''Ivlia'' (

bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...

) is a modern reconstruction of an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

rowing warship (

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

) with oars at two levels and is an example of

experimental archaeology Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing various tasks ...

. Between 1989 and 1994, this vessel undertook six international historical and geographical expeditions in the footsteps of the ancient seafarers.

Ship construction

After processing the available scientific data using ancient illustrations on vases and

reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, as well as written and archaeological sources, members of the Odessa Archaeological Museum, under the direction of Prof. Vladimir N. Stanko, PhD, proposed the building of a bireme because, in antiquity, it had been the most widely used vessel in the northern Black Sea region. Ivliaplan1

The ship was constructed in 1989 at the

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents i ...

Naval Shipyard by a team led by shipwright Damir S. Shkhalakhov. ''Ivlia'' was built from Durmast oak and

Siberian larch ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii' ...

, while the oars were made of

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

. The technical design of the project was carried out by specialists of the Nikolayev University of Shipbuilding. The main sponsor of construction of the ship was the

Black Sea Shipping Company Black Sea Shipping Company (russian: Черноморское морское пароходство, uk, Чорноморське морське пароплавство) is a Ukrainian shipping company based in Kyiv. The company was establishe ...

Expedition route

Starting from

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

in 1989, ''Ivlia'' followed the routes of the ancient mariners on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

as well as the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Ocean, covering more than 3,000

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Tod ...

s in six expedition seasons and visiting over 50 European ports, finally sailing up the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

to reach

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. To celebrate the successful completion of the voyages, the Mayor of Paris and future President of France,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a Politics of France, French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to ...

, was received on board the ''Ivlia''. The expedition's progress was widely covered by the international media. During the time of the voyage, hundreds of articles were published, along with dozens of TV and radio reports. The ship was regularly visited by official delegations and thousands of tourists. ''Ivlia'' also took part in international maritime festivals: Colombo'92 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

(Italy), Brest’92, Cancal’93, and Vieux Greements’94 (France). Over six seasons the crew members included more than 200 people – citizens of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Scientific aspects

The authors of the project, Igor Melnik, Mikhail Agbunov and Pavel Goncharuk, together with the staff of the Odessa Archaeological Museum and the Nikolayev University of Shipbuilding, developed the research programme of the expedition primarily to address the following objectives: * Clarification of written and archaeological sources of data on the design, construction technology and load capacity of ancient Greek ships. * Practical research into the

seaworthiness Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...

of antique biremes. It is worth noting the high seaworthiness of the bireme, even with tailwinds of up to 7 on the

Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...

. * Verification of cabotage routes of Hellenic sailors, as well as the possibility of galleys in antiquity making voyages on the open sea, out of sight of the coast. In the scientific world, there is continuing debate about how far the routes of ancient mariners were from the

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

. Many scholars believe that ancient seagoing ships were weak, and consequently their pilots kept close to the shores. However, a coast that was unlit and unequipped with navigation marks, as it was in ancient times, posed far more perils for navigation than the open sea. To this must be added the threat of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

attacks, since many of the coastal peoples engaged in

brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded u ...

. * Clarifying the details of ancient

periplus A periplus (), or periplous, is a manuscript document that lists the ports and coastal landmarks, in order and with approximate intervening distances, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. In that sense, the periplus wa ...

and verifying a range of hypotheses from the project authors to localise the ancient Greek settlement of the North-Western Black Sea region. * Mastering the ancient art of navigation, control of an antique vessel by

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

, and methods of

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...

and

anchoring An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek � ...

galleys. The practical experience gained on ''Ivlias expeditions enabled the project authors to affirm: * The level of cartographical advancement and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

al knowledge of the ancient Greeks and the

of their ships were likely far higher than is commonly believed. * Ancient mariners were likely able to navigate by the stars, make open sea crossings, were unafraid of sailing away from the coast, were familiar with and used the prevailing winds and currents. * The famous

trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizat ...

s, which were distinguished by their outstanding performance in combat, were much less seaworthy than the biremes: they were built for battle and used in large naval campaigns. *

Bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...

s were the most common type of vessel used during the great Greek colonization of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. The geographical discoveries of antiquity were made on these vessels, suited as they were to long ocean voyages. As the most seaworthy ships of the time, it is most likely that biremes were used by the Carthaginian explorers

Himilco Himilco was a Carthaginian navigator and explorer who lived during the late 6th or early 5th century BC, a period of time where Carthage held significant sway over its neighboring regions. Himilco is the first known explorer from the Mediterrane ...

and Hanno for explorations beyond the

Pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules ( la, Columnae Herculis, grc, Ἡράκλειαι Στῆλαι, , ar, أعمدة هرقل, Aʿmidat Hiraql, es, Columnas de Hércules) was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank t ...

,Roller, Duane W. (2006). Through the pillars of Herakles: Greco-Roman exploration of the Atlantic. Taylor & Francis, pp. 27-28. as well as Pytheas of Massalia's voyage to the legendary island of

Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shetland, northern Scotland, the island of Saar ...

. In addition, the research programme conducted on board ''Ivlia'' included the participation of the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas. In accordance with the research program, developed under the leadership of the

Acad The Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts) is a public art university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that operates four academic schools. The institution originated from the art departme ...

. Y. P. Zaitsev. During the expedition,

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematicall ...

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

, transparency and

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination ...

of sea water were regularly measured. Also regular measurements were made of environmental parameters and the level of pollution of the sea water, assessments of the state of marine

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

, and a variety of medical experiments were conducted. The data obtained during the six years of voyages are summarized in the articles and books subsequently published by the authors of the project.

Gallery

File:Spusk na vodu.jpg,

Launching Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical pro ...

of bireme Ivlia File:Ivlia & Komarow.jpg, Ivlia and the research vessel - Kosmonavt Vladimir Komarov. File:Ivlia in Dardanelles.jpg, Ivlia in the Strait

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

File:Gulf of Naples. Silver.tif, Calm in

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy ( province of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. I ...

. File:Fonserannes Locks.jpg, Ivlia at the exit from Fonserannes locks. File:Ivlia & Gagarin.jpg, Ivlia and the escort yacht - Yuri Gagarin. File:Odessa Lighthaus.jpg, Ivlia leaves

port of Odessa The Port of Odesa or Odesa Sea Port ( uk, Одеський морський порт, translit=Odeskyi morskyi port), located near Odesa, is the largest Ukrainian seaport and one of the largest ports in the Black Sea basin, with a total annual ...

. File:Ivlia Cancale.tif, Ivlia in

Cancale Cancale (; ; Gallo: ''Cauncall'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan. Population Inhabitants of Cancale are called ''Cancalais'' in French. ...

. File:Ivlia Douarnenez.tif, The culmination of the famous maritime festival Brest'92 is the transition of all boats to the port of

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

. Parade of participants. File:Etching Expedition Black Sea (2).jpg,

Etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

"Black Sea" Expedition, author Vladimir Bakhtov, 1989.

References

Literature

* ''Bockius, Ronald (2007). Schifffahrt und Schiffbau in der Antike, p. 52-64. Theiss Verlag. '' * '' Casson, Lionel (1991). The Ancient Mariners, ch.8. Princeton University Press. '' * ''Gilles, Daniel (1992). L'Album Souvenir de la Fete Brest'92, p. 7, 111, 236, 257. Le Chasse Maree. Armen. '' * ''Mark, Samuel (2005). Homeric Seafaring. Texas University Press. '' * ''Melnik, Igor K. (2010). Historical Maritime Sailing in Models & Reconstruktions, p. 46-49. Kiev, Phoenix. '' * '' Morrison, John. The Athenian Trireme, pp. 28–30. Cambridge University Press. '' * ''"

Il Secolo XIX ''Il Secolo XIX'' ( ) is an Italian newspaper published in Genoa, Italy, founded in March 1886, subsequently acquired by Ferdinando Maria Perrone in 1897 from Ansaldo. It is one of the first Italian newspapers to be printed in colour. On 16 J ...

", (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), 23.05.1992. "In porto, dopo 3 anni d'odissea, una triremi russa", Giorgio Carrozi.'' * ''"

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

", (Italy), 31.05.1992 (№147). "E'approdata a Sanremo la triremi dell'antica Grecia".'' * ''"

Il Tirreno ''Il Tirreno'' (English: "The Tyrrhenian") is a regional Italian newspaper, printed in Livorno and serving the Tuscany region. ''Il Tirreno'' also features sixteen local editions around the whole region. History It was founded in 1877 under th ...

", (Italy), 06.05.1992. " Una mostra per l’Ivlia".'' * ''"

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

", (

), 19.07.1992. "Pavel, galerien d'Odessa", Annick Cojean.'' * ''" Revue Thalassa", (France), 07.1992 (№3). "Et vogue la galere" p. 64-65.'' * ''"Presse – Ocean (Ouest)", (France), 09.09.1994. "Ivlia se prepare pour une transatlantique", Severine Le Bourhis, p. 15.'' * ''" Le Télégramme", (France), 02.08.1994. "La galere antique a la conquete de l’Atlantique", Noel Pochet.'' * ''"La Presse de la Manche", (France), 14.08.1993. " Et vogue la galere ukrainienne", Th. Motte, p. 3-4.'' * ''"Le Chasse Maree", (France), 07.1992 (№67). "Ivlia, la galere", p. 16.'' * ''"

Le Marin Le Marin (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Maren or ) is a town and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. Population Points of interest In Le Marin there is Église du Marin, an old church built in 1766. It contains a marb ...

", (France), 21.05.1993. "Sous le vent de la galere", Cristhine Le Portal.'' * ''"

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH. Histor ...

", (edition Paris), 16.09.1993. "Une galere antique", Laurent Mauron.'' * ''"

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France' ...