1st punic war rostrum

[Goffredo]

check it out!
http://www.corriere.it/foto_del_giorno/ ... 0911.shtml

[Epictetus]

Is it this?


I studied Italian years ago, but my comprehension is minimal. What's the story?

[jkaler48]

Is it this?


I studied Italian years ago, but my comprehension is minimal. What's the story?

The photo is what some call a ram or ships beak. Probably bronze. Rostrum: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rostrum

[Praefectusclassis]

Most awesome, thanks Jeff!

[Goffredo]

As the Egadi battle was big and important then they might find many of these and get some "body count", now that they know were to look.

[Uwe Bahr]

Phantastic find, another one beside the few they have found up to now - what could it be that is hanging down from the ram (on the photo to the left) ? Also on the right side seem to be two more (metallic?) objects.

Greets - Uwe

[Ron Andrea]

Where was this? I assume it's recent.

Seems to be laying in shallow water. Was that how it was found?

[Astiryu1]

That is pretty cool... Any idea on the dimensions and/or weight?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

There should be several hundred of these lying off the coast of Sicily, from the Punic war period.
They lost fleets in both battles and storms.

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

The thing "hanging" from the rostrum is a sea creature... I dont see the metallic objects you refer to.

if the find is recent it is brilliant, but whether or not it is Punic or Triumviral is of course the question.

M.VIB.M.

[Uwe Bahr]

Marcus,

I wrote

Also on the right side seem to be two more (metallic?) objects

and I set a '?' behind the word 'metallic'. It is only an assumption, but on the right side of the ram are two obviously artificial objects visible (may be one, if they belong together) that are partly covered by the ram.

Nothing for ungood
Uwe

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

Hey Uwe, i see the objects... they dont seem related, but i think maybe an underwater excavation would be in place here.... Of course it could also be that this rostrum simply was lost during a storm, we cannot se the rear so we do not know if the nails holding it were torn off by a ramming action or some other reason exists for losing it...

Very interesting find, however still in the shadows...

M.VIB.M.

[Eleatic Guest]

This is great news and adds to my tally of surviving ancient rams:

- Atlit ram: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... _ram-1.jpg
- one purportedly in the Ship Museum in Bremen, Germany
- this one

[Uwe Bahr]

Hi all,

is this the same ram?

[url:2cc4bakb]http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/506[/url]

Greets - Uwe

[ParthianBow]

Uwe, I don't think it is. The text under the photo in the original link refers to it being found in August, I think. il 18 agosto scorso means the last or previous 18th of August. Given that the post was made this September, I would assume the find is only a month or so old.
Excellent post, thanks, Goffredo!