Trakadas, Athena

National Museum of Denmark

Research Title: Atlantic River-scapes: marine geological and archaeological research of ancient harbour sites in Morocco

Dr. Trakadas is a maritime archaeologist focusing on the Greco-Roman and early Islamic worlds—from the Atlantic facade to the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. Her primary research interests extend beyond the traditional emphasis on ships to the economic, social, and environmental mechanisms that supported and facilitated their use. This includes the development of harbors within contemporary trade and communication networks, coastal and riverine geo-morphological changes affecting these marine-land interfaces, and the exploitation of marine resources. She is also co-editor of the Journal of Maritime Archaeology.
Since 1999, she has directed several underwater and terrestrial research projects in Morocco that focus on past fishing practices, the logistical integration of landing places, and the development of maritime heritage management. Her KUDAR-ANAMED research project will focus on establishing the chronologies of and factors for the movement of settlements and their associated natural harbors along the lower Atlantic river valleys of northwest Morocco, from the 8th century BCE to the 15th century CE. The project will correlate marine geological and archaeological data, as well as archival sources, to examine the complex inter-relationships in the diachronic establishment of harbor locations within dynamic river-scapes.