Ivlia (bireme) is a modern reconstruction of anancient Greek rowing warship (galley) with oars at two levels,[1] and is an example ofexperimental archaeology. Between 1989 and 1994, this vessel undertook six international historical and geographical expeditions, tracing the route of the ancient seafarers.
After processing the available scientific data using ancient illustrations onvases andreliefs, as well as written and archaeological sources, members of theOdesa Archeological Museum, under the direction of Prof. Vladimir N. Stanko,Ph.D., proposed the building of a bireme because, in antiquity, it had been the most widely used vessel in the northernBlack Sea region.
The ship was constructed in 1989 at theSochi Naval Shipyard by a team led by shipwright Damir S. Shkhalakhov.Ivlia was built fromDurmast oak andSiberian larch, while the oars were made ofbeech. The technical design of the project was carried out by specialists of theNikolayev University of Shipbuilding. The main sponsor of the construction of the ship was theBlack Sea Shipping Company.
Route of the expeditions 1989-94Ivlia’sbronze bowram in form of wildboar's head[3]
Starting fromOdesa inUkraine in 1989,Ivlia followed the routes of the ancient mariners on theBlack Sea and theMediterranean Sea as well as theAtlantic Ocean, covering more than 3,000nautical miles in six expedition seasons and visiting over 50 European ports, finally sailing up the riverSeine to reachParis. The Mayor of Paris,Jacques Chirac, was received on board theIvlia. The ship was visited by official delegations and open to tourists.Ivlia also took part in international maritime festivals: Colombo'92 inGenoa (Italy), Brest’92,[4] Cancal’93, and Vieux Greements’94 (France). Over six seasons the crew members included more than 200 people – citizens ofRussia,Ukraine,Moldova,France,Greece andGeorgia. In the end the ship was stored in maritime museum inLa Rochelle, but was destroyed in fire[5][better source needed].
The authors of the project, Igor Melnik, Mikhail Agbunov and Pavel Goncharuk, together with the staff of the Odesa Archaeological Museum and theNikolayev University of Shipbuilding, developed the research program 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.[6]
Practical research into theseaworthiness of antique biremes. The bireme performed well, even with tailwinds of up to 7 on theBeaufort scale.
Verification ofcabotage 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 thecoastline. 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 withnavigation marks, as it was in ancient times, posed far more perils for navigation than the open sea. To this must be added the threat ofpirate attacks, since many of the coastal peoples engaged inbrigandage.
Clarifying the details of ancientperiplus and verifying a range of hypotheses from the project authors to localize theancient Greek settlement of the North-Western Black Sea region.
Mastering the ancient art of navigation, control of an antique vessel bysail, and methods ofmooring andanchoring galleys.
Ancient galleys had an emotive aspect that seems to attach itself to most of the great ship designs of history. Their hulls were waterproofed by painting them with pitch. The ram was often sheathed in bronze and decorated with multiple dagger designs or shaped like the snout of a gigantic boar.[7]
The practical experience gained onIvlia's expeditions enabled the project authors to affirm:
The level ofcartographical advancement andnavigational knowledge of the ancient Greeks and theseaworthiness of their ships were likely higher than is commonly believed.[8]
Ancient mariners were likely able to navigate by the stars, make open sea crossings, were capable of sailing away from the coast, were familiar with and used the prevailing winds andcurrents.
The famoustriremes, which were distinguished by their performance in combat, were less seaworthy than the biremes: they were built for battle and used in large naval campaigns.[9]
If the role of the ship was to manoeuvre so as to ram an opposing ship most effectively, the advantage of a doubled oar crew is more than doubtful. The increase in power would not compensate for the additional weight of structure and men. To judge from the surviving pictures of two-level galleys from the sixth century BC, the new system seems to have been used to reduce the ship's length while keeping the same number of oarsmen.[10]
In addition, the research program conducted on boardIvlia included the participation of theInstitute of Biology of the Southern Seas. In accordance with the research program, developed under the leadership of theAcad. Y. P. Zaitsev. During the expedition,density,salinity, transparency andcontamination of seawater were regularly measured. Also, regular measurements were made of environmental parameters and the level ofpollution of the seawater, assessments of the state of marineflora andfauna, 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.
Soviet Union/Ukraine
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