Ancient three- and four-masters

[Eleatic Guest]

Somehow the thread does not move up in the index. :-)

[Eleatic Guest]

No Italian speakers on board? mile:

[john m roberts]

Do we know whether the obelisk ships were actual sailing vessels, or just big barges towed by conventional galleys?

[Michael Kerr]

Can't add anything on masts but when discussing Obelisk ships there is an interesting article by A.Wirsching (How the obelisks reached Rome.The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and underwater 29, pp. 273-283). He thinks that at least one of the Obelisk ships (I think he was referring to the Caligula ship which was supposedly sunk by Claudius to make an extra breakwater, was in fact a sort of trimaran consisting of three ships with two aft ships of approximately 37 metres in length and 5 metres wide each connected by longitudinal beams with the obelisk completely below the waterline between them with a third ship being the largest in front possibly a trireme to help steer the two aft ships across the Mediterranean. Interesting theory anyway but diagram below. :?


[attachment=10952]obeliskship.jpg[/attachment]

Regards
Michael Kerr

[MagnusStultus]

Some types of ancient ships didn't have oars at all (i.e. corbita ships) there is a very hard limit to how effectively you could trade with oared ships.