Maritime Connections and their Influence on the Ancient Sea Trade - Nautical Simulations as Basis for Historical Enquiries

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christoph Schäfer
• Subject Area: Ancient History
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 449943696

The project intends to establish quantifying analyses into maritime connections of the ancient world as a field of research, thus providing a fresh perspective focused on the development of new methodologies. It focuses on the field of maritime trade and the quasi-globalising phenomena that this trade caused to appear in ancient Europe. In order to facilitate research on this subject, the simulation of ancient maritime trade will be undertaken and a methodology will be developed for calculating a) courses and capacities for maritime trade routes and, b) for estimating the empirical basis for ancient economic calculations undertaken by persons involved in maritime trade. As both the underlying data and the results of these calculations will be digitally preserved and since the simulations will be visually presented within the framework of “DIMAG – Digitaler Interaktiver Maritimer Atlas zur Geschichte” (Digital Interactive Maritime Atlas of History), other scholars will benefit from a scientifically and academically sound historical-geographic information system (GIS) as an operational tool for further research. This research, the resultant calculations, and the digital infrastructure for graphically depicting them, can and will then be applied to additional fields of enquiry beyond that of economic history, such as, e.g., communication and the transfer of persons or ideas by way of maritime routes. Whereas the first project phase will focus on the Roman Empire, both in terms of scholarly research and of developing the digital maritime atlas, the following second and third phases will expand the analysis both geographically and chronologically, i.e. by including additional maritime spaces (seascapes) and by including other historical periods in ancient history. Thus, the transferability and applicability of methods developed for and by this research project will be demonstrated for other fields of historical research.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Spain, USA
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Hans Moritz Günther; Professor Dr. José Remesal Rodríguez
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Ronald Bockius; Professor Dr.-Ing. Karl Hofmann-von Kap-herr; Professor Dr.-Ing. Fritz Nikolay Rudolph; Dr. Alexander Christopher Wawrzyn