Above image credit: Anadolu Agency
NEWS: 1,700 year old trident found in ruins of ancient Greek city of Assos
An iron trident, believed to date from the 3rd or 4th century AD, has been unearthed in the ruins of the ancient city of Assos. Excavations on the city are being worked on by a team led by Dr Nurettin Arslan, a humanities professor at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇOMU), and being supported by the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The beautiful city ruins with its 6th century BC temple of Athena, among other well preserved structures, has been the site of numerous finds from the classical Greek and Greco-Roman period as well as the medieval Byzantine empire. This rare iron trident is yet another find it can boast. Intact iron equipment is rarely found in ancient excavations due to its rapid rate of deterioration.
The trident was found in a collapsed part of the city’s Nymphaion, a monument dedicated to the local water nymphs. While tridents were occasionally used for combat purposes, perhaps most notably by the Roman gladiator Retiarii who wielded their trident and net in the arena, it is thought that this trident was used for fishing. The lead on the excavation, Dr Arslan, stated:
“Although we know that such tools were widely used in ancient times, we can say that it is an important work since the examples that have survived so far are very rare. As far as we know, it is said or we see in descriptions that such tools were used in ancient times to catch big fish at sea in small boats by lighting them with a torch at night.”
The trident is reminiscent of that associated with the Greek Poseidon and Roman Neptune so it is perhaps not so surprising to find such a tool in a sacred site like the Nymphaion. Assos is located on the Turkish Aegean coast and this trident shows that the tradition of fishing in the area stretches back millenia.
10/10/2023