01-08-2012, 01:49 AM
I am currently at the Archaeological Association of America annual meeting in Philadelphia, and I thought I'd give a brief report on a very interesting talk given by Jeffrey G. Royal on the finds from the Egadi Islands related to the famous naval battle of 241 BC which brought the First Punic War to an end. Underwater surveys have been conducted in the area which was thought to be the site of the battle for over a decade now, and in 2001 the team involved received information of a bronze ram seized from a dentist's office (!) featuring a Latin inscription which was purported to come from this area. The team began to survey, and in the time since they have found seven bronze rams (including one which was turned over to authorities just a few weeks ago!) and four helmets (though they have located a further 10 of the latter, and are waiting to raise them).
Some info:
Rams: -These are known to both be Roman and Punic, as three (maybe four, I'm not sure) feature Latin inscriptions, while one features a Punic inscription. The mixture of sunken Roman and Punic ships is probably due to the fact that the Carthaginians had numerous captured Roman vessels in their fleet at the time of this battle.
-These are all smaller than the famous Athlit ram from Israel. Because these rams were constructed from wax models which were moulded directly onto the ships' prows, their construction can be used to extrapolate the size of the prow itself, and thus the ship indirectly. A survey of the rams shows that the vessels involved in this battle, which were quinquiremes according to Polybius, were probably around 25 m in length, much smaller than the normal estimate of 45 m for quinquiremes of the Hellenistic period. It seems that both the Romans and the Carthaginians by this date were building small and fast vessels.
-It is clear from the maker's marks visible on the cast Carthaginian rams that they were hastily constructed, which fits with Polybius' description of the Carthaginians quickly assembling a fleet. In addition, an analysis of the metal content of one Carthaginian ram shows that it had a particularly high lead content in it; this phenomenon is also found in Carthaginian coinage of this time, and is indicative of economic stress.
- Numerous rams show signs of battle damage, including one which shows distinct evidence of an angled hit, and a few which were split in two vertically, indicating according to Royal that they were damaged in a ram-on-ram collision. One ram even had traces of wood still preserved in its outer fins, clearly indicating that this ship had successfully rammed an opponent before sinking.
-Two Roman rams featured emblems of Victoria and inscriptions naming two Quaestors in charge of quality control, including a C. Poperius son of Tiberius and a M. Populicius son of Lucius. Unfortunately, because of the scarcity of Roman inscriptions from this time, this information cannot be used to date the rams more precisely than to 250-42 BC, but it does make these finds doubly important on account of their contribution to Roman Republican epigraphy. The ram just recovered around Christmas time is said to feature an as of yet undeciphered Latin inscription and a depiction of a head wearing a Montefortino helmet. The Punic inscription said something to the effect of "May Baal allow us to ram an enemy ship and create a large hole"!
Helmets:
- As I stated, four have been raised while another ten await recovery. Several were found in or associated with rams on the seafloor along with separated cheek pieces.
- The knob of one example featured what seemed to be an inscribed letter that could either be Punic or Celto-Iberian.
The finds are currently being prepared for display in a museum at Favignana on the coast near to the islands. Fishing and diving in the area in which these finds were made is now forbidden, and from the sounds of things there are still plenty of finds of rams and helmets to be made.
Some info:
Rams: -These are known to both be Roman and Punic, as three (maybe four, I'm not sure) feature Latin inscriptions, while one features a Punic inscription. The mixture of sunken Roman and Punic ships is probably due to the fact that the Carthaginians had numerous captured Roman vessels in their fleet at the time of this battle.
-These are all smaller than the famous Athlit ram from Israel. Because these rams were constructed from wax models which were moulded directly onto the ships' prows, their construction can be used to extrapolate the size of the prow itself, and thus the ship indirectly. A survey of the rams shows that the vessels involved in this battle, which were quinquiremes according to Polybius, were probably around 25 m in length, much smaller than the normal estimate of 45 m for quinquiremes of the Hellenistic period. It seems that both the Romans and the Carthaginians by this date were building small and fast vessels.
-It is clear from the maker's marks visible on the cast Carthaginian rams that they were hastily constructed, which fits with Polybius' description of the Carthaginians quickly assembling a fleet. In addition, an analysis of the metal content of one Carthaginian ram shows that it had a particularly high lead content in it; this phenomenon is also found in Carthaginian coinage of this time, and is indicative of economic stress.
- Numerous rams show signs of battle damage, including one which shows distinct evidence of an angled hit, and a few which were split in two vertically, indicating according to Royal that they were damaged in a ram-on-ram collision. One ram even had traces of wood still preserved in its outer fins, clearly indicating that this ship had successfully rammed an opponent before sinking.
-Two Roman rams featured emblems of Victoria and inscriptions naming two Quaestors in charge of quality control, including a C. Poperius son of Tiberius and a M. Populicius son of Lucius. Unfortunately, because of the scarcity of Roman inscriptions from this time, this information cannot be used to date the rams more precisely than to 250-42 BC, but it does make these finds doubly important on account of their contribution to Roman Republican epigraphy. The ram just recovered around Christmas time is said to feature an as of yet undeciphered Latin inscription and a depiction of a head wearing a Montefortino helmet. The Punic inscription said something to the effect of "May Baal allow us to ram an enemy ship and create a large hole"!
Helmets:
- As I stated, four have been raised while another ten await recovery. Several were found in or associated with rams on the seafloor along with separated cheek pieces.
- The knob of one example featured what seemed to be an inscribed letter that could either be Punic or Celto-Iberian.
The finds are currently being prepared for display in a museum at Favignana on the coast near to the islands. Fishing and diving in the area in which these finds were made is now forbidden, and from the sounds of things there are still plenty of finds of rams and helmets to be made.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
