Bronze Age Shipbuilding in the Mediterranean

During the Bronze and Iron Ages, maritime activity in the Mediterranean Sea burgeoned as the emerging elites and powerful states demanded more resources from outside the boundaries of their empires.

Not surprisingly, ships carrying those resources increased in size, carrying capacity and seaworthiness.

The preservation of organic materials, such as wood, in the marine environment presents significant challenges for archaeologists. Consequently, the survival of substantial portions of ancient ship hulls is often limited. With few wrecks to examine, we have to turn to other ways of discovering how ship designs evolved and how shipbuilding techniques improved.

This project looks at shipwrecks from the Bronze and Iron Ages, contemporaneous art on frescoes, ceramics and inscriptions, and clay, lead and bronze models of ships created by ancient artisans to chart the course of naval architecture in the Mediterranean Sea from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman Empire period.