Posted on 04/01/2019 7:22:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A new study of a monument built in Greece near the city of Nicopolis to commemorate Octavian’s victory over Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and her Roman lover, Mark Antony, in the Ionian Sea at the Battle of Actium has provided new information about Cleopatra’s fleet of warships, according to a report in The Independent. The monument once featured bronze battering rams set in well-fitted niches that had been taken from 35 of the 350 ships captured by Octavian during the battle. Recent excavation and measurement of those niches has allowed archaeologists to calculate the size of the timbers that held the rams and the ships together, and therefore estimate the size of the ships. The largest ship may have been more than 130 feet long and carried rams about five feet tall and eight feet long, or at least four times the size of the largest-known ancient marine battering rams. “Both historically and archaeologically, this remarkable Roman structure is of tremendous international importance -- and continuing research is likely to shed yet more light on the battle that gave birth to the Roman Empire,” said Konstantinos Zachos of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The rams are thought to have been removed from the monument and melted down for reuse by the fourth or fifth century A.D.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Dr. K. L. Zachos Leads this lecture in a fascinating explaination of the Triumph of Augustus on the Actium Monument at Nicopolis. | The Triumph of Augustus on the Actium Monument at Nicopolis | Penn Museum | Published on September 24, 2013
Nicopolis Actium monument
Intersting!
Ships? Oh Ok, I thought I read...never mind.
a selection of four or five, various lengths, documentaries on Battle of Actium. In short — Marcus Agrippa used land and sea forces to knock off Antony’s forward bases along the eastern shore of the Adriatic, one by one, from north to south. Antony lay in wait, getting ready, training troops, gathering forces and ships, and figuring on a single decisive battle on his own terms. He got it. He still lost.
http://www.google.com/search?q=documentary+battle+of+actium
It boggles the mind how many living descendants Antony must have by now -- he couldn't keep his toga shut.
Hey, why do ya think she lived on a barge? On the Nile? ;^).
A single Greek word, ginesthoi, or "make it so," written at the bottom of a Ptolemaic papyrus may have been written by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII herself, says Dutch papyrologist Peter van Minnen of the University of Groningen. [Make It So! Sayeth Cleopatra]
Waiting for Antony’s battering ram?
Dutch archaeologists have examined archaeological, historical, and geochemical data to pinpoint the site of a catastrophic battle between Julius Caesar and two Germanic tribes, the Tencteri and Usipetes. According to the Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Caesar’s firsthand account of the campaign, the two tribes crossed the Rhine River in 55 B.C. and petitioned Caesar to allow them to settle in Gaul. After negotiations collapsed and the Germans attacked his cavalry, Caesar directed his entire army of eight legions against the German camp, killing 150,000 to 200,000 men, women, and children.Caesar sure knew how to deal with invading armies on his turf.
Oh, they called them ships in those days? I would have helped her wield them! :)
Caesar’s firsthand account of the campaign,
and
Caesar sure knew how to deal with invading armies on his turf.
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Actually, the way Caesar tells it he is the ever-successful genius in all matters. There is considerable doubt as to the accuracy of many things he wrote.
But he certainly knew how to present the facts to his own advantage - sort of like the original CNN, huh?
Interesting comment. Thanks. I imagine other accounts and battlefield archeology should provide some confirmation.
Nice screen name, BTW. Made me chuckle.
Personally, I’m much more interested in the size of her hips.
“Oh, they called them ships in those days? I would have helped her wield them! :)”
Lol, for sure. But, I’m wondering where the timber came from for all these ships. I’m guessing trees of any decent size had long been cut down. Was timber transported from interior of Africa? Or, Northern Europe maybe? Wondering....
Caesar’s News Network?
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