In Homer's Iliad, two very important vehicles are constantly mentioned. These are ships and chariots. The ships perform exclusively a transport function. No naval battles with their participation take place. It was on ships that the Achaean army reached the shores of the Troas. Moreover, these ships themselves are small in size, which is proved by the fact that they stand on the shore, supported by logs. Homer describes these ships as black-sided, that is, having a resinous hull. In the middle of the ship there is one mast with one straight sail and, in addition, it is also driven by oars. It is not the slaves who row, but the crew members themselves, and they are also warriors.
Replica "Argo".
As you know, there is a fresco depicting a ship from the Minoan era. True, this time was “long” before the Trojan War, but technologies then developed slowly. The example of Thor Heyerdahl turned out to be contagious here too, so here, four years before the Olympic Games in Athens, the Maritime Museum of Crete proposed to create a copy of the Minoan ship and carry the torch with the Olympic flame on it. He also organized financing and, in fact, the construction of the ship. The Ministry of Culture of Greece also supported the initiative, the scientific part of the project was decided to be developed by the specialists of the local research institute "NAUDOMO", which means "Institute for Research of Ancient Shipbuilding and Technology", and the work began. A team of enthusiasts, led by Vice Admiral Apostolos Curtis, also gathered immediately and analyzed all available information about the ships of the 15th century BC. NS. It included not only specialists in the field of naval history, but also literature, geography, computer technology, modellers and experienced reenactors.
They decided to name the ship "Minoa" and build it in Crete at an old Venetian shipyard. It is believed that the death of the Minoan civilization was the result of a catastrophic volcanic eruption near the modern island of Santorini: all of Crete was covered with ash, a giant wave formed after the explosion of the volcano reached the shores of neighboring Crete and washed away both the city and the village, and it also destroyed the legendary Minoan fleet … The surviving Minoans could not recover from the consequences of this cataclysm. Well, and then, at the beginning on Crete, and then on other islands, scientists found traces of a unique Minoan civilization. As for the island of Santorini, archaeologists have found many beautiful colored murals, which also included "sea scenes".
These frescoes were processed on a computer, with the help of which computer models of ships from the Minoan era were created. As a material for the construction available to the Minoans, they chose cypress, which has the hardest and most resinous wood. All technological processes and stages of construction of this Minoan ship were tried to be studied in advance on its 3D computer model. At the same time, according to calculations, the hull of the ship had to be shaped like a drop so that it would experience the least resistance to wind and waves. The length of the unireme, as the Greeks called such ships, which had only one row of oars, without a deck, with straight sails and a crew of 22 rowers, was supposed to be 17 m, and its width was only 4 m.
To begin with, a group of experienced modelers from the Cretan Maritime Museum made a smaller copy of the future ship in a 1: 5 scale and also from cypress trees, only of a smaller size. And then the team, armed with double-edged axes, saws, hand drills and other tools - copies of archaeological finds, set about making the ship.
Reconstruction of the Achaean ship (Type VI) by Peter Connolly.
Its keel was made from a cypress trunk 22 m long, with the stem and sternpost bent upwards. The hull itself was "sewn" from boards laid on the sides of the keel and tied with ropes. Only after that, frames were placed inside the skin, cut from solid cypresses, bent with collars and ropes in the same way as the keel. The case is waterproofed by coating with a mixture of resin and grease. In addition, the hull was also covered with several layers of well-resinated fabric, and after a year the work on the ship was completed.
Model of a Bronze Age merchant ship (circa 1150 BC), based on a "ship from Bodrum" raised from the seabed.
On December 1, 2003, he left the dock, was given a name, consecrated and raised the national Greek flag and pennants. It turned out that such a design of the vessel allowed it to "breathe" on the waves, and the bent upward and beveled stem made it convenient to approach the gentle banks, where it could be easily pulled out of the water. The anchor was made of stone with three holes for tying a rope and two horns made of stakes. In the very center were placed narrow transverse benches for rowers and an oak mast with a sail for a sail, made of dense woolen fabric. "Minoa" was supposed to sail in the same way as the Minoan ships sailed: from one island to another, without leaving a great distance from the coast, as did the ancient navigators. It was necessary to spend the night or wait out the bad weather in the ports along the route. The crew of the ship consisted of 24 strong young men, divided equally to row in turns. The speed on rowing was 2, 4 knots, and on oars and with the sail up, it was 3, 2 knots.
The team was first trained to row, after which on May 29, 2004 this replica set sail, and on June 24 it arrived at the port of Piraeus, where other replicas of ancient Greek ships gathered and where they all took part in the Olympic cultural program.
"Minoa" at the Museum in Chania.
Well, after the Olympic Games it was exhibited in the same Venetian dock in the city of Chania, in the Museum of the Minoan Ship, and in the branch of the Maritime Museum of Crete, where "Minoa" is located today.
Then a replica of the later and larger "Argo" was built, which in general also confirmed the expectations of its creators. That is, this ship was also distinguished by good seaworthiness and went well both on oars and under sail. Interestingly, according to legend, the crew of the "Argo" coincided with the number of people who could fit and work on this ship. So, reading Homer, and knowing this indicator, you can try to at least roughly calculate the number of Greeks who sailed to Troas.
Well, and they obviously brought the chariots with them, as well as the horses, then they collected them and … gave them to their leaders, who rode them onto the battlefield, loaded with bronze armor. So they saved their strength, and besides, they had a supply of spears for throwing and arrows for a bow. Chariot battles such as those fought between the Hittites and the Egyptians did not take place here. The Achaean Greeks had very few chariots and horses to operate in isolation from the main forces of their army.
Warriors on a chariot with darts in their hands. Image on a vessel from Tiryns.
As for their structure, outwardly they differ little from the Egyptian ones. Apparently, this was such a "trend" at that time. Two wheels with rims made of birch (why from birch is unknown, but what is from birch - for sure), a light fence at the belt level, a drawbar for two horses and a harness that allowed them to be harnessed to this chariot - that's all.
Mycenaean chariot. Modern renovation. (From: Fields N. Bronze age war chariot. Oxford: Osprey (New Vanguard series # 119). 2006.)
True, not a single chariot of the Mycenaean time has reached us (unlike the Egyptian ones), but on the other hand, there are plenty of drawings, so this is most likely the case.
A charioteer and a warrior wearing boar tusk helmets, reconstruction of a fresco from Pylos, 13th century. BC.
