Archive Results For: Antiquity
The Thera Ship
This article describes the nautical details of a miniature fragment of a fresco depicting Bronze Age Aegean ships at sea, discovered by Professor Spyridon Marinatos at the excavations at Thera, which may be the first such artworks found of the Aegeans, and perhaps the earliest of any ancient Western ship. Analysis of their design and […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Shipbuilding & Design
De la Survivance de Traditions Navales Phéniciennes dans la Méditerranée de Nos Jours – ou des Reves a la Réalité (On the Survival of Phoenician Naval Traditions in the Mediterranean of our Days – or on Dreams to Reality)
This article, written in French by a distinguished Belgian nautical archaeologist and historian, is a scathing critique of a number of articles by Lieutenant-Commander A.F. Tilley, in The Mariners Mirror and elsewhere, claiming to discover traces of Phoenician influence on the design of a number of traditional Mediterranean boats. Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean | Other (Twentieth C)
Subjects include: Archaeology | Leisure & Small Craft
Discovery of a Punic Ram: Four Campaigns of Excavation
A brief report is presented on the discovery in 1974 of the prow of a Carthaginian warship on the sea floor north of Marsala, Sicily. The discovery complements the stern of the ‘Punic Ship’ found in 1971, and it not only fills a gap in our knowledge of Phoenicio-Punic ship architecture but also clarifies the […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Weapons
The Survival of Ancient Mediterranean Boat Designs
The sea-going Phoenicians colonised the Mediterranean and Portuguese shores. From ancient carvings of their boats, it is perhaps possible to recognise modern survivors of those designs. Common characteristics, irrespective of size, are double-ended carvel-built hulls, with conspicuous bow and stern, tilt or turtle canopies, and similar oarage. Examination of construction, related myths and linguistic characteristics […] Read More
Filed under: Early Middle Ages | Atlantic | Late Middle Ages | Antiquity | High Middle Ages | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Mediterranean | Other (Twentieth C) | Shipwrecks
Subjects include: Archaeology | Leisure & Small Craft | Merchant Marines | Ship Handling & Seamanship | Shipbuilding & Design
Note: An Ancient Roman ‘Yacht’ from a Dispersed Cargo
The author, an experienced diver, explains that excavation and cataloguing should precede deduction about ancient wrecks. Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology
Rowing in the Ancient Mediterranean: a New Aspect
A strong case is presented dealing with the method of rowing in reverse, stern first, based on ancient pictorial and written evidence. The method used by the ancient oarsmen to reverse direction is fully described in detail. The accuracy of painted pottery in relation to ancient oared ships is also technically vindicated. Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration | Ship Handling & Seamanship | Shipbuilding & Design
An Ancient Roman Yacht
Investigation of a wreck south of Sicily suggests that it could have been used by a prominent individual in Roman times as a yacht. The wreck had been discovered a dozen or more years earlier than this recent investigation and had been either disturbed by fishermen or plundered by illegal hunters. However, remains of mosaics, […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology
Phoenician Oared Ships Part II
In the second part of his study about the origin of the ancient trieres, Basch presents evidence concerning rigging, hull decoration and iconography, testifying that the very first appearance of the ancient trieres must be attributed to Phoenician culture. Further, he deeply analyzes the evolution of this boat-type, suggesting some interesting technical parallels between Phoenician […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration | Shipbuilding & Design
Phoenician Oared Ships Part I
Greek trieres have been well documented but little is known of those of other states of antiquity. Here Basch argues that Phoenician galleys evolved differently from those of Greece. Five points differentiate the Phoenician vessel: protective shields along its sides; an upper deck; a widened hull with ‘encorbellements’; an absence of wales and the shape […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Shipbuilding & Design
The Super-Galleys of the Helenistic Age
The construction and operation of the trireme of the Mediterranean navies of antiquity is now well-documented, but what of the larger vessels? It is believed that the number of rowers increased from one to as many as six per oar but this does not explain the layout of galleys known as ‘twenties’ etc. Clues within […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Navies | Ship Handling & Seamanship | Shipbuilding & Design