A reflection on new and lost knowledge

I was watching a documentary about the Pharos of Porto (The Lighthouse of Portus). An archaeological investigation about an hexagonal harbor that could host more than 100 ships at one time, which had an entrance through artificial bay and an artificial island with a lighthouse to guide the ships at night and warn its presence under low visibility conditions. This old harbor was crucial for the supply of merchandise to the capital of the Roman Empire.

It was built around 46 AD under the Roman emperor Claudius on the coast of the region that today is Lazio.

The point where they started the documentary was when they hired an expert in satellite imagery to research buried signs of old roads and constructions. The geography of the place had changed dramatically, the sea had receded and modern constructions cover the evidence of its past glory. The archaeological research team was puzzled that they could not find evidence of living quarters for the thousands of people that must have been living and working there at some point.

With modern satellite technology that can penetrate the outer layers of Earth’s surface, the hired expert gathered evidence of old roads and constructions near the hexagonal bay. When the archaeologists saw the evidence of the old buildings, they said the patterns were too regular to be living quarters. It was more consistent with the image of a warehouse. It was evidence of an inbound warehouse used to decouple incoming shipments from the land carriers schedule, with sections clearly showing areas grouping of merchandise of similar characteristics and/or size.

One thought came to my mind. Was Emperor Claudius, CSCP? (Certified Supply Chain Professional)

In the last 30 years with the increase of international trading, Logistics and Supply Chain Management have changed from almost unknown concepts to very valued disciplines and experts in these topics are actively sought by organizations that want to stay ahead of the changing conditions of the market.

But all evidence shows that ancient Romans and Egyptians traded very intensely, very efficiently. It makes me wonder, how many times have we as human race invented the wheel? At least in management terms, I’m sure we have forgotten and reinvented it many times.

I can’t help to wonder, if we had documentation of the management practices managing trade in the glory days of the old Empires, what could we learn even today.

For instance, I have always wondered what did the ancient builders used instead of Gantt charts to schedule activities and resources needed to build the Pyramids or the Coliseum?

We are lucky of living in an age where almost everything is documented. As long as we don’t destroy our civilization our methods, techniques and research are going to be passed to the future generations for them to improve and evolve.