Reassessing Polybius’ account of the Battle of Aegates (241 BCE) using the underwater material culture found at the Egadi Islands
Reassessing Polybius’ account of the Battle of Aegates (241 BCE) using the underwater material culture found at the Egadi Islands
The discovery of the naval battlefield of the Battle of the Aegates (241 BCE) has provided archaeologists with information on battlefield deposition in the Hellenistic period. Ancient war-galleys were armed with a copper-alloy waterline naval ram, yet few have survived in the archaeological record. However, since 2004 twenty-five Roman and Carthaginian rams or rostra have been found at the Egadi Islands. Each ram was cast to fit a particular warship thus providing data on the warship’s nature. This short report will argue that the combatant warships were smaller than Polybius claimed, and evidence of head-on ramming may demonstrate defensive manoeuvres.
Davies, Mark C.
af18d35b-34ba-4098-9100-4a93e96d18a8
30 October 2024
Davies, Mark C.
af18d35b-34ba-4098-9100-4a93e96d18a8
Davies, Mark C.
(2024)
Reassessing Polybius’ account of the Battle of Aegates (241 BCE) using the underwater material culture found at the Egadi Islands
Honor Frost Foundation
11pp.
(doi:10.33583/mags2023.06).
Record type:
Monograph
(Project Report)
Abstract
The discovery of the naval battlefield of the Battle of the Aegates (241 BCE) has provided archaeologists with information on battlefield deposition in the Hellenistic period. Ancient war-galleys were armed with a copper-alloy waterline naval ram, yet few have survived in the archaeological record. However, since 2004 twenty-five Roman and Carthaginian rams or rostra have been found at the Egadi Islands. Each ram was cast to fit a particular warship thus providing data on the warship’s nature. This short report will argue that the combatant warships were smaller than Polybius claimed, and evidence of head-on ramming may demonstrate defensive manoeuvres.
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Published date: 30 October 2024
Venue - Dates:
Maritime Archaeology Graduate Symposium 2023, Cyprus, 2023-03-01 - 2023-03-04
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Local EPrints ID: 497984
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/497984
PURE UUID: e1b5b207-5203-4fcc-82f9-023eb29b5a5e
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Date deposited: 05 Feb 2025 18:04
Last modified: 06 Feb 2025 03:07
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Author:
Mark C. Davies
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