Ancient Ships: The Ships of Antiquity
Merchant Vessels and Pleasure Craft of the 2nd and 1st Millennia
BCE as shown in ancient art.
Fresco from the Minoan Culture on Thera Circa 1700 BCE
We are fortunate to have a moment frozen in time on the island
of Santorini, which was covered by a volcanic eruption in approximately
1600 BCE. Ancient art frescoes illustrating the use of boats as
part of the daily culture of the Greek Islands rival the art and
iconography of Egypt in revealing the use of the boat in the Mycenaean
civilization that occupied the ancient Greek islands and mainland.
This ancient Greek art is an exact window in time into the 16th
Century BCE. We can witness the culture of the ancient Greek Islands
as if from a time machine. Like ancient Pompei several ancient Greek
islands of the Agean were covered with volconic ash to create a
time capsual that was only to be opened again in the twentieth century.
This ancient art covered in valconic ash recorded the culture from
a very specific time and place.
| Mycenaean Shipping Amphora Dated approximately
1700 BCE |
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These frescoes of ancient Greek art illustrate the
use of boats for transportation, fishing, and as pleasure crafts.
The dependency of the culture on the use of boats was dictated by
its isolated island geography. The association and use of boats
vessels in activities within the culture was nearly universal. Under
these circumstance we can assume the evolution of the boat building
technologies was of premium value in this society. One of
the most interesting speculations about this culture is where the
seed of inspiration came from.
The fertility of the bull was celebrated on
these islands as in Egypt and Assyria and the iconography of the
boats matches that of artifacts found In Ur. Best guess scenarios
favors the influence of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys as well
as Egyptian influences. The iconography suggests cultural exchanges
through sea faring and trade were a regular event.
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A model of the ships used by the Aegean cultures
starting in about 1700 BCE |
Read this
Dissertation on the origins of the Sea Peoples circa 1250 BCE
Image from Greek Attic Pottery
Kyrenia Model Under Sail
Kyrenia Model
The Ancient Greeks, especially the Athenians, exported olive oil,
wine, and beautiful painted pottery to many different parts of the
Mediterranean. They used these goods to trade for many different
imports. This is a picture of a typical Greek merchant ship used
to transport goods around the Mediterranean. Recent oceanographic
archeological finds are shedding more light on the actual contents
of their cargo’s and the construction techniques used in the merchant
ships of antiquity. It is evident from the Iconography and its varied
sources that the general design of these merchant vessels remained
consistent and changed little over an extended period of time .
| The configuration of merchant vessels changed
little in form and function over time the bucket boat was the
norm throughout the Mediterranean |
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