The ancient sailing season
By: by James Beresford
Series: Mnemosyne, supplements -- 351; History and archaeology of classical antiquity
Publisher: Brill
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 364
ISBN-13: 9789004223523; 9789004241947
Subjects: Ancient Naval history; Navigation; Sailing; History
Description: "Providing a comprehensive examination of the capacity of ancient ships and seafarers to cope with seasonally changing sea conditions, this book draws on a wide range of ancient literary sources while also taking account of modern weather records, hydrological data, and recent archaeological discoveries. Taking a fresh look at the various ways in which seasonality affected maritime transport across the sea-lanes of the ancient world, this book offers new perspectives on the nature of seaborne trade, naval warfare and piratical operations. The result is a volume that questions many long-held scholarly assumptions concerning the strength and seaworthiness of ancient vessels, as well as the abilities of Greek and Roman mariners, to regularly undertake voyages across hazardous stretches of sea"--P. [4] of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: the state of modern scholarship; title: The textual evidence; title: The Mediterranean climatic regime; title: Ships and sails; title: Navigation; title: The sailing season of the Indian Ocean; title: Ancient pirates and fishermen; title: Conclusion.