SHIP NOTES
Reconstructing the Greek Trireme by John Coates
GREEK TRIREME - 5~ CENTURY
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-~ The trireme was the first-rater of the ancient Mediterranean from the sixth to the third century BC. It was the mainstay of the Greek fleet which under the Athenian , Themistocles , saved Hellas from the Persians at the battle of Salamis in the year 480 BC. The Athenians excelled in building fine triremes and in skillfully maneuvering them in battle . Grown great on sea power, Athens developed the ideas, literature and arts that have formed the basis of our Western civilization. Yet the ships which were the key to that immortal achievement have remained obscure. How they were built and worked had bee n forgotten by the fifth century AD. Scholars have puzzled over this riddle ever since because no remains of a trireme have yet been found . These questions may now at last have been solved by pooling the knowledge and techniques of three separate disciplines---classical scholarship , underwater archaeology and modern warship design. John Morrison , lately President of Wolfson College , Cambridge , England , has assembled over a working lifetime all known ancient literary and pictorial data about Greek oared ships. Since World War II underwater archaeologists working in the Mediterranean have established how ancient ships were built. The author, a retired naval constructor interested in the design of ships in the past , took as criteria for the ship design information about triremes available from John Morrison and others , together with that provided recently by archaeologists. In then designing a navigable and safe ship to meet those criteria , 36
he found that there was fundamentally on ly one feasible design. The design work showed , among other things , that ballast was not necessary for stabi lity in spite of the three superimposed levels of oarsmen. Because lightness and agility were so important for success in ramming battles, triremes were not likely to have been ballasted in normal operations. It follows that triremes would not have sunk to the botto m after being rammed. Calculations indicate that when swamped they would lie in the water lolling on one outrigger or the other, immobilised and hors de combat. There is literary evidence that this is what happened , and many triremes were towed away by the victors . The Trireme Trust was formed in Britain on the initiative of Frank Welsh , a merchant banker, and in 1983 at the National Maritime Museum , Greenwich , the design was exposed to criticism from all those who had published papers in the field and were able to attend. Representatives of Greek national institutions attended the discussions* and about six months later the Trust was delighted to hear the announcement of substantial Greek fundin g for the Project on the understanding that the trireme be built in Greece under the aegis of the Hellenic Navy. The Trust will maintain and , it is hoped , broaden international collaboration in funding the Project, while remaining responsible for design and development for the vessel .
* Now published by the museum- address , London SEIO 9NF.
Having completed the building drawings and ship specifications, the Trust is building a 5.5m - long full-scale hull section in England to provide some practice in the ancient methods of construction and to develop techniques. Hull joints have been tested because the trireme is a light, slender and highly stressed ship. Models of the ram and high-curving stem are being constructedthe latter, to investigate planking techniques. Experiments are being conducted to examine the mechanics of stretching and tightening the heavy rope tendon running from stem to stem. The arrangement of the three banks of oars has already been proven workable in a manned full-scale mock-up with four oars (two on the middle level). The Athens Polytechnic is carrying out hull resistance tests. The Trust and the Hellenic Navy are confident that this program will ensure the success of the vessel. This project is probably by far the most audacious historical ship reconstruction ever attempted, in length , in development, in speed underoars (and under sail, too , in a fair wind), and in the training of a crew of 200. Operating the trireme will teach much about the realities of navies in a most important period of history and fill a large gap in our knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world . The ship will be a most graceful sight to be enjoyed by natives and visitors alike in Greece. Sappho, the Greek poet of the sixth century BC , wrote, "A host of ships is the most beautiful thing, some say, on the face of the dark earth." The Trireme Trust in collaboration with the Greek government aims to put the most famous and refined of their kind back on the Aegean Sea. Plans call for the ship's building to start in Greece shortly with completion in September 1986. The replica will normally be kept on land and under cover, as were triremes in ancient times . Eventually it is hoped that the reconstruction will be housed in a ship shed and slipway modelJed on ancient plans , to be built in the planned Hellenic Maritime Museum at Phaleron near Athens . It will not only make a breathtaking exhibit on land but also at sea. The project will cost about $600,000 to complete including research and development. Her permanent home in an authentic shed will probably call for a further $200,000. About $400,000 (or 50 percent of the target) has been pledged to date. The Trireme Trust is seeking funds and sponsors worldwide to enable a unique and historically important enterprise to go forward. Inquiries may be made and donations will be gratefully received: The Trireme Trust, c/o Air Vice-Marshal Peter Turner, Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB , England . J,
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SEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1985