Glossary

“Dolphins”: sailing term for mooring piers just outside a harbor. Ships coming from the open sea would make fast on a “dolphin” while waiting to enter the harbor.

Cyclopean (sigh-klo-PEE-en) building blocks: large irregular boulders. These undressed stones were placed together without mortar in walls and foundations. The name alludes to the mythical giant with a single eye in the middle of his forehead; the ancient Greeks thought that only the Cyclops could have put in place the massive wall stones around the city of Mycenae.

Mole: a structure erected in the water as a breakwater or pier. In its simplest form it consists of rubble piled on the seabed to create a broad, low wall. The mole can create a harbor by providing a barrier to rough seas.