Here are some images of Zvezda's 1/72 scale Roman Trireme.
Normally I refuse to build plastic ship kits but this kit was so interesting I couldn't resist.
One thing I've noticed about this kit is the use of 19th century rigging and deck planking.
Oh well these ships are mostly conjecture anyway.
From Wikipedia"
A trireme (derived from Latin: "tres remi:" "three-oar;" Greek Τριήρης, literally "three-oarer") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.
The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. The early trireme was a development of the penteconter, an ancient warship with a single row of 25 oars on each side, and of the bireme (Greek: διήρης), a warship with two banks of oars, probably of Phoenician origin. As a ship it was fast and agile, and became the dominant warship in the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC, when they were largely superseded by the larger quadriremes and quinqueremes. Triremes played a vital role in the Persian Wars, the creation of the Athenian maritime empire, and its downfall in the Peloponnesian War.
In English, no differentiation is made between the Greek triērēs and the Latin triremis.
This is sometimes a source of confusion, as in other languages these
terms refer to different styles of ships. Though the term today is used
almost exclusively for ancient warships, modern historians also refer to
medieval and early modern galleys with three banks of oars per side as
triremes.
The rowing arrangement of these differed considerably, though, since
knowledge of the multi-level structure of the original triremes was lost
some time during Late Antiquity.
The exact origin of the trireme is uncertain and debated, as our
evidence comes from literary sources, depictions in reliefs and pottery
fragments, which are open to misinterpretations. Depictions of
two-tiered ships (biremes), with or without the parexeiresia (the outriggers,
see below), are common in 8th century BC vases and pottery fragments,
and it is at the end of that century that the first references to
three-tiered ships are found. According to Thucydides, the trireme was introduced to Greece by the Corinthians in the late 8th century BC, and the Corinthian Ameinocles built four such ships for the Samians. Although this was interpreted by later writers, Pliny and Diodorus, to mean that triremes were invented in Corinth, it is likely that the earliest three-tiered warships originated in Phoenicia. Fragments from an 8th century relief at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh depicting the fleets of Tyre and Sidon have been interpreted as depicting two- and three-level warships, fitted with rams. The 2nd century Christian scholar Clement of Alexandria, drawing on earlier works, explicitly attributes the invention of the trireme (trikrotos naus, "three-tiered ship") to the Sidonians.
Based on all archeological evidence, the design of trireme surely
pushed the technological limits of the ancient world. After gathering
the proper timbers and materials it was time to consider the
fundamentals of the trireme design. These fundamentals included
accommodations, propulsion, weight and waterline, center of gravity and
stability, strength, and feasibility. All of these variables are
dependent on one another; however a certain area may be more important
than another depending on the purpose of the ship.
The arrangement and number of oarsmen is the first deciding factor in
the size of the ship. For a ship to travel at high speeds would require
a high oar-gearing, which is the ratio between the outboard length of
an oar and the inboard length; it is this arrangement of the oars which
is unique and highly effective for the trireme. The ports would house
the oarsmen with a minimal waste of space. There would be three files of
oarsmen on each side tightly but workably packed by placing each man
outboard of, and in height overlapping, the one below, provided that
thalamian tholes were set inboard and their ports enlarged to allow oar
movement. Thalamian is the English term for the Greek word, thalamios, which was the name of the oarsmen in the lowest file of the triereis; zygian is the English term for the Greek word, zygios, which were the oarsmen in the middle file of the triereis, and thranite is the English term for the Greek word, thranites,
which were the oarsmen in the uppermost file of the triereis. Tholes
were pins that acted as fulcrums to the oars that allowed them to move.
The center of gravity of the ship is low because of the overlapping
formation of the files that allow the ports to remain closer to the
ships walls. A lower center of gravity would provide adequate stability.
The trireme was constructed to maximize all traits of the ship to the
point where if any changes were made the design would be compromised.
Speed was maximized to the point where any less weight would have
resulted in considerable losses to the ship's integrity. The center of
gravity was placed at the lowest possible position where the Thalamian
tholes were just above the waterline which retained the ships resistance
to waves and the possible rollover. If the center of gravity were
placed any higher, the additional beams needed to restore stability
would have resulted in the exclusion of the Thalamian tholes due to the
reduced hull space. The purpose of the area just below the center of
gravity and the waterline known as the hypozomata was to allow bending
of the hull when faced with up to 90kN of force. The calculations of
forces that could have been absorbed by the ship are arguable because
there is not enough evidence to confirm the exact process of jointing
used in ancient times. In a modern reconstruction of the ship, a
polysulphide sealant was used to compare to the caulking that evidence
suggests was used; however this is also argued because there is simply
not enough evidence to authentically reproduce the triereis seams.
Triremes required a great deal of upkeep in order to stay afloat, as
references to the replacement of ropes, sails, rudders, oars and masts
in the middle of campaigns suggest.
They also would become waterlogged if left in the sea for too long. In
order to prevent this from happening, ships would have to be pulled from
the water during the night. The use of lightwoods meant that the ship
could be carried ashore by as few as 140 men.
Beaching the ships at night however, would leave the troops vulnerable
to surprise attacks. While well-maintained triremes would last up to 25
years, during the Peloponnesian War, Athens had to build nearly 20 triremes a year to maintain their fleet of 300.
The Athenian trireme had two great cables of about 47 mm in diameter and twice the ship's length called hypozomata
(undergirding), and carried two spares. They were possibly rigged fore
and aft from end to end along the middle line of the hull just under the
main beams and tensioned to 13.5 tonnes force. The hypozomata were considered important and secret: their export from Athens was a capital offence. This cable would act as a stretched tendon straight down the middle of the hull, and would have prevented hogging.
Additionally, hull plank butts would remain in compression in all but
the most severe sea conditions, reducing working of joints and
consequent leakage. The hypozomata
would also have significantly braced the structure of the trireme
against the stresses of ramming, giving it an important advantage in
combat.
9 comments:
Very nice kit, well done.
Always the "Roman Era" is really creative in war machines.
Thanks Pablo - I'd love to build a large scale wooden Trireme.
Love it! It's neat that you can tell the date of the borrowed rigging and deck planking. TIme for a book, Warren! "Models and History: What one can learn about life from a hobby."
This reminds me of that story of Julius Caesar getting kidnapped by pirates.
Thank Hanny - I have some books on planking and rigging techniques. Back then deck planks ran the length of the deck. It wasn't until much later on did the deck planks get shorter and skinnier. The reason for this is that they discovered that when they had to replace a deck plank it was more problematic than replacing only a section. As for the rigging, some of it bares a similarity to more modern rigging.
Hi Warren,
I am with my nephew and I really like your blog. It is very fond of World War II. Already have another follower.
Gracias Diego.
superb work , nice painting and original subject excellent warren congrats
Thanks Hubert. It's a fun model.
That's beautiful!
Dave
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