Posted on 10/17/2004 8:40:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The discovery of a 2,300-year-old shipwreck between the classical trading centers of Rhodes and Alexandria adds to the corpus of evidence that is challenging the long-held assumption that ancient sailors lacked the navigational skills to sail large distances across open water, and were instead restricted to following the coastline during their voyages. Four other possibly ancient wrecks lie nearby... Despite its depth, the site is typical for an ancient shipwreck. The vessel came to rest on the bottom and eventually listed over onto its side. In this case, the ship heeled over to port. As its wooden hull lost structural integrity, the ship's port side flattened out under the weight of the amphoras that had tumbled over it. The starboard portion of the hull, held upright because of the list and unburied by amphoras or sediment, succumbed to erosion and decay. The wreck's amphora cargo forms a more or less oval mound approximately 80 feet long and 50 feet wide and tapers in height and width from the center of the ship to the bow and stern. At least six different types of wine amphoras have been identified, including containers from the islands of Rhodes and Kos; there may be as many as 2,500 amphoras present at the site... The great depth and cold of the sea may even have preserved a portion of the ship's hull. Two small wooden members--a frame or deck beam and a small segment of thin planking--protrude from the sediment at the edge of the forward-port area of the wreck. They appear to be well preserved, which makes the possibility for preservation of the remainder of the port side of the vessel promising.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Thanks for this reminder of challenging the traditional contemporary view.
This Wiki map of Phoenician trade routes seems to hint at at least one seaward route between Lepcis and Sicily.
There would have been tremendous incentives for sailing direct over open water rather than hugging the shoreline. First, fewer underwater obstacles (reefs & such) on which to run aground. Also, piracy.
At about the same time, the Greeks were founding colonies around the northern Mediterranean, at least as far west as Marseille
True; the issue I had raised with SunkenCiv recently was whether trans-Atlantic commerce might have predated Columbus - and the Vikings. This posting highlighted the fact that a Greek ship was found in open seas contradicting the conventional view that shipping in the Bronze Age followed the sea coasts since they had no navigational skills.
Nothing determinative here but I remain receptive to the idea of early tans-Atlantic commerce - e.g. the source of tin (for Old World bronze). {see James Bailey, The God Kings and Titans}
/bingo
Most of the histories are written by landlubbers.
It's safe to say that ancient skippers basically *never* hugged the coastlines.
:^) Didn't the Vikings possibly use a crystal or something to navigate?
These days, they are a little older, a lot wiser and very much more powerful.
What a lady in every sense of the word.” And Donald Trump is the man that matches the lady. A excellent match.
I am feeling mean now. I would like to cut that picture out and send it to Bill Clinton. Let him see who President Trump wakes up by every morning versus what he has.
Yup, it's thought that they did. It's around here somewhere, I'm sure of it [rustling noise] ... .
They've aged better than I have. :^)
My goodness; you are a virtual Library of Alexandria! (Beware of Caesar - and Romans!)
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