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Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC
Thesis (MA) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1993.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2012
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| _version_ | 1867614121123381250 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Fawcett, Nigel |
| author2 | Zietsman, Christoff |
| author_browse | Fawcett, Nigel Zietsman, Christoff |
| author_facet | Zietsman, Christoff Fawcett, Nigel |
| author_sort | Fawcett, Nigel |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1993. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/57864 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:47:00.249Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/57864 Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC Fawcett, Nigel Zietsman, Christoff Cornelius, Izaak Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History. Seafaring life -- Mediterranean Region -- History Seafaring life -- Aegean Sea -- History Mediterranean Region -- Antiquities Dissertations -- Classical culture Thesis (MA) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1993. This thesis covers the development of the seagoing ship in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean from the second millennium BC to the era of the "long" warship and the "round" merchant vessel, both of which evolved in the age of expansion in the first millennium.Bronze Age sources are very limited, consisting mainly of crude drawings of galleys depicted on tomb reliefs or other durable material and a few primitive ship models. By the first half of the first millennium sources, both iconographic and literary, had become far more available and revealing, deriving mainly from contemporary pictures on Greek black and red figure vases supplemented by the literary epics of the poet Homer. Valuable additional source material has emerged in recent years in the form of actual wrecks of ships excavated by marine archaeologists from the seabeds of the eastern Mediterranean. These wrecks have enabled maritime historians and researchers to study at first hand the mysteries of ancient ship construction. The thesis begins with a description and evaluation of the various sources available, mainly Greek and Phoenician, these being the major seafaring peoples in the period under review.The second chapter consists of a historical background to this period with particular reference to ancient seafaring. The Mediterranean world underwent vast changes after the invasions of the so-called Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC. Previous seafaring peoples such as the Bronze Age Greeks, the Minoans and Mycenaeans, disappeared from the pages of history only to be succeeded by a new race of maritime Hellenes following the "Dark Ages" of the tenth and ninth centuries. During this time the Egyptians had also ceased to be a force to be reckoned with and Canaanite Ugarit had been destroyed, to be replaced by their descendants the Phoenicians, whose maritime supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean remained unchallenged until the reappearance of the Greeks in the eighth century BC.The main body of the thesis is devoted to a detailed description of how ancient ships were constructed and propelled, using the principal sources available. Historical events helped to shape the evolution of both fighting and commercial vessels, particularly in an age when men were leaving the shores of their native lands to venture along the length and breadth of the Mediterranean Sea to distant settlements. This resulted in the growth of trade routes and the need for warships to protect them.Certain important sea-battles are described with emphasis on the tactics employed, particularly the use of the ram which led to the creation of the two and three-level man-of-war. A chapter has been allotted to the analysis of ancient wrecks which have been excavated in the area under review, detailing how they were built as well as the types of cargo they carried. Though the practice of marine archaeology is in its infancy, the discovery of primary sources in the shape of actual ships has produced a mass of new evidence which is continually increasing. This has been enhanced by the discovery on the seabeds of other maritime artefacts such as anchors and certain ship's equipment. The excavation and study of ancient harbour works has added much to our knowledge of shipping and trade in the ancient world, and sections have been devoted to both these subjects.The manning of both long and round ships, their sails and rigging, how they were navigated and the cargoes and passengers that they carried, make up the final chapters. In conclusion one notes that a work of this nature must be continually up-dated, and it is hoped that enough interest will be created in the subject so that on-going studies can continue in due course. Masters 2012-08-27T11:38:42Z 2012-08-27T11:38:42Z 1993 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/57864 en Stellenbosch University 230 pages : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Seafaring life -- Mediterranean Region -- History Seafaring life -- Aegean Sea -- History Mediterranean Region -- Antiquities Dissertations -- Classical culture Fawcett, Nigel Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC |
| title | Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC |
| title_full | Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC |
| title_fullStr | Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC |
| title_short | Aspects of seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean from the end of the Bronze Age to 480 BC |
| title_sort | aspects of seafaring in the eastern mediterranean from the end of the bronze age to 480 bc |
| topic | Seafaring life -- Mediterranean Region -- History Seafaring life -- Aegean Sea -- History Mediterranean Region -- Antiquities Dissertations -- Classical culture |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/57864 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fawcettnigel aspectsofseafaringintheeasternmediterraneanfromtheendofthebronzeageto480bc |