Egyptians in the New World?

[Nathan Ross]

what other useful supplies would they have on the ship?

Probably not much. Roman-era sea voyages were not intended to last more than a week or two at most. A ship sailing at 2 knots (average for the times, according to Casson), would take 24 hours to cover 50 sea miles - you can estimate from that, allowing for calms and crosswinds, how many days supply of water etc would be carried.

There wasn't even much crew accomodation aboard vessels of the time. The Byzantine Yassiada shipwreck has a little triangular galley built right up in the bows, with a tiled roof to protect against fire, but other than that it appears the crew were expected to sleep on the deck. The passengers did as well, most likely - even the bigger Roman ships appear to have had only a small deckhouse for the captain and any important passengers to shelter in. Most of the hull space was taken up with cargo.

Regarding fishing tackle, a simple line trailed off the stern, with suitable bait, would probably be more effective than a net, which required special handling. There are many accounts from later ages of sailors pulling up huge sharks using only a big hook and a lump of meat. Fish are attracted the disturbance caused by the wake of a ship.

Water would be the main problem for you deep-sea adventurers then. Turning seawater into fresh was unknown, and would be for centuries to come (think of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner!)

- Nathan