"The wreck of a pleasure boat from the 1st century A.D. has been discovered off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. It is the first one of these luxurious ancient yachts from the Roman period to be found in Egypt. The wreck was found off the island of Antirhodos, site of Ptolemaic palace which was submerged in an earthquake in 365 A.D."
"The hull of the boat was found 23 feet under the water's surface buried under five feet of sediment, which helped preserve it largely intact. The ship was originally about 35 meters (115 feet) long and seven meters (23 feet) wide, and 28 meters (92 feet) of the hull survives. There were no sails, so the boat was entirely man-powered, requiring around 20 rowers to propel."
"Less elaborate ones were used by government officials for administrative business, also for religious ceremonies, community festivals and as houseboats. An inscription in Greek carved on one of the structural reinforcement beams date the vessel to the first half of the 1st century A.D. and indicate that it was built in Alexandria. It sank close to the Temple of Isis, which was destroyed in an earthquake in 50 A.D."
A largely intact 1st-century A.D. pleasure boat was discovered off Antirhodos, Alexandria, buried under five feet of sediment about 23 feet below the surface. The vessel measured roughly 35 meters long and seven meters wide, with 28 meters of hull preserved. The flat, broad hull supported a central cabin with luxurious appointments and relied on about twenty rowers because it had no sails. The vessel type, a thalamegos, served as palatial Nile barges and as administrative, religious, festival, and houseboat craft. A Greek inscription dates the craft to the first half of the 1st century A.D. and locates its construction in Alexandria. The wreck lies near the Temple of Isis and may have sunk in an earthquake around 50 A.D., possibly during ritual processions such as the navigatio iside.
Read at www.thehistoryblog.com
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