How to equip military and merchant ships Greek. Navy of classical Greece

In the water area Cypriot port of Kyrenia the remains of a Greek merchant ship 14.3 m long and 4.3 m wide were found and reconstructed, carrying olive oil and wine, This is the oldest of the ships, whose age is equal to 2300 years.

The keel of merchant ships was made of sessile oak, the frames were made of black acacia. Sheathing was made of linden or red beech. Aleppo spruce was used for the mast, yard and oars. The most efficient propulsion was the sail, as the rowers would have taken up most of the usable area. The ship was deckless with a single traditional rigged sail and was steered by two steering oars. To protect against waves, the sides were built up with a lattice of thick rods covered with leather.

On large vases of the 8th century BC. e., found in Athens, ancient Greek ships are depicted as long, narrow, armed with sharp rams. Crimean legends speak of Greek triremes: "And now, off the coast of Taurida, an armada of Greek triremes appeared - warships." But before them, in the archaic period (XII-VIII centuries BC), the most common types of Greek warships were Triacontor and pentekontor(“thirty oarsmen” and “fifty oarsmen”).

Triakontor was very close in design to Cretan ships with a built platform in the bow, over which the horns or tentacles of the Gorgon carved from wood were attached. Such a ship with an elevated bow and a stern end in the form of a dragon's tail produced a powerful mental effect on the enemies.

Due to the rather high uprights, the oars entered the water at an angle close to normal, which reduced their effectiveness. A few centuries later, this shortcoming was eliminated by pentecontors- single-tiered rowboats driven by five dozen oars - 25 on each side with a total length of the ship of 28-33 meters and a width of 4 meters. Pentecontors were mostly deckless (Greek. aphract - without a fence), that is, open courts. However, sometimes deck pentecontors were also built ( cataphract). The presence of the deck protected the rowers from the sun and from enemy projectiles, and also increased the cargo-and-passenger capacity of the ship. On the deck, it was possible to transport supplies, horses, war chariots and warriors, who originally sat on the oars. Going ashore, they waged war. A ram appears on the pentecontors to destroy enemy ships.

The ship's speed was about 9.5 knots (17.5 km/h). Its increase required an increase in the number of rowers, which on a single-tier ship would lead to a lengthening of the ship by 1 meter. In this regard, the Greek and Phoenician shipbuilders made an elegant decision: if the ship cannot be lengthened, then it must be make higher and place the second tier of rowers above the first. So there was bireme(end of the 8th century BC).

Early Greek bireme

Since the first, fundamentally important step from monera(single-tier) to polyreme(multi-tiered) has already been made when moving from pentecontor to bireme, go from bireme to triere turned out to be much easier. According to Thucydides, the first trireme was built around 650 BC.

Early Greek trireme. Projection

Trier(Greek τριήρεις ), or trireme the Romans ( tria- three and remus- paddle), was the main type of warship in the Mediterranean. This is a sailing and rowing vessel with three rows of oars located one above the other in a checkerboard pattern.
Some researchers attribute the invention of the trireme to the Phoenicians, others call the Corinthian Amenoccus. The main weapon of the trireme was a ram - a continuation of the keel beam. The displacement of the vessel reached 230 tons, length - 45 meters, crew - up to 200 people.

The strongest rowers - transits - placed on the upper deck. It was a highly paid and privileged caste. The rowers of the middle row were called zigits , lower - talamites. commanded the ship trierarch, he was subordinate to the helmsman and the head of the rowers - hortator.

The speed of the trireme on oars was 7 - 8 knots, but all three rows of oars worked only during the battle. Even with a little excitement, the bottom row was pulled into the inside of the ship, and the oar ports were tightened with leather patches.

Sailing armament consisted of a large rectangular sail and a small ( artemon) on an inclined mast in the bow of the ship. The third mast, as short as the bow one, also carried a small sail and was located at the very end of the deck in the stern. The masts were made removable and removed for the duration of the battle.

The oars of all three tiers had the same length: talamites, zygites and tranites were located along a curve formed by the side of the trireme, so that the blades of the oars of all tiers reached the water, although they entered it at different angles.
Sometimes triremes were also used for transportation hoplitagagos(infantry) and hippagos(horses).

Biremes and triremes became the main and only universal ships of the classical period (IV-V centuries BC). At the same time, as auxiliary ships, advice note(messengers) and raiders continued to be used single-tier galleys (unirems) - heirs of archaic triacontors and pentecontors.

The modern reconstruction of the trireme "Olympia" has not yet been able to squeeze out more than 7 knots (13 km / h). Its construction cost almost 700 thousand dollars and took two years.

Interestingly, in 482 BC. e. in Athens, with a population of about 250 thousand inhabitants, there were about 200 triremes. By the way, in the ancient Mediterranean up to the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. ships and boats were built, starting with the skin, successively moving on to the internal parts.

The main weapon of biremes and triremes was a ram, and tactical methods were ramming and boarding. Each trireme during the fighting carried on board a certain number of hoplites - heavily armed infantrymen, archers and slingers.

Hoplites (left - Spartan, right - Athenian) and a Scythian archer

Source: http://grekomania.ru/greek-articles/ancient-greece/211-drevnegrecheskie-suda.

• ancient greek warship
• Ancient Greek warship with three tiers of oars

ancient greek military and commercial ships

Shipbuilding in Ancient Greece

On the coast of the Aegean Sea, the origin of shipbuilding dates back to the 9th-7th centuries. BC. Greek sailors adopted this art from the Phoenicians and already then created ships, which were quite difficult to compete with in those days. Already in the VIII-VI centuries. BC. the ancient Hellenes made long voyages across the Mediterranean Sea, they were the first to establish settlements on its western coast, in the Crimea (Panticapeum, Chersonesus), on the northern coast of the Black Sea (Olbia), in Italy, etc. About the journey of the Greek Pefey, almost unbelievable for that era, made in the 4th century BC. BC. described in the book "Ocean". Nearchus, commander of Alexander the Great, was able in 325-324. BC. successfully cross the ocean, heading from India to Mesopotamia, and 800 ships took part in the voyage, moving along the coast of India and Persia.

Information has reached our time that the ancient Greeks knew a method for assembling ships from ready-made components and parts, which was know-how for its time.

Outstanding discoveries of ancient Greek sailors

During sea voyages, the Greeks managed to make a number of important geographical discoveries. This allowed ancient scientists (for example, Hecateus of Miletus in the 6th century BC) to draw conclusions that the Earth is a ball, to express an idea regarding the generality of the entire World Ocean, to suggest the possibility of the existence of the Southern continent, to be convinced of the significance for navigation constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. The first of them includes the North Star), and the importance of orienting sailors along this celestial body is mentioned in the works of the mathematician and philosopher Thales of Miletus, 624-547. BC.

How were the ships of the ancient Greeks different?

When building their ships, the Greeks took into account all the most important advantages of the Phoenician and Aegean ships, while at the same time developing their own technologies. The hulls of Greek ships were equipped with a sternpost, a stem and a keel, there were always paired seams on the skin, and belts were fixed with wooden pins.

In the ancient period, the differences between warships and merchant ships become more and more noticeable. One mast and a ram were installed on military ships, the deck was slightly raised in the front part, and the length of the ships varied in the range of 30-35 m. rudders used 2 huge stern oars.

Over time, this type of floating facility has undergone some changes, but its essence has basically remained unchanged. The speed and maneuverability of the ship was increased by increasing the number of oars, which could be arranged in two or even three rows.

The core of the Mediterranean flotillas were the famous ancient ships of the trireme, which in ancient Greece were called triremes. Their width was 6 m, the length of the hull was from 35 to 40 m, and such vessels could accommodate up to 200 sailors and armed soldiers.

Alexander 24.03. 00:58

Building a ship is a complex process that requires not only skill, but also the right tool. Ancient Greece is the Bronze Age of iron processing, not to mention alloyed steels, try to make a bronze piece of iron for a planer and plan a spruce or pine tree three times for the sake of interest haha. And to dissolve the log on boards or make an intelligible tongue in the board, WHAT. What instrument? but with the declared volume of construction of ships. the production of carpentry tools should be almost the main branch of metal processing. But for the sake of interest, find archaeological evidence of the presence of a carpentry tool among the ancient Greeks. I tried, I didn’t find it, but the maintenance of a wooden vessel (Osmolka Cleaning the bottom) And shipyards? Dry docks. All this appears only in the X-XV century. Where did the Greeks build their ships? archaeological evidence. All we know about ancient Greece is medieval sources (at best). Let's people learn to think critically without relying on false AUTHORITIES.

If the information on our site was useful to you, we would appreciate a link to our site in your blog or social network.

Source: http://www.letopis.info/themes/ships/korablestroenie_v_drevney_grecii.html

ancient greek warship

ANCIENT GREECE

In the history of ancient Greece, the navy also played a significant role.

Rice. 1.9. Map of Ancient Greece (XVI-XV centuries BC)

The Greeks already in the IX century. BC. learned from the Phoenicians how to build ships and started colonies

zation of nearby territories. The Greeks mastered the Mediterranean Sea, went through Gib-

raltar to the Atlantic, reached Britain and Scandinavia.

Rice. 1.10. Greek merchant ship (5th century BC)

An early type of Greek merchant ship, slightly different from the Phoenician prototype (Fig. 10).

At that time, navigators did not know how to manage a single sail and tack against the wind. Thus, the journey from Alexandria to Sicily, due to the predominance of a favorable southeast wind, lasted about a week, while the return journey, by oars, lasted three times longer.

The vessel was kept on course with the help of a steering oar (see Fig. 1.10), which had at least two advantages compared to the later rudder: it made it possible to turn a stationary vessel and easily replace a damaged or broken

steering oar.

Merchant ships were wide and had an extensive hold space for

Later, the basis of the Mediterranean fleets began to be the famous vessel of antiquity, the trireme, called the trireme by the Greeks (Fig. 1.11).

Rice. 1.11. Greek warship trireme-triera (264-146 BC)

Its length about the body is 35-40 m, width -6 m, capacity - about 200 people - in-

armed soldiers and sailors.

Triremes were the fastest and most formidable warships of the ancient world. Their high speed was ensured by the arrangement of oars in 3 rows, 20-25 pairs on each deck.

On large ships, several people stood at each oar. Their agreed

nym actions were led by an experienced feeder. Three rows of ship oars were staggered.

The ship in the bow had a heavily protruding metal-bound ram, which was located at the level of the trireme's waterline.

A ramming strike on the side of an enemy ship very often decided the outcome of the battle. It is practically impossible to close up a large hole inflicted by a ram in combat conditions.

but the damaged ship was doomed to destruction.

The upper part of the bow of the ship was raised high, and an ornament in the form of a sculpted human head was fixed on it. On the stern were ornaments in the form of a shield and a rooster's tail.

Steering oars were used to steer the ship - one from each boron.

the one at the stern. A long linen was gathered into folds along the side. During a storm or while the ship was sailing, they closed the holes for the length of the oars in the board.

At the stern there was a small superstructure - rooms for command

staff and passengers. Holes for ladders were cut in the sides, and an anchor hung on the bow.

The ship had one mast, on which a large straight sail was raised. In the front part of the side, where the name of the ship is still written, the name of the ship was written in capital letters.

Naming a ship is an ancient tradition of shipbuilders. The ship is the only human creation that is honored to receive its own name at birth.

This is due to the fact that each vessel, like a person, has an individual history.

rya of life. The names of the ships have been given for a very long time, but perhaps the most ancient names of the ships that are known to us are the names of the ships of Ancient Egypt, built in 1580 - 1520 BC. - "Wild", "Northern", "Memphis Phenomenon".

The Greeks did not know the compass. In the open sea, they navigated by the stars, using astronomical information. The Greeks widely borrowed this information from the

Vilonians and Egyptians, famous for their astronomical observations.

However, the Greeks were the first to introduce the terms "latitude" and "longitude" to indicate the position of various points on Earth. These concepts owe their origin, apparently

mu, the shape of the Mediterranean itself.

It is also noteworthy that the improvement of ports and especially the beginning of construction

beacons. In the Alexandrian harbor, for example, a 140 m high tower was built, on top of which a fire burned at night - a resinous tree was burned.

Although the Greeks were capable, well-trained navigators,

Skye travel to that hole was a dangerous business. Not every ship reached its destination as a result of either a shipwreck or a pirate attack.

The galleys of ancient Greece plowed almost the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas, there is evidence of their penetration through Gibraltar to the north. Here they reached Britain

nii, and possibly Scandinavia. The ways of their penetration are shown on the map (Fig. 1.12).

The Greeks early began to colonize the surrounding territories. In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the area of ​​​​their penetration covered the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the entire Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) and the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.

Greek navigators made trips to the Black Sea. Those who came from

some blue waters of their seas, they met evil storms on the Black Sea, on its

regah barbarian tribes, and in its waters (ships then sailed along the coast) - wild pirates

Comrade: Taurus, Akhei, Geniokhov. Therefore, the Greeks called the sea Pontos Akseinos - Negost

Rice. 1.12. Greek colonies (VIII century BC)

So it was called until the heyday of the Greek cities and colonies on the shores of the Black Sea. Then the Greeks categorically changed their mind about the Black Sea and began to call it Pontos Evkinos - the Hospitable Sea. In some sources, it was simply called Pontus or the Pontic Sea.

In detailed descriptions of the features of the path along Pontus Euxinus, the Black Sea

lands and peoples inhabiting them, ancient authors of the 1st century AD. e. Seneca and Lucian noted the great role of the Scythian tribes. Therefore, in some Greek sources you can find the name - the Scythian Sea.

Rice. 1.13. Greek colonization of the Black Sea coast (IV-II centuries BC).

The names of many Greek settlements are well known to the inhabitants of the South of Ukraine - these are Olvia (near Nikolaev), Sevastopol, Cape Khersones (near Sevastopol), Feodo-

this, and others. The descendants of the ancient Greeks live in Odessa, the Crimea, on the coast of the Caucasus.

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As you know, Greece in ancient times did not exist in a friendly world at all, where states resolved all conflicts through diplomacy. Each time they were threatened by neighboring states: Persia, Sparta and many others. Human resources were involved in the war, but the state was not strong only with infantry. Greece had and has access to the Mediterranean Sea, so the alleged invaders could come from the water border and attack the country. Therefore, the army of the ancient Greeks was replenished with ships. In addition, the state was considered a trading state, and the delivery of goods using ships was fast and quite profitable, so the fleet was also replenished with merchant ships.

But Ancient Greece did not rebuild the fleet, borrowing the basics of shipbuilding from, which by that time had succeeded in the field of building ships more than their neighbors. As mentioned earlier, the country's fleet was replenished with two types of ships.

1. Trading. Their main task is the transportation of a large amount of cargo, for this reason they were built larger and less maneuverable than the second type.
2. Military. Ease of movement and maneuverability, that's what came to the fore during the war, so the ships were built with these two qualities in mind.

Hull skin type

Until 500 BC, the Greeks began the erection of ships from the skin, ignoring the entire "stuffing" of the ship, which they proceeded to later. The outer part of the ship was always covered with animal skin, and the thickness depended on the area of ​​the ship, for example, at deck height it was thicker than on the lower part. They were fastened not only with wooden fasteners, but also with bronze ones, which held the entire stretched skin much more firmly. The ancient Greeks did not skimp on their ships, which brought considerable funds to the treasury. Each ship was built from the best materials, and the hull was regularly painted and greased. Remarkably, above the waterline, the ship was also additionally reinforced with lead sheets. Frames were made from acacia, which was distinguished by great strength, and spars consisted of pine. The ships were also protected from the waves by a bulwark, which consisted of canvas fabric.

mover

The ships were set in motion by two forces. The first is wind and the second is man. Slavery existed in ancient Greece, and it was this segment of the population that was subjected to exhausting labor on oars. Since the progress of ancient times did not allow building ships longer than 40 meters, all rowers sat close to each other, and in order to increase speed, ships were made with several rows of seats in order to increase the number of slaves. Along with this, the ship should not have lost maneuverability, and also accommodate soldiers, horses and chariots. This factor was a rather big "headache" for the designers of that time. Things were much easier when the ship sailed away from the shore. In the open sea, unlike the coastal zone, the wind was stronger and then sails were unfurled, which made two forms. Rectangular and in the shape of a trapezoid, in addition to this, the ship had a small sail called "artemon", which descended for the duration of the hostilities. It is believed that the innovation in the form of adding sailing power to the rowers belongs to the Greeks. Thanks to all the factors described, warships were moving at a speed of 17 km / h.

On warships, in addition to slaves and soldiers with chariots, even the first types of weapons could be seen. So the Greeks equipped the bow of their ships with rams, they always consisted of metal and reached a length of 8 to 10 meters.

On the territory of Kyrenia, the port of Cyprus, an ancient ship of merchants from Greece was discovered. It is noteworthy that the water split the skeleton of the ship, making it two-dimensional, resembling a drawing, where each element is located on a callout.

Thanks to the efforts of archaeologists, it was possible to restore the appearance and design features of the vessel. The length was only 14.3 meters, and the width along the beam was 4.3 meters. It is believed that this is the oldest ship that was able to get from the seabed, since using radiocarbon analysis, the age was found out - more than 2.3 thousand years.

When creating the keel, a sessile oak was used, and black wood acacia was used for the frames. Sheathing could be made of beech or linden, and the yard and oars of Aleppo spruce.

Due to the lack of free space, it was difficult to use human labor, so instead of oars, a sail was used, which served as the main engine. There was no deck as such, and 2 oars were used for steering. To protect the vessel from wave impacts, the side was equipped with metal bars, additionally protected by leather from above.

The image shows a variation of the Greek bireme, from the time of 70 BC. These ships had impressive speed and small width. The frames were completely absent, the skin was reinforced with dowels with a round head with notches on both sides. They were intended for wedges, which were made using acacia, plum, or blackthorn wood. On the keel beam there was a shock resembling a boar's skull or a trident in shape. A lock was installed on top of it, where a rope used in a joint attack was threaded - it made it possible to connect several ships to each other.

In the bow there was a bulwark made of lattice. Rowers located on the upper tier could rely on separate racks located outside the hull. The bottom row had to use side holes, protected from water ingress, with leather cuffs. A crinoline stretched along the side, whose flooring was located along the beams, and the ends were held on inclined racks. Vessels of a similar type could have additional oars, thanks to which they could act as a trireme.

According to archaeologists, the era of shipbuilding dates back 5 thousand years ago, when ancient people began to explore the seas and oceans. Ancient Roman and Greek ships were the most famous, because both powers were located in the most favorable region in terms of climate and were actively trading with neighboring countries, for which sea routes were the most profitable.

The era of the birth of shipbuilding

Warships were built already in the 15th century. BC e. in Phoenicia, Egypt and Babylon in order to protect the country from pirates and campaigns on the territory of neighboring states. Both merchant and military ships improved over time, their maneuverability and combat capabilities, size and displacement increased.

The main driving force of the Greek ships was rowing, because they were controlled by the muscular strength of the slaves who were sitting on the oars. Although the sail was installed on military ships, they were raised only with a fair wind.

The designs of ancient Greek ships were borrowed from the Phoenicians. Shipbuilders paid maximum attention to ships for carrying out military operations at sea, so they had to be durable and maneuverable. It is interesting that the Mediterranean craftsmen, until the beginning of the 5th century, started with sheathing, and only then moved on to the internal structure.

Varieties and materials

Ancient Greek ships were built of two types:

• trade - wider and clumsier, but capable of carrying heavy and bulky goods;
• military - light and maneuverable, equipped with rowers with oars and a sail, in front of each there was a ram to attack enemy ships during the battle.

The ancient Greeks covered the hull with animal skin, and the lining was of various thicknesses: near the keel and at the height of the deck it was thicker. The belts were fastened with paired seams, and they were attached to the body with wooden pins or bronze nails. Later, in the construction of military and commercial ancient Greek ships, beech wood paneling began to be used. To protect the deck from flooding waves, a bulwark was made of canvas; in the lower part of the ship, up to the waterline, sheathing was made of lead sheets. The hull was then painted and covered with grease.

All wooden parts were made from various types of wood, based on strength and function. The frames were made of durable acacia, the spars (devices for the sail) were made of pine.

The sails were hung either rectangular or trapezoidal. At first, only straight racks were used, which could only catch a fair wind. In addition, warships sailed in coastal waters and more often used rowing power. There was also a small sail - an artemon, hanging on an inclined mast at the bow of the ship. Before the start of the battle, the sail was necessarily folded so as not to interfere, and the masts were removed.

Ancient Greek ships: famous names

The vessels were set in motion by oars, which were used by rowers sitting on both sides of the sides. They were recruited from among the slaves or for payment for the period of hostilities.

Depending on the number of oars, there are 2 types of ancient Greek ships:

• triakontor - has 30 rowers and oars;
• pentekontor - a 50-oared ship (25 on each side), often deckless.

Over time, a deck was built on the pentecontors, which served as protection from the sun and enemy projectiles. However, it was impossible to accommodate many warriors in a narrow space, so wider, but slower ships were built to transport them, on which it was possible to transport not only people, but also horses and supplies.

The speed of such vessels was about 17 km / h. Rowing efficiency was low, therefore, to increase the speed of movement, the ships were made narrow and long: the width of the pentekontor was only 4 m with a length of 32 m. The rowers could only sit in one row at a distance of 1 m from their neighbor, which increased the overall strength and the ship's speed was proportional to its length.

However, ancient technologies did not allow the creation of ships with a length of more than 40 m. To increase speed, they began to build ships with two, three or more rows of oars.

In accordance with the number of rows of rowers, the names of ancient Greek ships were divided into: uniremes, biremes, triremes, quadroremes, etc., which can also be called "polyremes" (multi-tiered).

Unirema

The simplest in form Greek unirems or moners (Greek Μονερις), according to Homer, formed the basis of the Greek fleet during the siege of the city of Troy. An ancient unirema is an ancient Greek military ship with one pair of oars, or rather, one tier, when the rowers sit in a row. The displacement of such a deckless vessel was up to 50 tons, the equipment consisted of 12 pairs of oars, each with 2 rowers. A rectangular sail was used only with a fair wind direction.

The first moners were built for reconnaissance, which could only be carried out by a fast ship capable of developing great speed and maneuverability. Military power was not initially used for it.

Gradually, shipbuilders began to increase the size of the unirema, adding to it a battle ram, which was used as a giant metal spear up to 10 m long. It was located in the underwater part of the ship and was the main weapon.

According to the conclusion of the researchers, the unirema is considered the most maneuverable and mobile rowing vessel in the ancient era. Such ships were used in Phoenicia, Carthage, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, as well as throughout subsequent wars in the Mediterranean.

There were also some varieties of moner: actuary and liburna, small maneuverable vessels used for communications and intelligence operations, delivery of light cargo. The design difference was that the rowers sat on 2-3 balconies, which helped to row independently of each other. The sides were high, there was also a ram, but not a combat one, but a decorative one.

Dieras or biremes are rowing ancient Greek warships, which the Phoenicians began to build in 9-7 centuries. BC e. for sailing in the Mediterranean. They differ in double tiers of oars and are widely distributed in Egypt, Greece and Phoenicia. With the same length of the hull, an additional row of rowers, sitting, as it were, on 2 floors, provided greater speed and power. In order to make the bireme more stable, the platform with rowers (crinoline) began to be lowered lower, to the level of the hull.

The main weapon of the Greek warship is a ram, which was made of metal, most often bronze. It was located in the forward protruding part of the ship and during the battle was supposed to pierce enemy ships. A ram in the form of a trident or a boar's head was attached to the keel bar.

Sailing weapons were used only with a fair wind. The stern of the ship (acrostol) was decorative and specially curved, in shape it resembled the tail of a scorpion.

If necessary, some were equipped with an additional row of oars and then they were already called triremes. Management was carried out with the help of 2 large steering oars placed at the stern. There were 25 rowing oars.

Trireme or trireme

Scientists call Corinth the birthplace of the ancient Greek triremes (Greek Τριήρεις), where the armored warships of the Greeks, the cataphracts, were later created. The displacement of such vessels reached 230 tons, length - 45 m, the number of crew members - up to 200 people.

The ancient Greek ship of the trireme already had 3 tiers of oars, for the latter they additionally cut holes in the side of the vessel, which, if necessary, were closed with special curtains. The length of the oars was the same and amounted to 4.5 m. The most powerful rowers "tranits" sat in the top row, their work was generously paid, because they considered themselves privileged. For them, a narrow platform was installed on the upper deck, where they sat along the edge.

The zigits sat in the middle row, and the talamites in the lower row, the flutist sitting at the stern, the trepores, set the rhythm for the rowers. All of them obeyed their chief, the gortator, and the trierarch commanded the ship. The total number of oars on such a warship could reach up to 170. However, all 3 rows were used only during hostilities.

The crew of the trireme also increased: during the battle it amounted to about 200 people, among whom were not only slave rowers and warriors, but also sailors who could control the sail. The length of the ship was 40 m, width 6 m. The combat deck was solid, and below it was a hold. The commander had his own cabin at the stern.

The number of masts and sails on such a ship also increased. The underwater ram served as a continuation of the keel and reached 3 m, was equipped with an iron tip to destroy the side of the enemy ship. Additionally, a metal beam was placed above the ram, with the help of which enemy oars broke when ships collided.

Biremes and triremes remained the most popular military ancient Greek ships for several centuries. According to historical data, in 482 BC. e. battle fleet in Athens with a population of 250 thousand people. consisted of almost 200 triremes. In peacetime, they were also used to transport vehicles, people and horses.

Polyremes and penthers

Depending on how the ancient Greek ships were called (uniremes, biremes, triremes, etc.), one can judge how many rows of rowers were located on them. According to historical data, the Greeks went further in the development of shipbuilding and built a warship in Syracuse, which had 5 rows of oars - a pentera. They were located 30 on each side of the ship, each heavy oar was moved by 5 rowers, there were 300 of them on board. 25-30 sailors were added to control the sail. The ship could take on board 120 soldiers with full weapons.

Later, the tesarakontera was also created - the ancient ancestor of modern battleships, a floating fortress with a displacement of 3 thousand tons. It was equipped with battle towers in which archers were hiding, and the high upper deck served as protection from enemy arrows.

The armament of warships also included slings, ballistas and catapults mounted on board. They were used to throw arrows, stones or an incendiary mixture of sulfur, tar and bitumen.

Features and tactics of the battle of Greek ships

The most important tactical technique that was widely used on ancient Greek ships in a naval battle is the use of boarding, in which ships converge, ram each other, and grapple. Then comes the time for hand-to-hand combat between the warriors.

The Greek fleet, as it developed, already consisted entirely of battle triremes, equipped at the stern with strong iron rams.

The advantages of such ships can be judged from the historical fact of the victory of the Greeks in the battle with the Persians near Salamis, which took place in 480 BC. e. The superiority in the number of ships was on the side of the Persians (1200 versus 380), however, the swift Greek triremes quickly defeated the clear formation of enemy ships. Their rams broke the sides and oars of the enemy, then quickly made a roundabout maneuver and pierced the stern.

In addition to the usual fodder, other types of rams were also used:

• "dolphin", used from 6-5 tbsp. BC e., - a very heavy load, made in the form of the animal of the same name, which was suspended by a cable on a beam standing perpendicular to the side of the ship; in a collision, with its weight, it pierced the deck and even the bottom of the ship;
• corvus - a boarding bridge with a double cable, mounted on the bow and hinged, had a sharp metal spur in the shape of a raven's beak, when lowered on board an enemy ship, the corvus firmly grabbed the deck, and the attacking warriors climbed over the boarding bridge and entered into hand-to-hand combat battle;
• harpagi - boarding hooks used to hook an enemy ship.

Hoplites were on each trireme in battle - warriors with fairly heavy weapons, who had leather shields for protection, as well as a detachment of archers and shooters from a sling. A possible victory in battles depended on their ability to conduct hand-to-hand combat and shoot.

Greek merchant ship

It was possible to recreate the appearance of ancient merchant ships with the help of the reconstruction of the remains found in the waters of Kyrenia, a port in Cyprus. The body found by archaeologists turned out to be flattened under the water column at a depth of 30 m.

The length of the ancient Greek trading ship was 14.3 m, the width was 4.3 m. Radiocarbon analysis of the wooden hull and bronze coins found in it showed that the ship was almost 2300 years old. The keel was made of strong oak wood, the frames were made of black acacia, the skin was made of red beech and linden. The mast, yards and oars are made of Allep spruce.

The only sail on merchant ships played a more significant role and was used for movement, while there were fewer rowers compared to a warship. There was no deck, cargo was located inside. To prevent waves from overflowing into the hull, the sides were built up with a lattice made of thick rods. The skin was then stretched over it from above.

The main feature of merchant ships was their spaciousness and reliability, but speed was secondary. According to chronicles, such a ship could sail up to 40 km per day, which was quite far in those days.

The names of the ancient Greek ships that were used to transport goods:

• lembos - a single-masted vessel, a 4-coal sail fixed on a yardarm, sometimes they put an additional small sail for maneuvers;
• kelets - had a hold with a large capacity, in the 5th c. BC e. the Greeks even used a special compartment for transporting horses;
• corkur - light invented in Cyprus, and then became popular with Greek merchants, design feature: the interior of the hull was divided into a hold and 2 tweendecks. In the Middle Ages, such a device was adopted by Arab merchants, and then by Europeans, who called the ship "karakka" or "caravel".

Their designs were improved quite quickly: they put 2 masts, used a bowsprit type slope to the bow, increased the volume of holds and carrying capacity. So, with a length of 25 meters, a merchant ship could carry 800-1000 tons of cargo. When raising the sails, they could sail even with a side wind. When sailing, a merchant ship loaded the hold with sand ballast.

Reconstruction of ancient ships

The most famous name of the ancient Greek ship that is mentioned in myths is the Argo, the legendary ship of the Argonauts, who made a trip to Colchis, located on the Black Sea coast. In 1984, a group of like-minded people led by the English scientist and writer Tim Severin made a 1,500-mile journey from Greece to Georgia on an exact copy of an ancient ship and proved the real possibility of the events described in the myths.

One famous modern attempt to recreate a life-size ancient ship took place in Greece. The construction of the Olympia trireme continued in Piraeus for almost 2 years and was completed in July 1987. It was financed by the Greek Navy and the English banker F. Welsh. The ship is now owned by the Greek Navy.

Olympia is the only fully functional ship with a crew of 200 people. Its length is 37 m, width 5.5 m, equipped with oars and sails. Over the past years, the ship has been tested several times, during which a team of 170 athletes was able to accelerate it to a speed of 17 km / h, which is shown by a photo of the ancient Greek ship Olympia.

Since 2004, she has been on display as a public museum exhibit in the dry dock at Paleon Falirone, near Athens. For lovers of vintage sailing ships, the Olympia is a fine example of the craftsmanship of shipbuilders and demonstrates the swimming abilities, perfection and beauty of ancient Greek ships.

BUT Ancient Greek ships- the best watercraft of ancient times. Wealthy trading cities such as Athens and Corinth had powerful navies to protect their merchant ships. The largest and most maneuverable ancient Greek ship was considered triremes, driven by 170 rowers. Her ram, located in the bow of the ship, punched holes in the enemy ship. But creation triremes due to the appearance of other warships, earlier built. This is exactly what my story is about.

pentekontor

In the archaic period from the 12th to the 8th century BC, the most common type of ships of the ancient Greeks were pentecontors.

Pentekontor It was a 30-meter single-tier rowing vessel, driven by twenty-five oars on each side. The width was about 4 m, the maximum speed was 9.5 knots.

Pentecontors were mostly deckless open courts. However, sometimes this ship of the ancient Greeks was equipped with a deck. The presence of the deck protected the rowers from the sun and from enemy projectiles, and also increased the cargo-and-passenger capacity of the ship. The deck could carry supplies, horses, war chariots and additional warriors, including archers, capable of withstanding enemy ships.

Original Ancient Greek pentecontors intended mainly for the transport of troops. At the oars sat the same warriors who later, having gone ashore, entered the battle. In other words, pentekontor was not a warship specifically designed to destroy other warships, but was a military transport. ( Note. Just like the Viking ships and the boats of the Slavs, on the oars of which ordinary combatants sat).

The emergence of a desire to sink enemy ships together with the troops before they landed on the shore and began to destroy their native fields contributed to the appearance on the ship of the ancient Greek device, which received the name - ram.

For the warship of the ancient Greeks, which participated in naval battles using a ram as the main anti-ship weapon, the following remained important indicators: maneuverability - the ability to quickly escape from a retaliatory strike, speed - contributing to the development of impact force, and armor - protecting against similar enemy strikes.

The preservation of these characteristics nullified the calculations of the Mediterranean shipbuilders of the 12th century BC, thereby forcing the ancient Greeks to look for more rational ideas. And an elegant solution was found.

If the ship cannot be lengthened, then it can be made taller and place another tier with rowers. Thanks to this, the number of oars was doubled without significantly increasing the length ancient Greek ship. So there was bireme.

bireme

As a result of adding a second tier with rowers, security has also increased. ancient Greek ships. To ram bireme, the stem of the enemy vessel now needed to overcome the resistance of more oars.

The increase in the number of rowers also led to the fact that they were required to synchronize their actions in order to bireme did not turn into a centipede entangled in its own legs. Rowers were required to have a sense of rhythm, so in ancient times the labor of galley slaves was not used. All the merry men were civilian sailors, and received a salary during the war, like professional soldiers - hoplites.

bireme rowers

Only in the 3rd century BC, when the Romans experienced a shortage of rowers during the Punic Wars due to high losses, did they use slaves and criminals sentenced for debts who had undergone preliminary training on their large ships. The appearance of the image of galley slaves actually went down in history with the advent of the Venetian galleys. They had a different design, which made it possible to have only about 15 percent of trained rowers in the team, and the rest were recruited from convicts.

The appearance of the first bireme the Greeks are dated to the end of the 8th century BC. Birema can be recognized as the first ancient ship specially built to destroy enemy naval targets. The rowers of ancient ships were almost never professional warriors like land hoplites, but were considered first-class sailors. In addition, during the boarding action on board their ship, the rowers of the upper tier often took part in the battles, while the rowers of the lower tier were able to continue maneuvering.

It is easy to imagine that the meeting biremes VIII century with 20 warriors, 12 sailors and a hundred rowers on board with Pentekontor during the Trojan War with 50 rowing warriors would be deplorable for the latter. Despite the fact that pentekontor had 50 warriors on board against 20 biremes, his team in most cases would not be able to use their numerical superiority. First, a higher board biremes would have prevented a boarding battle, and a ramming blow biremes would be twice as efficient pentekontor.

Secondly, while maneuvering pentecontors all his hoplites are oared. While 20 hoplites biremes can attack with projectiles.

Due to its obvious advantages, the bireme began to spread rapidly across the Mediterranean, and for many centuries firmly occupied the position of "light cruiser" of all major fleets. However, the place of the "battleship" two centuries later will take triremes- the most massive ancient ship Antiquity.

triremes

Trier is a further development of the idea of ​​a multi-tiered rowing ship of the ancient Greeks. According to Thucydides, the first triremes was built around 650 BC and was about 42 meters long.

in classical Greek triere there were about 60 rowers, 30 soldiers and 12 sailors on each side. Rowers and sailors led " keleist", commanded the whole ship" trierarch».

"trierarch"

The rowers who were on the lower tier triremes, almost at the very water, were called " talamites". There were 27 of them on each side. The ports cut in the hull of the ship for oars were very close to the water, so with little excitement they were often overwhelmed by waves. In this case " talamites"retracted the oars inward, and the ports were battened down with leather patches.

The rowers of the second tier were called " zigits"and, finally, the third tier -" transits". Oars " zigits" and " transits» passed through the ports in « paradox"- a special box-shaped extension of the hull above the waterline, which hung over the water. The rhythm of the rowers was set by the flutist, and not by the drummer, as on the larger ships of ancient Rome.

The oars of all tiers had the same length of 4.5 meters. The fact is that if you look at the vertical slice triremes, then it turns out that all the rowers are located along the curve formed by the side of the vessel. Thus, the blades of the oars of three tiers reached the water, although they entered it at different angles.

Trier was a very narrow ship. At the waterline level, the ship had a width of about 5 m, and allowed a maximum speed of up to 9 knots, but some sources claim that it could reach up to 12 knots. But, despite the relatively low speed, triremes was considered a very power-armed ship. From a stationary state ancient ships reached maximum speed in 30 seconds.

Like later Roman ships, Greek triremes equipped with a buffer ram-proembolone and a battle ram in the form of a trident or head.

ram trireme

The most effective weapon of the ancient ships was a ram, and an auxiliary, but also quite effective means of armed struggle, was a boarding battle.

The success of the naval battle primarily depended on a swift strike at full speed on the side of the enemy ship, after which the crew also had to quickly reverse to change position. The fact is that the attacking ship was always at risk of attack, since it could receive more damage and get stuck in the wreckage of the oars, and therefore lose its course, and its crew would be instantly attacked by various projectiles from the side of the enemy ship.

trireme tactical maneuver - swim

One of the common tactical maneuvers during a naval battle in Ancient Greece was considered " diek plus"(swimming). The purpose of the tactical technique was to choose a course of attack that was advantageous from the point of view of the position and deprive the enemy of the opportunity to evade the blow. For this triremes moved towards the enemy ship, inflicting a glancing blow. At the same time, while passing along the side of the enemy, the rowers of the attacking ship had to retract the oars on command. After that, significant damage was inflicted on the oars of the enemy ship from one side. In a moment, the attacking ship moved into position and delivered a ramming blow to the side of the immobilized enemy ship.

Trieres did not have stationary masts, but almost all were equipped with one or two removable masts, which were quickly mounted when a fair wind appeared. The central mast was installed vertically and stretched for stability with cables. Bow mast designed for a small sail - " artemon", was installed obliquely, based on" acrotable».

Sometimes triremes modernized for transportation. Such ships were called hoplitagagos" (for warriors) and " hippagos"(for horses). Fundamentally these ancient ships were no different from trier, but had a reinforced deck, a higher bulwark and additional wide gangways for horses.

biremes and triremes became the main and only universal ancient ships Antique period from the 4th to the 5th century BC. Alone or as part of small formations, they could perform cruising functions: conduct reconnaissance, intercept enemy merchant and transport ships, deliver especially important cargo and attack the enemy on the coast.

The outcome of naval battles was decided primarily by the level of individual training of the crews - rowers, sailing crew and warriors. However, much also depended on the battle formations of the formation. On the passage, the ancient ships of the Greek fleet, as a rule, followed in the wake formation. Rebuilding in line was carried out on the eve of a collision with the enemy. Wherein ships sought to line up in three or four lines with a mutual shift of half a position. This tactical move was carried out in order to make it difficult for the enemy to maneuver " diek plus", because having broken the oars of any of the ships of the first row, the enemy ship exposed his side to the ramming of the ships of the neighboring line.

In ancient Greece, there was another tactical arrangement of ships, which in modern tactics corresponds to a deaf defense - this is a special circular formation. It was called " hedgehog”And was used in cases where it was necessary to protect ships with valuable cargo or avoid linear battles with superior enemy ships.

As ancillary ships, advice or raiders used single-tier galleys - " uniremes", heirs of archaic triaccounts and pentecontors.

In the classical period of the 5th century BC, the fleet of Ancient Greece formed the basis of military power and was an important component of the armed forces of the Hellas coalitions.

Military navy of ancient greece numbered up to 400 trier. ancient ships were built at state shipyards. However, their equipment, repairs and even the hiring of rowers was carried out at the expense of wealthy Athenians, who, as a rule, became trierarchs- ship captains. At the end of the voyage trier returned for storage at the base of the navy in Piraeus, and the crew was disbanded.

Development ancient greek navy contributed to the emergence of a new category of citizens - sailors. According to their hierarchical position, they were not rich people and outside the maritime service they did not have sources of permanent income. In times of peace, when the demand for highly skilled sailors declined, they were engaged in small trade or were hired as farm laborers to wealthy landowners. Sailors who were written ashore inhabited the urban poor in Piraeus and Athens. Along with this, these were the people on whom the military power of Ancient Greece depended.

Interestingly, an ordinary worker earned about half a drachma a day, and rowers on ships and hoplites during the military campaign received 2 drachmas daily. With this money, one could buy 40 kg of grain, four buckets of olives or 2 buckets of inexpensive wine. A ram cost 5 drachmas, and renting a small room in a poor quarter cost 30 drachmas. Thus, for a month of sea wanderings, an ordinary rave could provide himself with provisions for a whole year.

Most the capital ship of the ancient Greeks, built in Antiquity, is considered a mythical tesseracontera, created in Egypt by order of Ptolemy Philopator. Sources claim that this ancient ship reached a length of 122 m and a width of 15 m, and on board there were about 4,000 rowers (10 per oar) and 3,000 warriors. Some historians believe that it was rather a large double-hull catamaran, between the hulls of which a grandiose platform was built for throwing machines and warriors.

Sorry about the names Greek ships little is known. Athens had two triremes with luxurious exterior trim, which had the names " Paralia" and " salaminia". These two ships were used for solemn processions or for sending especially important orders.

In the modern world, thanks to archaeological discoveries and precise research, it becomes clear how the Ancient World was arranged, but more and more often modern humanity is convinced that ancient technical achievements and engineering solutions, especially in the field of shipbuilding worthy of admiration.

Seafaring and shipbuilding since ancient times have been advanced areas of knowledge. And this is natural, because the sea united peoples. Trade and war defined the face of the Ancient World and were often the only means of exchange not only for goods, but also for technical achievements. From archaic times, maritime dominion determined the boundaries and well-being of the kingdom and peoples, and in the era of empires it became the most important factor in power and political stability. It is not surprising that the powerful of this world have always given decisive importance to the construction of fleets.

The importance of control over maritime communications and trade was well understood by navigators. Skillful maneuvering of the fleets, the landing of soldiers on the coast, and simply the appearance of warships off the coast as a show of force - became familiar elements of the political struggle.

In the depths of centuries, the moment when the first ship was launched is hidden from modernity, but some further steps of mankind in the field shipbuilding over time, they open the curtain for humanity, creating a complete picture of the process in its final form. Researchers can argue for a long time about which rowing ships were considered the best: ancient triremes, titans of the Hellenistic fleets or galleys of the Italian maritime powers, but one thing is clear - the golden age of galleys is behind.

So how were the ancient ships built? How did shipbuilders manage to achieve such outstanding results without knowledge of hydrodynamics? To understand this, we need to realize that the technology of the ancient shipbuilding improved for many millennia until it reached its peak in the ancient era, and also the fact that shipbuilding was an art, the experience of which was accumulated over the years and passed down from generation to generation, deriving the basic laws of hydrodynamics and seaworthiness of the ship.

shipbuilding technology ancient ships is still the subject of heated debate. The stumbling block for researchers is the appearance of a ship set: frames, vertical pillars, longitudinal ties - stringers, etc. The transverse elements of the hull set exist on all ships since the boats stopped hammering or tying from bamboo. But according to what scheme were the ships built - first the skeleton or the hull?

shipbuilding technology skeleton first

shipbuilding technology skeleton first is characterized by the fact that during the construction of the ship, the skeleton of the ship was initially erected (keel, frames, stems) and only then it was sheathed with boards, creating a hull. This method is so natural that from the time of medieval galleys it has received the right to exist until now.

Recently, however, many researchers are inclined to believe that in the ancient period in the Mediterranean, ships were built differently. This method of shipbuilding is characterized in the initial execution of the skin, which, as it were, was stretched belt by belt on the frame frames prepared in advance, and only then, as the hull was ready, the ribs were inserted into it, usually in three unconnected tiers. This technique made it possible to establish serial ship building. Most likely, there was a technological chain that made it possible to create ships in large series and in a fairly short time. Examples of the construction of a whole fleet within two months are known - the fleet of the Roman consul Duilius, which brought the Romans victory at Mila in 260 BC, was built in a period of 45 to 60 days. There is also evidence of the procurement and storage of ship parts in special hangars, in which then, if necessary, a large number of ships could be assembled very quickly. There are references that the ships assembled at the shipyards were again disassembled, transported over long distances, then reassembled, making up entire fleets.

In short, there are two opposing views construction ancient ships but the truth, as they say, lies in the middle. The first skeleton first method is more economical, less time consuming and, in general, quite simple. The second shell first method is expensive and technically complex, however, thanks to this shipbuilding technology, the process was standardized, which made it possible to quickly build the required number of ships, and in addition gave another important advantage - lightening the ship's hull by one and a half times. The ship's hull fastened in this way, namely its outer part, initially has greater rigidity and does not require cross-sections of a large cross section. This, in turn, allowed more rowers to be placed in the same space. This method was used in the construction of multi-tiered large ships. For them, the advantages listed above were vital, allowing them to increase the speed by almost 30 percent, which contributed to improving the combat quality of the ship. After all, the speed of the course played a decisive role in those days in naval battles, where the only weapon of the ship was a ram. The most powerful and high-speed fleet built using this technology provided Greece with half a century of dominance at sea and allowed it to win victories over superior enemy forces. Of course, this method of shipbuilding was kept in the strictest confidence and was taken by ancient shipbuilders to the grave along with the death of the ancient world. Anyway, this shipbuilding technology was lost.

shipbuilding technology shell first

So how did shell-first technology come about? It is quite obvious that initially, small dugout boats were built without drawings - by eye. In the future, the natural desire of prehistoric shipbuilders to increase the buoyancy, capacity and floodability of the boat empirically led them to create a hull as such. at first shipbuilders tried to increase the volume of the cylindrical part of the barrel. To do this, they used different methods of steaming and then expanding the hollowed out part with spacers. Gradually, such a design from a cylindrical shape was transformed into a shape close to our understanding of a boat. Over time, the collapse of the sides and the narrowing of the extremities appeared. However, very soon this development of shipbuilding reached its limit. In addition, when the cylinder was bursting, a lowering of the freeboard amidships occurred, in contrast to which they began to build on the central part of the sides of the dugout. Most likely, during the construction of such "shells" the ship arose in our remembrance of this design. All other elements appeared empirically. The keel may have arisen as a result of the desire to reduce the dugout, thereby reducing labor intensity and greatly facilitating the design. The stems were needed as elements connecting the planks of the grown side at the ends. And the rib frame, obviously, appeared when the size of the “shell” grew so much that it became necessary to fasten the outer elements from the inside.

The key point in understanding the emergence of shell first shipbuilding technology is the two methods of joining plating belts that have existed since ancient times: clinker and flat.

a) smooth lining; b) clinker connection;

Clinker has some advantage for early shipbuilding methods, firstly due to the greater water tightness provided by the design. Clinker is also preferable for the technology of building a hull without a preliminary skeleton and drawings. After all, in the absence of an internal frame, it is more convenient to connect the belts to each other by overlapping the strips. And most importantly, each subsequent board, lying on the previous one, repeats its curvature, using the dugout part as a tongue and groove belt, that is, a kind of template pattern.

The hull, in this case, is formed as a natural continuation of the dugout shaft, which gradually evolves into the bottom and then into the keel. Probably later, around the beginning of the third millennium BC, a method of joining belts was invented - smooth lining. Obviously, it became possible when shipbuilders began to fasten the planks with the help of original dowel plates made of harder wood.

It was the sheathing in combination with the method of fastening the belts with dowel strips, followed by fixing them with wooden pins in the upper and lower belts (the mortise and tenon method), that became the basis of the shell-first shipbuilding technology, which means - first the hull. This technique, most likely, appeared quite naturally, as they say, by trial and error and improved for several thousand years.

New construction methods required a high level of standardization of parts, competent personnel and a well-established structure of shipyards. Therefore, it is not surprising that the appearance of the first seaworthy ships is directly related to the centralization of power and the formation of ancient states.

shipbuilding method mortise & tenon

During the period of antiquity, the mortise & tenon method began to play a key role in shell-first shipbuilding technology, which replaced the “sewing” technology.

in the photo - the restored part of the hull of a merchant ship found in the 80s of the XX century in the Italian city of Comacho. This clearly shows the method of joining the belts of the outer skin of the ship. Grooves are visible at the end of the upper belt, just below the hole for dowels

The essence of the method was that at the ends of the boards of the belts, with a step of 20-50 cm, as before, grooves (mortise) were made, into which then, when docking, plates from harder tree species were inserted. However, those, in turn, were not sewn together, as before, but were pinned with pins (tenon) in the upper and lower belts. Such a pro-gelled skin was rigidly connected, and at the same time quite flexible. And most importantly, now the design was not afraid of longitudinal displacements, which inevitably led to the rupture of the stitched knots. Yes, and these displacements themselves have decreased, because soft ropes have been replaced with hardwood pins. This provided transverse and longitudinal rigidity, quite sufficient to arrange the frames less often, make them thinner and, most importantly, composite, using all the material at hand for this. Thus, the frames played the role of ribs providing only local rigidity. The overall longitudinal and transverse strength of the vessel was created by the shell-plating itself.

On large ships, beams and decking were additionally installed. It is difficult to say when such shipbuilding technology. However, it was widely used by Phoenician navigators. At that time, metal fasteners were used extremely rarely, and in relation to fastening the skin to the frames, the old stitching method was preserved.

a) fastening the skin to the frames using stitching;

b) fastening of the cladding belts to each other using the mortise & tenon method;

In the classical period, the construction of various types of ships, including the famous triremes, was put on the assembly line and honed to perfection even in the smallest details. Complicated and costly shipbuilding technology, which initially only wealthy powers could afford, was such only during the construction of the first ship. A lot of money and time was spent on the creation of technological equipment, on the standardization and unification of parts, as well as on the training and maintenance of highly qualified specialists. But then the preparation carried out, which today is called the "zero stage" in shipbuilding, fully justified itself and made it possible to build entire fleets in a short time.

Summing up, we can say that, basically, in the ancient period, ships were built according to the shell first shipbuilding technology - first the hull. Moreover, this method was based on the principle of fastening the sheathing belts flat, using the mortise & tenon method, i.e., laying adjacent planks of harder wood, which, in turn, were fixed with pins in the upper and lower parts. This technique evolved empirically from various body stitching techniques, and has been in use in the southeastern Mediterranean since at least the beginning of the third millennium BC. In the second millennium this shipbuilding technology formed the basis for the construction of powerful fleets of the peoples of the Aegean culture. At the beginning of the first millennium, this practice was already widely used by the Phoenicians, and in the classical period it acquired its final form during the construction of the Greek triremes.

shipbuilding technology shell first made it possible to build ships in large series in a very short time, and was used to create both military and transport ships. This was vital during wars or large colonization expeditions. At the same time, the construction of huge ships, such as the large ships of Caligula, was carried out according to shipbuilding technologies skeleton first - at first, the skeleton, because all the advantages of serial production in such special projects were lost, but special importance was attached to the strength of the skeleton of these giants.