Diekplous! or something thereabouts … PD Dr. Jorit Wintjes Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte, Universität Würzburg
I. Introductjon: Naval Warfare in the Ancient World – quite important…
The Ancients and the Sea.
Large-scale naval warfare did end with Actjum, did it not? Blue – 1st c. AD, Red – 2nd c. AD, Green – 3rd c. AD, Black – 4th c. AD
Some pleasant truths about ancient naval warfare …
Some pleasant truths about ancient naval warfare … 1. Ancient naval warfare features prominently throughout ancient history.
Some pleasant truths about ancient naval warfare … 1. Ancient naval warfare features prominently throughout ancient history. 2. The importance of naval warfare is refmected by the available evidence. => literary evidence. => epigraphic evidence. => iconographic evidence. => archaeological evidence.
Some pleasant truths about ancient naval warfare … 1. Ancient naval warfare features prominently throughout ancient history. 2. The importance of naval warfare is refmected by the available evidence. => literary evidence. => epigraphic evidence. => iconographic evidence. => archaeological evidence. 3. Naval warfare is inherently complex – and was already so in antjquity.
Of known unknowns and unknown unknowns … Present-day knowledge about ancient land and naval warfare compared
Of known unknowns and unknown unknowns … y t i u q tj n a 100 sea – land Present-day knowledge about ancient land and naval warfare compared
Of known unknowns and unknown unknowns … y y g t o i u l o q n tj h n c a e t 100 30-35 5-10 sea – land Present-day knowledge about ancient land and naval warfare compared
Of known unknowns and unknown unknowns … y s y g n t o o i u l tj o q a n tj r h e n c p a e o t 100 30-35 10-15 5-10 0-… sea – land Present-day knowledge about ancient land and naval warfare compared
… and some rather unpleasant truths about ancient naval warfare.
… and some rather unpleasant truths about ancient naval warfare. 4. Much less knowledge is lost about land warfare than about naval warfare. => most obvious in weapons & equipment = technology.
… and some rather unpleasant truths about ancient naval warfare. 4. Much less knowledge is lost about land warfare than about naval warfare. => most obvious in weapons & equipment = technology. 5. The available evidence ofgers litule informatjon on technology and signifjcantly less on operatjons. => no corpus of naval “ taktjka ” extant.
… and some rather unpleasant truths about ancient naval warfare. 4. Much less knowledge is lost about land warfare than about naval warfare. => most obvious in weapons & equipment = technology. 5. The available evidence ofgers litule informatjon on technology and signifjcantly less on operatjons. => no corpus of naval “ taktjka ” extant. 6. At sea, even more so than on land, it is all about operatjons. => a key part of the overall picture is missing!
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin, 1863
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC ~350 Carthaginian ships vs. ~330 Roman ships
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC ~350 Carthaginian ships vs. ~330 Roman ships
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC ~350 Carthaginian ships vs. ~330 Roman ships
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC A standard reconstructjon of the sequence of events.
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC A standard reconstructjon of the sequence of events.
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC A standard reconstructjon of the sequence of events.
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC The nasty truth about Quinqueremes: they are big...
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC width of the ship: 5m width of the ship including oarsmen: ~ 10m! The nasty truth about Quinqueremes: they are big...
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC width of the ship: 5m width of the ship including oarsmen: ~ 10m! 10 ships = 50m; 2 squadrons = 150 ships in this „formatjon“: 750m – outrigger to outrigger! The nasty truth about Quinqueremes: they are big...
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC width of the ship: 5m width of the ship including oarsmen: ~ 10m! 10 ships = 50m; 2 squadrons = 150 ships in this „formatjon“: 750m – outrigger to outrigger! 5 ships = 50m; 150 ships in this formatjon: 1.500m – oars to oars! The nasty truth about Quinqueremes: they are big...
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC ~150 ships What, then, happened at Ecnomus?
A quick example – the Batule of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC ~150 ships half a ship-length in between ships: ~3.750m one ship-length in between ships: ~6.000m What, then, happened at Ecnomus?
II. Simulatjons – a possible solutjon?
Simulatjons are everywhere, and have been for quite some tjme …
Types of simulatjons physical interactj tjve simulatj tjons simulatj tjons
Types of simulatjons physical simulatj tjons
Types of simulatjons Environmental change (rivers, coastlines etc.). physical simulatj tjons
Types of simulatjons Environmental change (rivers, coastlines etc.). physical simulatj tjons Testjng and validatjng the reconstructjon of ancient architecture, technology etc.
Types of simulatjons interactj tjve simulatj tjons
Types of simulatjons Infmuence of human decision-making on sequence of events interactj tjve simulatj tjons
Types of simulatjons Infmuence of human decision-making on sequence of events interactj tjve simulatj tjons General process / systems analysis
Systems analysis is great – but what exactly is the system?
Systems analysis is great – but what exactly is the system? large group of ships – fmeet
Systems analysis is great – but what exactly is the system? large group of ships – fmeet small group of ships – squadron
Systems analysis is great – but what exactly is the system? large group of ships – fmeet Individual ship small group of ships – squadron
A couple of – rather unsetuling – statements on simulatjons
A couple of – rather unsetuling – statements on simulatjons 1. Interactjve simulatjons are a proven method for training in and transmittjng knowledge of processes ... => … which are known in detail … … which is not the case with ancient naval ops!
A couple of – rather unsetuling – statements on simulatjons 1. Interactjve simulatjons are a proven method for training in and transmittjng knowledge of processes ... => … which are known in detail … … which is not the case with ancient naval ops! 2. Interactjve simulatjons are a proven method for analyzing systems and processes … => where the result does not match expectatjons ground in knowledge of the nature of the system/process. There is no such knowledge with ancient naval ops!
A couple of – rather unsetuling – statements on simulatjons 1. Interactjve simulatjons are a proven method for training in and transmittjng knowledge of processes ... => … which are known in detail … … which is not the case with ancient naval ops! 2. Interactjve simulatjons are a proven method for analyzing systems and processes … => where the result does not match expectatjons ground in knowledge of the nature of the system/process. There is no such knowledge with ancient naval ops! 3. Interactjve Simulatjons work best if there is only one variable element in a set of otherwise known factors. “known factors” is not a terribly accurate descriptjon of what is known about ancient naval operatjons…
III. Diekplous! – The project
The known knowns and the known unknowns …
The known knowns and the known unknowns … Olympias from above
The known knowns and the known unknowns … 5,5 m 10 m 36,9 m Olympias from above
Available data on ancient naval warfare
Available data on ancient naval warfare 1. Signifjcant amount of performance data from trireme reconstructjon Olympias . => Allows for a moderately precise reconstructjon of tactjcal capabilitjes Olympias is a “fmoatjng hypothesis” (B. Rankov)!
Available data on ancient naval warfare 1. Signifjcant amount of performance data from trireme reconstructjon Olympias . => Allows for a moderately precise reconstructjon of tactjcal capabilitjes Olympias is a “fmoatjng hypothesis” (B. Rankov)! 2. Data on tactjcal/operatjonal procedures can also be taken from literary sources. Ofuen poor level of detail.
Available data on ancient naval warfare The kyklos – 250 m example involving 24 ships
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