Ancient Roman Boats

Three Ancient Roman Boats Reconstructed in 3D

A team of researchers from Italy and France has made realistic 3D reconstructions of three wooden boats from the ancient Roman port of Ostia.

3D reconstructions of the three boat types found at Ostia: a fishing boat (left), a small sailboat (center) and a harbor lighter (right). Image credit: D. Peloso, Ipso Facto / P. Poveda, Centre Camille Jullian, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université.

3D reconstructions of the three boat types found at Ostia: a fishing boat (left), a small sailboat (center) and a harbor lighter (right). Image credit: D. Peloso, Ipso Facto / P. Poveda, Centre Camille Jullian, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université.

Ostia was a harbor city situated at the mouth of the River Tiber, some 30 km (18 miles) to the west of Rome.

The settlement was founded in the 7th century BCE during the reign of Ancus Marcus, the fourth king of Rome.

It had three goals: to give Rome an outlet to the sea, ensure its supply of wheat and salt, and prevent an enemy fleet to ascend the Tiber.

3D reconstructions of a fishing boat (left), a small sailboat (center) and a harbor lighter (right) from Ostia. Image credit: D. Peloso, Ipso Facto / P. Poveda, Centre Camille Jullian, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université.

3D reconstructions of a fishing boat (left), a small sailboat (center) and a harbor lighter (right) from Ostia. Image credit: D. Peloso, Ipso Facto / P. Poveda, Centre Camille Jullian, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université.

In the 1950s, archaeologists found the remains of several wooden ships at the site of Ostia.

“These boats were in use between the 2nd and early 5th centuries CE,” said Dr. Giulia Boetto, a researcher in the Camille Jullian Centre at the Aix-Marseille Université and CNRS, and colleagues.

“They were abandoned in the port when they became outdated. They then became waterlogged and covered with a layer of sediment.”

“These oxygen-free conditions enabled the boats to survive until they were excavated, almost 60 years ago.”

Dr. Boetto, Camille Jullian Centre’s Dr. Pierre Poveda and Dr. Daniela Peloso from the French start-up Ipso Facto created 3D models of three boat types — a fishing boat, a small sailboat and a harbor lighter — found at Ostia.

“These 3D reconstructions will be housed at the new Roman Ship Museum in the Archaeological Park of Ancient Ostia,” they said.

“This exhibition will enable visitors to discover ancient boat construction techniques and what life was like on board these Roman vessels. It will also allow them to virtually navigate in what was the most important Mediterranean port complex during the Roman Empire.”

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