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14 Responses

  1. Can you recommend a book or books for an amateur historian on middle Bronze Age (2000 BC) Mesopotamia ships/boats?

    1. Great question that I, unfortunately, don’t have a great answer for. I never found a single source that covered that period and place in depth. The sources I’ve got listed for Episodes 002 & 003 may be a good place to start.

      In particular, Lincoln Paine’s book is a good overview. In addition, books by Lionel Casson are also great overviews even if they’re slightly outdated. An super-detailed look at the archaeology can be found in Sean McGrail’s “Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval Times.” I took a lot of info from that book and would recommend it for a non-narrative view, but it’s quite pricey. Perhaps try a university library for that one. Hope those provide somewhat of a helpful start.

    1. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! It should be rectified now. Additional thanks for your consideration of patronizing (in the good sense) the podcast.

  2. Dear Brandon, When was the first time when pulleys or blocks and tackle were used on ships ? I have looked for thirty years, but no luck. I know the Greeks had them. Best regards, Shedrick Moore

    1. Hi Shedrick, thanks for the question. I’ll do my best to give a moderately useful answer, but evidence for the earliest use of inventions like this is always hard to pin down.

      You’re certainly right to point out that the Greeks had them, and it’s possible that they weren’t used much on ships prior to the time of Archimedes (287–212 BCE), since Plutarch gives that great story about him easily pulling a ship in Syracuse with the use of a pulley system, the implication being that this system was little known or used in the years prior.

      I personally haven’t seen indications that pulleys or blocks-and-tackle were used prior to the Greeks, although there is much evidence of their use on Roman ships. Egyptian ship depictions and boat models all seem to indicate square-sail use with simple rope rigging and no use of pulleys in the set-up, so far as I can tell, and in the most comprehensive books I’ve used (written by Seán McGrail), there is merely a statement that in Egyptian ships “block and tackle are not illustrated.”

      My understanding is that prior to the Greek adoption of block-and-tackle uses, which probably didn’t become widespread and prevalent until in later Roman times, ships used the simple system of running ropes through rings sewn into the bottom edge of the sail and then over top of the yard itself, so pulling on multiple ropes would simply raise or lower the sail. My most recent study focused on the reconstruction of the trireme Olympias, and this simple rigging system was the one they adopted based on a study of classical Greek triremes. All that to say, that even in Greek triremes it’s possible that no blocks-and-tackle were used and that similar systems were used in Egyptian ships and (most likely) in Phoenician ships as well.

      I hope that is a sufficient answer for now! I will certainly keep this topic in mind though as I continue to read up on maritime history, so I’ll get in touch again should I stumble across information that may be relevant 😉 Thanks for listening, Shedrick. Fair winds.

      1. Brandon I admire your work,and wish to connect with your work. I can help as follows
        As prv President of the Egyptian Sailing Federation
        As connected to the Ministry of Antiquites

        As the founder and responsble for the Program TECHNOLOGY weekly Ch2 EGY TV
        Researched ,prepared and presented numerous maritime episodes mostly Egypt
        From Hatchepsut to min of the Desert…..
        Visited Wady el Gawasis, Safaga,Koseir sakara, etc
        Pls sugest how we cancooperate on a technical Basis

  3. Hello Brandon,
    I have a strange and specific question and I hope you can help answer or at least point me in a direction to find an answer.
    I am trying to find out the cost of different ships of war in Britain in the early 1800’s specifically of a “fir” or softwood brig built in a merchant yard in England.
    The only things I have found are a few ships of the line in 1700’s costing between £33,000 and 70,000, and a 36 gun frigate in the early 1700’s costing £8200.

    1. Hello Erin!
      Apologies for the delayed response on this awesome question. I can’t say that I know these types of figures from previous reading, but I will do some digging and see if I can find a rough figure and perhaps some source material that may be helpful for you 🙂 I’ll get back to you in less time than this comment has taken!

  4. I would be interested in a podcast regarding my book and my background if you are interested. My book “All Present and Accounted For,” is the true, and largely unknown, story of the grounding and near sinking of the Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis in November of 1972 off the coast of Alaska and the heroic efforts that saved the ship and crew. Over 200 positive comments have been received on various Coast Guard related social websites. A complimentary copy may be sent upon request. Thanks Steven Craig – [email protected] Captain, USCGR Retired

  5. I have written a book of 110,000 words on the beginning of the Pacific War. The name: Diplomats and Admirals, http://www.dale-jenkins.com. I am available to discuss the failed diplomacy that led to Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, Doolittle Raid, Coral Sea and Midway. Please let me know if I can beef service in a podcast, or with articles on these events.

  6. Hi Brandon
    I joined as crew on Apple but was not asked to register so I do not have access to extra material. Apple order ID MQ5J37QSMX 09 Jan 2022
    Great podcast!

    1. Hi Nick,

      Great to hear from you! The Apple crew member subscription is unfortunately not “linked” with my website here, although I wish that there was a way to automate things a bit better! But, I will send you an email with a link to register a website account where you can then access the transcripts and episode pages for all crew member content.

      Is the email address you entered for this comment the best place to reach you? If not, please feel free to send me an email to maritimehistorypodcast (at) gmail.com and let me know how to get in touch. Thanks!!

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