Phoenician Ships

The best seafarers and ship builders of the ancient world were the Phoenicians. The
famous cedar trees covering the slopes of mountains of their native land ware a
perfect material for construction of strong seaworthy ships. The Phoenicians made
important contributions to the marine science.
The Phoenicians had been at sea for some time before the Greeks and were already
well established and experienced sailors. The Phoenicians were traders rather than
warriors whereas the Greeks were concerned with territorial expansion and therefore
used sea power as an instrument of conquest. These different priorities naturally
affected the types of boats favoured by the two emerging maritime powers.
The earliest evidence for Phoenician ships comes from an Egyptian relief of around
1400 BC which shows Phoenician ships unloading in an Egyptian port. The vessels
have much in common with contemporary Egyptian ships, especially in the mast,
rigging, sickle shaped hull and straight rising stem and stern posts, and deck beams
projecting through the hull just below the sheerstrake. But they differ from Egyptian
ships in three significant details. Firstly, the hulls are shorter than the equivalent
Egyptian ships and were therefore probably more seaworthy. Secondly, there is a
wicker fence along the sheerstrake to protect the deck cargo, a feature which is
described by Homer in his account of the building of Odysseus' ship on Calypso's
island. Thirdly, the ships on the tomb of Kenamon do not have a visible hogging truss
which implies that the method of construction was mechanically more sound than
that of Hatshepsut's ships and may have included a proper keel.
A relief at the palace of Sargon's son Sennacherib shows two types of Phoenician
galley. Firstly asymmetrical two banked galleys with low bow, high curved stern,
comparatively straight sheer line and an unambiguous upcurved ram. The second
type is symmetrical and does not have the ram. Both types are clearly biremes and
both clearly have a deck, with passengers and pavisade, superimposed above the
rowers.
Phoenician Merchant Ships
The Phoenicians' most significant contribution was the "round boat" a broad-beamed
ship that depended principally on sails rather than oars and provided a much larger
cargo space than the narrow galleys. Phoenician round ships traveled the
Mediterranean and beyond.
It is a Phoenician trade ship of about 1500 BC.
This is a rather capacious vessel with strong
stem posts (firm beam in prow and stern
extremities of the ship) and two stern oars. The
mast bore a direct sail on two curved beams. To
the prow stem post they fastened a large clay

amphora for a storage of potable water.

Phoenician War Ships
Phoenician shipbuilders are also credited with developing bireme and trireme galleys
in which the oars were arranged in two or three banks. Multibanked galleys are a
matter of scholarly dispute.
This is rather narrow, strong ship is of
the type used from 1500-1000 BC. The
upper combat deck is lifted on racks as a
platform. Massive scull and prow oars
essentially distinguished these vessels
from similar boats of that time. These
considerably increased manoeuvrability
allowing the ship to turn 180 degrees rapidly. In combat these oars could be strongly
firmly clamped to the hull so as to be used as battering rams. The mast was
removable. Two ranks of oars allow us to refer this ship type of ship as a bireme.
Length of the ship was from 25 up to 35 meters, and the width about 4 to 5 meters.
The bireme (a ship with two banks of
oars), introduced by the Phoenicians in
about 700 BC, became the leading
warship of the 8th century BC.
Phoenicians were considered as the best
seamen of the time and many ancient
states frequently used them as
mercenaries. The length was about 30 meters with a width of some 5 meters.
The trireme (a Roman trireme pictured near)
reached its highest point of development in the
eastern Mediterranean during the 5th century
BC. Light, fast, and maneuverable, it was the
principal naval vessel of Persia, Phoenicia, and
the Greek city-states. Light construction
enabled the trireme to displace only 40 tons on
an overall length of approximately 120 feet (37 m) and a beam of 18 feet (5.5 m); no
ballast was used. The trireme is said to have been capable of reaching speeds greater
than 7 knots (8 miles per hour, or 13 km/h) and perhaps as high as 9 knots under oars.
Square-rigged sails were used for power when the ship was not engaged
Ships of that time were built primarily of combustible materials (wood, cloth, hemp,
and pitch), and so fire was a devastating weapon against them.