Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World

by Lionel Casson

Book Overview

Lionel Casson's encyclopedic study is the first of its kind to use underwater archaeological data to refine and area of scholarship that had, for the most part, relied on ancient texts and graphic representations. Tracing the history of early ships and seamanship from pre-dynastic Egypt to the Roman empire, from skiffs and barges to huge oared warships and royal yachts, Casson describes not only the ships themselves, but also the make-up and training...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801851300
• ISBN13: 9780801851308
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Everything there is to know

If you are turned off by foot notes that take at times three quarters of the page, don't get it. This is a scientific work, but never dull.

Absolute must for nautical archaeology

Casson's book is an essential read for anyone interesting in the history of seafaring. It has been used as a text for nautical archaeology for decades now and has a well-deserved reputation for clarity and completeness. I noticed that the other reviewer of this text took exception to the inclusion of original Greek and Latin sources. In fact, the inclusion of these texts, along with the publication of often hard-to-find illustrations, is one of the great strengths of Casson's book. For those interested in seeing what the ancients actually wrote, Casson has saved us searching the texts out ourselves.