[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Beyond the mole: redefining harbour capacity for the ancient Mediterranean

## Details

**Authors** Nantet et al.

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Antiquity

**Discipline** Archaeology

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10424) 
10.15184/aqy.2026.10424

## In authors' words

### What they found (results)

Field survey evidence (Caesarea, Terracina, Port-Vendres) shows extra-basin anchorage zones played a decisive role in determining total harbour capacity, with dense anchorage activity documented well outside the formal built basin at each site.

## Commentary

### In short

A harbour's true functional capacity is a property of the whole integrated system (formal basin plus surrounding anchorage zones), not of its most visible built part alone, and that whole-system capacity is causally shaped by the coupling of vessel draught, mooring density, and spatial extent.

**Patterns it shows** S, R

**Added** 2026-09-04

**How to cite this** Nantet et al. (2026). Beyond the mole: redefining harbour capacity for the ancient Mediterranean. Antiquity.