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[German version] In recent decades, underwater archaeology has enabled the discovery and investigation of well over 1,200 shipwrecks in littoral areas of the Mediterranean and the Roman provinces, dating from 1500 BC to AD 1200. The number of shipwreck find sites continues to grow considerably thanks to the exploration, which began around 1990, of deeper waters of the Mediterranean using special submersible craft. Only shipwrecks discovered in inshore waters at depths of up to 40 m have hitherto been sufficientl…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt Due to the lack of original finds from most regions of the ancient Orient, little can be said about shipbuilding, except for Egypt. The fact that many Syrians were employed in Egyptian shipyards and that a ship (from around 1300 BC) fo…

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[German version] Towards the end of the Roman Republic the liburna was the pirate ship of the Illyrian people of the Liburnians ( Liburni, Liburnia; cf. App. B Civ. 2,39; App. Ill. 3; cf. Veg. Mil. 4,33,4). Pompey [I 3] appears to have been the first who, in the course of his battles against the pirates, mobilized these vessels in 67 BC in the interests of Rome; Appianus characterized them as light and fast sailing long-boats. The liburna already played an important part in the Civil War against Caesar (Caes. B Civ. 3,5,3; 3,9,1; Plut. Pompey 64,1; Plut. Cato Minor 54,5) and then particularly in the battle of C. Octavius (the later Augustus) against M. Antonius [I 9] (Prop. 3,11,44; Plut. Antonius 67,2-4; Prudent. Contra Symmachum 2,530 f.; Veg. Mil. 4,33,2). In the period following, the …

[German version] The Latin word saccarius describes both the sack-makers and traders in sacks as well as the dockworkers who were responsible for the loading and unloading of cargo ships in the ports (Dig. 18,1,40,3); besides saccarii, the terms baiuli and geruli are also commonly found in the literary tradition (in Greek σακκοφόροι/ sakkophóroi and φορτηγοί/ phortēgoí ('porter')). In various towns the saccarii set up collegia ( C ollegium [1]) or corpora (ILS 7292); the phalangarii or falancarii…

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