12-09-2005, 07:28 AM
For one, they were in a lake, and therefore not meant to be seaworthy and secondly, they probably were the emperors floating palace, so likely more lavishly built than other ships.
Hulls were built so carefully with planks edge-joined by close set mortises that caulking (as described) was generally not necessary. BTW, Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (where this comes from, p.208-10) reports that the Nemi ships had no caulking either! The situation is different on the ships built on the Atlantic and North Sea coasts of NW Europe.
It seems that the Nemi ships were atypical in having lead sheathing up to the gunwales, but ordinary merchant ships probably had only the underwater surface protected. Between the lead and the hull was a layer of tarred fabric. As an extra protection, part or the whole hull was covered in pitch and or wax.
Hulls were built so carefully with planks edge-joined by close set mortises that caulking (as described) was generally not necessary. BTW, Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (where this comes from, p.208-10) reports that the Nemi ships had no caulking either! The situation is different on the ships built on the Atlantic and North Sea coasts of NW Europe.
It seems that the Nemi ships were atypical in having lead sheathing up to the gunwales, but ordinary merchant ships probably had only the underwater surface protected. Between the lead and the hull was a layer of tarred fabric. As an extra protection, part or the whole hull was covered in pitch and or wax.
