In response to the “specific challenges” mentioned in the topic description, the project will focus on the nature, distribution, fishing , processing, commerce and uses as well as environmental and cultural aspects of sponges.
Sponges are found worldwide, although it is only in the Mediterranean that they have been harvested for thousands of years. Until the mid-18th century sponges were thought to be plants and not animals which they are. The life span of sponges is a few years, although there are some species which may live for one or two hundred years. Sponge-diving has been known since time immemorial; sponges are gathered like plants. They have been used by humans for many purposes, e.g. as cleaning tools, padding for helmets, applicators for paints, and as contraceptives. The fishing of and trade with sponges constituted a major economic activity in many parts of the Mediterranean, particularly in the Dodecanese islands. There may have been sponge divers elsewhere in the Mediterranean, but only in the Aegean islands did sponge diving and –fishing reach a considerable scale in terms of the numbers of people employed.
There are many socio-economic, socio-cultural, scientific, technological and environmental issues regarding sponges which correspond to the „topic description“ in the call. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- a survey of sponge distribution in the Mediterranean, especially in the context of the decimation of sponge populations due to diseases in the 1990s; the impact of pollution (related disciplines: biology, zoology, marine sciences)
- an inquiry into the recently revived interest in natural sponges (the introduction of synthetic sponges in the 1950s had diminished the interest in natural sponges) (related disciplines: culture studies, market research, behavioural sciences)
- a database of sources (texts, illustrations) dealing with sponges from antiquity to modern times and their examination (disciplines: history, classical philology, archaeology)
- an analysis of sponge-fishing communities in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Dodecanese, their economies and cultures (cultural/social anthropology, history)
- an investigation into aspects of shipping which are related to sponges (building of specific ships, navigation)
- a study of sponge-diving and its physiological and technological aspects
- an exploration of ways and means to protect and display the „sponge heritage“ in museums in the context of education and tourism
Sponges can be regarded as a symbol of maritime Mediterranean culture. This project proposes to harness all relevant disciplines in order to give long overdue attention the complexity of sponges.