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An Introduction to the History and Culture of Roman Seafaring

An Introduction to the History and Culture of Roman Seafaring

By Catherine Davie

Master’s Thesis, Brandeis University, 2012

Abstract: During the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, ships were constructed using the mortise-and-tenon method, but by the Byzantine era metal or wooden nails had replaced this method. This fundamental shift occurred gradually over the first centuries of the modern era, which suggests a relationship existed between the Romans and these developments. The transformation of hull construction occurred in response to changes in the size and frequency of mercantile shipping, which in turn were fostered by the political, social, and economic conditions of the Roman Empire. A marked aversion to seafaring in Rome’s early history makes this all the more intriguing. This thesis explores the relationship between the changes in Mediterranean shipping technology and Rome’s evolving relationship with the Mediterranean Sea. Chapter One explores changes in shipping technology and culture over a broad period of time. A diachronic study of shipwrecks forms the backbone of the discussion, and is supplemented by discussion of ports, shipping routes, and anchors. Chapter Two traces the Roman cultural outlook on ships and seafaring from the early republic to the late empire. The methodology utilized herein is multi-disciplinary, drawing data from archaeology, historiography, and philology to piece together broad trends.

Introduction: This project began life as an entirely different creature; it morphed into a multi-headed hydra; and has only temporarily been hacked down to this format. The original intention was to emulate the work that Shelley Wachsmann did for Bronze Age seafaring in his seminal book Seagoing Ships and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant in the context of the Roman world. In this work, Wachsmann distinguished different types of ships and maritime practices by culture and formed specific definitions for each distinct ‘maritime culture.’ Nothing of this nature has been done regarding the Roman era. Thus, by using the same multidisciplinary methodology, I hoped to pursue an understanding of whether a unique Roman maritime culture existed and if so what its characteristics were. Evidence for this paper was to be categorized by region; the following were the particular provinces and cities intended as case studies: Britannia, Judea, Egyptus and the Red Sea, Pompeii, and Ostia. Many problems obfuscated this trajectory, including a questioning of Wachsmann’s basic premise. It became apparent that certain preliminary research was necessary before such an endeavor could be adequately undertaken.

Moreover, through my early research I had seen two trends that seemed interrelated and merited further investigation. First, ships and shipping had been a crucial element of Mediterranean life since the beginnings of the Bronze Age, but the most significant change in construction, size, and routes of shipping occurred during the time in which Rome was in power. Second, the Romans themselves often demonstrated a particular aversion to maritime activity, in spite of the previously mentioned trend of transformation. Thus, the two chapters that follow are constructed to give an introduction to into both the changes in shipping that occurred as well as the history of Roman seafaring and attitudes towards it. The relationship between the two subjects has been the revised focus of my thesis and forced me to shift the organization of my research, leaving much of the case study material for another project.

Click here to read this thesis from Brandeis University

Ulixes mosaic at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Tunisia. 2nd century AD.
Ulixes mosaic at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Tunisia. 2nd century AD.


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