Ancient Roman Ships

Roman ships were crucial in times of battle. The ships were typically made of wood, and

the ships were water-proofed using pitch and paint. The ships had sails and oars used to push the

vessels through the water. There were ships that had specific names based on the structure of the

boat. The trireme was a ship that had multiple levels of rowers. The trireme was typically used in

battle to ram into enemy ships. The largest type of ships were quinqueremes. This ship contained

three banks of rowers. There were around 300 oars in total. The ships were built for speed and

quickness, so they were usually packed, lightweight, and without room for storage (1).

The success of land campaigns was helped by the effort of military supremacy. The

Roman naval fleet aided in bringing supplies to the soldiers on land. The naval fleet was helpful

because they could bring the supplies in a short time period. The ships were also able to blockade

ports under enemy control. There were certain downfalls to naval warfare. The weather was a

factor that determined whether or not naval warfare was successful. The time period between

April through November limited the amount of naval campaigns that could take place. The

Romans had certain tactics that they used during naval battles. Their method of naval warfare

was different from the method of the earlier Greeks. The Roman ships were first used to

transport troops. During battles, Roman ships made use of their bronze-wrapped rams. Steering

the large vessels was difficult because the oars were hard to handle. When the rowers were trying

to steer the ship, they would sometimes accidently propel the ship forward, and this caused the

ship to come in close quarters with the enemy (1).

Roman ships had other uses than naval warfare. The ships were used for trade across the

sea. The city’s growing need for food supplies and necessary items was the reason for this trade.

The increasing use of ships meant that the Romans produced ships of the best quality. The
Romans ran into pirates when they traveled on trade routes, so the Romans had to start protecting

these trade routes. Roman conquests began to shift more towards lands in the south around the

third century. These lands had wealth that was based on sea trade and naval strength. An

example of one of these cities was Anzio, which is towards Naples. The Romans had to keep up

with these wealthy cities by developing their own naval fleet. The Romans used the Etruscan,

Greek, and Carthaginian ships as an example when they were building their own ships. The

Etruscans, Greeks, and Carthaginians dominated sea routes before Roman expansion into the

Mediterranean (3).

Rome gained control over the southern tip of the Italian peninsula fairly quickly through

overland battle and naval battle. Once Rome had control over the southern tip of the Italian

peninsula, the Etruscans and Greeks were no longer a threat to Rome, however Rome was not

able to avoid battle with the Carthaginians. Carthage and Rome attempted to make treaties, but

they were not successful. “The need to ensure food supplies through Sicily as well as the lure of

commercial trade with the Orient were too much for Rome to disregard,” (3). Carthage had

dominion over the Mediterranean trade routes because their naval power was superior to the

naval power of Rome (3).

The process of building a Roman ship was time consuming and taxing. The early ship

builders built the outer hall first, and then they continued with making the frame. After the frame

was constructed, the rest of ship was built. The planks that were on the outside of the ship had to

be sewn together. Building a successful Roman ship required a lot of experience. Starting in the

sixth century B.C., the sewing method to join the planks together was replaced by the locked

mortise and tenon method. A couple centuries later, the majority of Mediterranean ship builders

shifted to another building method. The new method included building the frame of the ship first,
and then, the hull and the rest of the ship would be built. This allowed the Romans to construct

ships on an industrial scale (4).

The Romans had a love of games and festivals. The Colosseum was used for their

festivities and games. During these Roman festivities, the ships were not forgotten. The ships

were brought into the Colosseum, and naval battles were enacted in front of a crowd of people.

These reenactments of naval battles were known as naumachia. Condemned criminals were the

sailors in these reenactments. The first naumachia was given by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. The

reason for this naumachia was to celebrate the victories that he had achieved in Egypt. There

were sixteen large ships, two-thousand slaves, and four-thousand rowers that took part in this

reenactment of the battle between the Egyptians and the Tyrians. The second naumachia was

given by Emperor Augustus to celebrate the inauguration of the temple to the god, Mars.

Emperor Augustus wanted to make sure that his spectacle exceeded Julius Caesar’s spectacle.

The second naumachia was a reenactment of the Battle of Salamis. This real battle included the

Persian army attacking a weak Greek contingent off the island of Salamis. The soldiers were

dressed like Persians and Greeks in the sham naval battle (2, 3).

Roman merchant ships had a large role in the transporting of goods to other lands.

Merchant ships transported cargo full of agricultural goods. Some examples of the things they

transported were wine and grain from Egypt and olive oil from Greece. The merchant ships were

able to transport goods over long distances at a reasonable cost. The merchant ships differed

from the ships used in war because the merchant ships did not have to be light weight or fast.

This meant that the structure of merchant ships consisted of a V-shaped hull and a ballast which

rendered them more stable. This structure was different from the structure of the war ships. The

merchant ships usually used wind power for movement (4).

 Works Cited

1. https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Naval_Warfare/

2. https://earlychurchhistory.org/entertainment/naval-battles-in-the-colosseum/

3. http://mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/ancient_roman_ships.htm

4. http://www.romae-vitam.com/roman-ships.html