agents in the construction of their own Roman identity, unique to their island.