Ancient Ships Research Articles

Some Observations on the Strength of Viking Ship Rudders

Technical papers which attempt to analyse historic and ancient ship structures using modern techniques appear only spasmodically in today’s learned engineering journals. There could be many good reasons for this; the lack of commercial incentives, the paucity of accurate engineering data and perhaps a certain reluctance to cross into an area which is rightly the province of the nautical archaeologist. This, in the author’s view is a pity since simplified analytical techniques of the type routinely used in design offices can offer useful cost-effective insights into the physical behaviour of historic ships and craft, without endangering the physical reconstruction or its crew. In addition as the input data are often only loosely defined, less sophisticated methods are ideal for conducting “data-sensitivity” investigations. One such paper (Loscombe, 2022) described efforts to apply modern local and global structural design methods to Viking-age ships with a view to establishing plausible operational factors of safety for comparison with modern requirements. This follow-up contribution continues with the theme by focusing on the rudder. Rudder failure can endanger any ship, ancient, medieval or modern but the Viking ship rudder has a number of structural features not found on modern vessels which invite retrospective stress analyses. One component in particular, the lower bearing in modern terminology, appears to have a very short operational life, measured in days rather than years as is the expectation for today’s marine vehicles and hence the Viking ship rudder is a good candidate for such simplified numerical analyses.

Consolidation and Dehydration Effects of Mildly Degraded Wood from Luoyang Canal No. 1 Ancient Ship

To ensure the conservation of waterlogged archaeological wood, sustainable, safe, and effective methods must be implemented, with consolidation and dehydration being crucial for long-term preservation to maintain dimensional stability and structural integrity. This study compares the permeability of 45% methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and 45% trehalose solutions to evaluate the dimensional changes, hygroscopicity, and mechanical properties of treated wood. Since the collected samples (from an ancient ship, Luoyang Canal No. 1) were mildly degraded, the drying method had a slight impact on the properties of archaeological wood. Consolidated with trehalose and MTMS agents, the longitudinal compressive strength of the waterlogged wood’s cell walls increased by 66.8% and 23.5%, respectively. Trehalose proved to be more advantageous in filling pores and reducing overall shrinkage, while MTMS significantly reduced the hygroscopicity and surface hydrophilicity of the wood substance. Overall, the MTMS treatment has a smaller effect on the appearance of samples, making it more suitable for the consolidation of mildly degraded waterlogged archaeological wood.

Chronicles of the sea

This publication attempts to present the history of the sailing ships development, from ancient times to the present day. It is almost impossible to present the development history of such an important technological achievement in a few pages, so we only focus on the most significant turning points in the publication. We present the ancient ships, the long ships of the Vikings, the shipbuilding techniques of the age of great geographical discoveries. We analyse the characteristics of line of ships, which greatly influenced the battles of the great powers of the world. Finally, we give a small overview of currently used sailing ship technologies.

Evaluation of Deterioration Degree of Archaeological Wood from Luoyang Canal No. 1 Ancient Ship

This study provides a detailed investigation of archaeological wood samples from the Luoyang Canal No. 1 site, focusing on wood species identification, physical properties, mechanical property analyses, and morphological examination. The identified wood species, belonging to the Ulmus genus, exhibited a 43% decline in compressive strength in waterlogged environments. Further, the wood exhibited increased moisture content, higher porosity, reduced basic density, and elevated shrinkage rates, indicating a mild level of degradation. X-ray diffraction was employed for the observation of cellulose structure, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) demonstrated significant removal of cellulose and hemicellulose components. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding wood degradation mechanisms to evaluate structural integrity and durability in guiding the development of effective preservation strategies for archaeological wood artifacts. Continued research and conservation are crucial to deepen our knowledge of wood deterioration processes and enhance the implementation of preservation techniques.

New Perceptions of Ancient Commerce Driven by Underwater Ancient Site Investigations: A Case Study of Xinfeng River Basin

In the 1950s and 1960s, to address the flooding issues and power shortage that hindered national construction, the Xinfeng River hydropower plant was planned and built to prevent floods, store water, and generate electricity. Consequently, many ancient ruins in the study area were drowned, including ancient post roads, channels, villages, towns, bridges, and other relic sites. By checking historical data and adopting integrated underwater acoustic detection, we conducted a comprehensive cultural-relics survey on the flooded area under Wanlv Lake in the Xinfeng River Basin. A side-scan sonar detection of the underwater relics within the flooded area confirmed the spatial distribution of cultural relics in the Xinfeng River Basin. It portrayed ancient people’s production and life scenarios, outlined the migration and trade history within the region and beyond, and contributed to the enrichment of the literature and understanding of ancient shipping and trade in the basin.

Comparison of Different Methods for Ancient Ship Calm Water Resistance Estimation

The remains of ancient ships from various time periods are commonly found on land and under the sea in conditions that make it difficult to reconstruct their original form and structure. For this reason, the reconstruction should be supported by other data, such as data on similar ships, but also by certain assumptions. The results of the reconstruction are significant not only in a historical sense but are of exceptional importance when building floating replicas. Two ships, Nin 1 and Nin 2, today for promotional purposes known as Condurae Croaticae, were found in Nin (Croatia) at the end of the 1960s. They are about 8 to 10 m long, and tentatively dated to the 11th century AD, although there are indications that they could be dated two centuries later. Based on archaeological finds exhibited in the Museum of Nin Antiquities, hull line drawings were created, according to which two floating replicas were made at the end of the 1990s. Considering the problem of hogging that appeared in both ships, a new proposal for the reconstruction of the original hull lines was performed based on the available documentation. The aim of this paper is a systematic analysis of its calm water resistance. Based on the established credibility of experimental testing, a scale model (1:4 ratio) of the Nin 1 vessel is constructed and evaluated through towing tank experiments. The second approach, the CFD method, is a reliable numerical method for calm resistance estimation, but it is rarely used in the analysis of ancient ships. Finally, the widely used empirical Holtrop method is also applied, but it was developed for ships of larger dimensions and with large parts of flat bottoms and, therefore, the more appropriate Delft Hull Yacht Series method is also tested. The results obtained by applying the four mentioned methods are compared and discussed.

Blastobotrys nigripullensis, a new yeast species isolated from a fungal outbreak on an ancient Roman shipwreck in the Netherlands.

A new species of the yeast genus Blastobotrys was discovered on ancient ship timbers in the Netherlands. The species had developed on the wood of a river barge dating to the Roman period. The growth occurred after the preservative polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000) was washed out of some of the timbers due to an undetected leak in the storage unit. Mycological analysis of various timber samples revealed the presence of Microascus melanosporus (predominant), Microascus paisii, a member of the Acremonium chrysogenum-clade, and a new Blastrobotrys species. The new species produced sporothrix-like conidiophores with clavate blastoconidia (3-7 × 1-3.5μm) and was found to be osmotolerant, capable of growth on low water activity media like malt yeast 50% glucose agar (MY50G). In this article we formally describe and introduce Blastrobotrys nigripullensis (CBS 17879T) based on its morphology, physiology and phylogenetic placement.

Identification and analysis of ancient ship wood excavated at Nantong hydraulic site

The Nantong Ancient Ship refers to an ancient Chinese wooden ship of the late Ming Dynasty excavated in Nantong city in December 2022. This paper identifies the wood and discusses its related analysis. Wood samples extracted from the Nantong Ancient Ship were studied from the viewpoints of anatomy, physics, and chemistry. Microscopic identification results concluded that willow and Chinese fir were the main wood species used to make this ship. The content of holocellulose in the ancient wood was only 37.9 to 38.9%, while the content of lignin was 55.2 to 56.4%. The cellulose crystallinity of ancient wood was 39 to 42% lower than that of healthy recent wood. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed that the deterioration of ancient wood caused cellulose and hemicellulose degradation, but no apparent lignin alteration. The results could provide a basis for drawing up a conservation plan for the Nantong Ancient Ship. They could also provide a reference for the research and conservation of other archaeological shipwrecks in China.

The mythological element of water in the works of V. P. Astafyev and Zhang Wei

Mythological elements play an important role in Chinese and Russian literature. Both the Russian writer V. P. Astafуev and the Chinese writer Zhang Wei show a great interest in myth in their works. Mythological imagery and associations become an important part of their artistic approach. The mythological element of water is one of the key imagies in the works of Astafуev and Zhang Wei. Through the analysis of the water mythologeme in their works, we have identified similarities and differences in the image of water in Chinese and Russian literature. The subject of this particular comparative study is the symbolic and mythological significance of water as the origin and resurrection of life in V. P. Astafуev’s novel „The King Fish” and Zhang Wei’s novel „The Ancient Ship”.

Miniature as a Source of Information about Russian Shipbuilding Culture of the 15th—17th Centuries

The article is devoted to the study of images of boats in Russian chronicles and hagiographic miniatures of the 15th—17th centuries. Shipbuilding is an important component of Russian culture. Thus, the emergence and evolution of water transport contributed to the development of fishing, trade relations and various cultural and historical processes. Over the centuries-old history of navigation and shipbuilding, the image of a ship has acquired a sacred meaning for human. Ship motifs were at the centre of many outstanding works of fine art, literature and music. Images of ships and boats were widespread in chronicle and hagiographic miniatures. They contain a huge layer of visual information for the study of shipbuilding culture. It is visual information that is the main one for studying shipbuilding, which determines the relevance of the issue.The inclusion of miniatures in the context of the study of shipbuilding makes it possible to obtain information about the methods and technologies used in the manufacture of a water vehicle, an idea of the external appearance of the vessel, what changes it has undergone, what watercrafts were typical for a particular area in a certain period of time, etc.The novelty of the research solution is in the fact that the author, having carried out the detailed analysis of the images of ships and boats presented on Russian miniatures of the 15th—17th centuries, revealed the design features of the depicted vessels and established that the prototypes for the images were real ships that sailed in the 15th—17th centuries.The article examined water vehicles presented in the miniatures of the Koenigsberg (Radziwill) Chronicle of the 15th century, the Illuminated Compiled Chronicle of the 16th century, the Illuminated Collection of the Lives of the Vologda Saints of the 17th century, the Hagiography of Anthony of Siya of the 17th century. Moreover, the last two sources were involved in the study of the shipbuilding tradition of Russia for the first time. The author established that the images of ships in miniatures can be used as sources for studying the technologies of construction of ships of various types that existed in Medieval Russia, as well as for reconstruction of ancient ships.

Study on the Wood Characteristics of the Chinese Ancient Ship Luoyang I.

Luoyang No.1 is a Qing Dynasty (1644-1902) inland river ancient wooden shipwreck discovered in September 2013. It adds significantly to the study of Grand Canal transport history and Luoyang's economic history. The wood characteristics of Luoyang No.1 were investigated in this study using chemical compositions, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nano-indentation (NI), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the holocellulose content was only 32.84-37.69%, indicating that the cellulose and hemicellulose had been seriously degraded. Based on the XRD pattern, the degree of crystallinity of cellulose in wood ranged from 19.82 to 22.83%. The nano-indentation demonstrated that compared with the undegraded contemporary wood, the elastic modulus and hardness of the ancient ship wood decreased by 45.5% and 32.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the FTIR spectra revealed that the biological deterioration of ancient wood was indicated by a decrease in the peaks related to cellulose and hemicellulose, but the change in lignin was insignificant. The results could provide knowledge for appropriate dewatering, strengthening, restoration strategies and regulation of the museum environment.

Windward Sailing in Antiquity: The Elephant in the Room

The study of windward sailing in antiquity is subject to discord, misunderstandings and misinterpretations. This paper attempts to broaden the understanding of windward sailing by revisiting the theoretical basis of windward sailing, performing a critical review of previous works, reconstructing historic passages with new methods to re-evaluate them being considered as unfavourable wind passages, and considering the ancient mariner’s limits of windward sailing. It is suggested that ancient ships had less windward capability than commonly perceived, and that the limits of the ancient mariners were more restrictive than ships’ technological windward capabilities, highlighting the necessity to consider practical windward capabilities.

Watertight Compartment Fujian Ancient Ship Art Value and Extended Development Take the "Hei Bo Wu Qing An" ship type as an example

As the "Cultural Capital of East Asia" and one of the starting points of the Maritime Silk Road, Quanzhou has nurtured a long-standing maritime culture, and the prosperity of maritime trade cannot be achieved without exquisite shipbuilding techniques.In July 2021, "Quanzhou: China's World Maritime Trade Center in the Song and Yuan Dynasties" was successfully declared a World Heritage Site. More and more local intangible cultural heritage in Quanzhou is being paid attention to and protected, and the watertight, compartmentalized Fujian ancient ship is one of them. The Fujian ancient boat is the Quanzhou people's contribution to maritime culture, with deep cultural heritage, a major invention of China's ancient shipbuilding technology, high artistic and aesthetic value, and a unique connotation; we must excavate and protect it as part of our intangible cultural heritage. In order to better understand the connotation of watertight compartment Fujian ancient ships, the author conducted several field studies in Fengwei Town and Quanzhou City, the birthplace of watertight compartment Fujian ancient ships. This paper explores the artistic value of Fujian's ancient boats in Quanzhou, Fujian, and their extended development from the perspective of art design.

Characteristics of Ancient Ship Wood from Taicang of the Yuan Dynasty.

In this study, wood samples extracted from the Taicang ancient ship, dating back to the Yuan Dynasty, were investigated to study the characteristics of waterlogged archaeological wood. The macroscopic characteristics and microscopic structures were used to identify the wood species. To assess the degree of degradation of the waterlogged archaeological wood, X-ray diffraction (XRD), nanoindentation (NI), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to compare the new and ancient wood samples from the same species. The microscopic structures of the samples were identified as Pinus massoniana. The XRD and nanoindentation results revealed that the crystallinity index of the cellulose decreased from 41.07% to 33.85%, the elastic modulus was reduced by 20.90%, and hardness was reduced by 55.6% compared with the new wood. The FTIR spectra revealed that biological deterioration occurred in the cellulose and hemicellulose, but there was no noticeable change in the lignin content. These results provide helpful information for the conservation and restoration of ancient ships.

The Art of Ancient Ship

The Art of Ancient Ship

Yenikapı 27 Batığı: Gemi Elemanları, Yapım Tekniği ve Yapısal Özellikler

Yenikapı (YK) 27 shipwreck was uncovered by salvage excavations conducted by the Istanbul Archaeology Museum between 2004 and 2013 at Yenikapı, Istanbul. The vessel, most probably a merchant ship from the 8th and 9th centuries AD, was one of the 37 boat remains found at the site where Thedosian Harbour was situated in the Byzantine period. The principal structural components of the ship’s hull including the keel, bottom planks, and most of the floor timbers were found intact, however the upper structure above the waterline level and rigging are not survived. This study analyzes the construction technique and structural features of the vessel based on a detailed post-excavation examination of the wooden hull members; its construction features have been evaluated within the framework of development of shipbuilding traditions in the Mediterranean and by comparisons with other contemporaneous wrecks. As the condition of wreck’s surviving hull members is exceptional, its examination provides a better understanding of important details that might help to explain the profound change that occurred in Mediterranean shipbuilding during the early medieval period. Rarely seen framing pattern and non-edge fastened planking strakes are the major features that make YK 27 different from other ancient ship hulls. General characteristics of the ship suggest that it was built with a distinctive understanding of shipbuilding combined with ancient and early medieval traditions.

From Lu Town and Wei Zhuang of Inferiority to Wali Town of Misery -- on the Acceptance Theory of Xun Lu’s Rural Novels by the Ancient Ship from the Perspective of Time and Space

Villages and towns are unique cultural spaces in Chinese society, carrying specific cultural and power structure. Wei Zhang's description of the countryside accepted the rural factors in Xun Lu's novels and put forward new changes under the background of economic reform and urbanization in the new era. This paper firstly presents the folklore and ancient metaphors in Lu Town - Wei Zhuang and Wali Town from the spatial perspective and discusses the characters and their traits nurtured in the towns. In the second part, the tensions between the roles of the squire and the underclass, the basic power and the clan power, and the male power and the female power are analyzed in the context of the power structure of the countryside. There are also comparisons between the images and fates of characters portrayed by Lu and by Zhang. The third section focuses on the individuals’ contradictory mentality in the process of urbanization. Through The Ancient Ship, Zhang criticizes the remaining brutality of the countryside and points out its future through suffering and confusion. By comparing the writings on the countryside of Lu and Zhang from a spatial and temporal context, we can learn about social changes in different times and the writers’ thoughts on the humanity in different political settings.

«Археология и Крымская война. Эпизоды»: материалы подводных исследований и опыт создания выставки в Государственном музее-заповеднике «Херсонес Таврический»

During excavations on the territory of the Heraclean Peninsula and during underwater research in the bays of Sevastopol, archaeologists are faced with a large number of materials related to one of the most ambitious and, without exaggeration, tragic events of the mid-XIX century – the Eastern (Crimean) War, more precisely, with episodes of its Crimean campaign in 1854–1855. The territory of the State Museum-Reserve «Tauric Chersonese» was the scene of this military confrontation, which directly affected the conduct of archaeological work on the territory of Chersonesos and the fate of its researchers. The ancient ruins, or so called «ancient foundations», marked on military maps next to the positions and locations of the troops, were the scenery for this drama. The enemy ships anchored in the bays of the Heracleian Peninsula – the places of ancient harbors. By sea, following the ancient shipping routes, the supply of troops was carried out, the individual episodes of battles unfolded in the coastal waters. Underwater archaeological finds of this period, which have preserved a lot of interesting and unique information, are rather poorly represented in museum expositions. The study of the Crimean War from the point of archeology view is a very promising direction for further research. How and by whom the excavations were conducted during the war, and what the Crimean War left for researchers in the archaeological sense, are only the main topics of possible research. The study of literature and sources, archaeological finds serve as an additional confirmation of this.

Appunti per lo studio dell’impatto delle attività di navigazione sulla diffusione degli elementi culturali nel Mediterraneo Occidentale dell’età del Bronzo

The maritime dimension of the different cultures which archaeological research has defined over the years on the shores of the Mediterranean is often considered one of the most interesting elements for understanding how people moved around the Mediterranean basin during ancient times. Particularly for prehistory the need for a better investigation of the naval and nautical dimension of ancient peoples appears nowadays to be extremely urgent due to a lack of information about the Western Mediterranean that determined the birth of a diffusionist theory in accordance with the now surpassed ex oriente lux-theory. The recent development of naval archaeology as a proper discipline, and not just as a branch of maritime archaeology or commercial history, allows us to adopt a new paradigm. The possibility to examine a good number of wrecks as well as the naval iconography of the Mediterranean in the light of the knowledge we have about ancient naval technology is the base of our capability to propose a new interpretation of both the origins and the development of the ancient maritime networks that linked all peoples living around the Mediterranean coasts during the Bronze Age. On the one hand, the study of ancient ships and naval structures permits us to recognise different local traditions that originated in different places as well as to follow their development over the centuries. Further, by tracing their key elements we are able to recognise how and when some of these different traditions started to overlap or disappeared. On the other hand, the analysis of the nautical dimension of the different “cultures” of the Mediterranean, including their maritime commercial activities, nautical technology and wider relationship with the sea, permits us to recognise how, when and why we can start speaking about Levantine and Aegean maritime supremacy in the West. Far from proposing a complete interpretation of these phenomena, this paper will point to the role naval archaeology can play in the study of cultural interactions in the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age. The main aim is to pose some new questions in order to surpass the utilitaristic misuse of the naval dimension of ancient Mediterranean peoples that lived around the Mediterranean shores. This is often at the base of many misinterpretations of the naval role of the great eastern realms as well as of the small local communities of the West.

Переосмысление ценностных установок китайского социалистического реализма в романе Чжан Вэя «Старый корабль»

The article conducts a re-evaluation of values of Chinese socialist realism using Zhang Wei's novel “Ancient Ship” (1986) as an example. The novel’s key characters are analyzed in detail, while taking into consideration the values and semantic structures of earlier Chinese novels, the so-called “Red classics” of the 1950s. The narrative’s land reform taking place in rural China is used as a significant example of the re-evaluation of socialist realism’s values and their direction, in comparison with Ding Ling’s “The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River” (1948). Using specific examples, the article reveals that the main directions of the re-evaluation of socialist realism’s values are the author’s critique of the so-called “revolutionary history”, which is demonstrated as being inseparable from violence, chaos, and pursuing personal and clan interests. Zhang Wei achieves this through a series of narrative and descriptive creative strategies. The findings presented in the article are aimed at demonstrating that the “revolutionary history” is not only an important topic in contemporary Chinese literature, but also serves as a way for writers to deal with “revolutionary history” changes alongside new developments in Chinese literature.