Ancient Trader

Cyclades

Ancient Trader 4 Min Read

Clay frying-pan vessel with incised decoration of a ship. Found at Chalandriani on Syros island. Early cycladic II period (Keros-Syros culture, 2800-2300 BC) The Cyclades, because of their central location to trade in the eastern Mediterranean, have a rich and long history. They are a part of the vast number of islands that constitute the Greek archipelago in the Aegean…

Newsletter

Get the latest from Weapons and Warfare right to your inbox.

Follow Us

Most Recent

Ancient Trader History Roman 14 Min Read

Peoples of Roman North Africa

Mauri The western region of North Africa was home to Berber-speaking groups whom the Greeks and later Romans identified as Mauri, or Moors. The term probably comes from a generic designation of Numidian tribes operating in the Atlas Mountains and West Africa in modern-day Morocco. The Romans took over the…

Ancient Trader Merchant 15 Min Read

FIRST SAILINGS INTO THE ATLANTIC

The Phoenicians were the first to build proper ships and to brave the rough waters of the Atlantic. To be sure, the Minoans before them traded with great vigor and defended their Mediterranean trade routes with swift and vicious naval force. Their ships—built with tools of sharp-edged bronze—were elegant and…

Ancient Trader Merchant Roman Trade 11 Min Read

The Roman grain trade

Roman Merchant Ships The grain trade was not simply a source of profit for Rome’s merchants. In 5 BC Augustus Caesar distributed grain to 320,000 male citizens; he proudly recorded this fact in a great public inscription commemorating his victories and achievements, for holding the favour of the Romans was…

Ancient Trader Sail 15 Min Read

Weather and Sea around Sicily

Ancient Sicily is the boundary mark between the eastern and central Mediterranean. This boundary is not, however, a meteorological one, for, all round Sicily, winds generally blow from the west, becoming more and more regular during the sailing season, and blowing from west to northwest or even north between Sicily…

Ancient Trader 4 Min Read

Cyclades

Clay frying-pan vessel with incised decoration of a ship. Found at Chalandriani on Syros island. Early cycladic II period (Keros-Syros culture, 2800-2300 BC) The Cyclades, because of their central location to trade in the eastern Mediterranean, have a rich and long history. They are a part of the vast number…

Ancient Trader 3 Min Read

The Cheops ship

The Cheops ship, the oldest preserved ship from antiquity, was found in 1954 close to the Great Pyramid in Egypt. It is built almost entirely of imported cedar. The ship was clearly a ceremonial vessel, yet compression marks of rope show that it was definitely used in the water. Dating…

Most Popular

The Roman grain trade

Roman Merchant Ships The grain trade was not simply a source of profit for Rome’s…

FIRST SAILINGS INTO THE ATLANTIC

The Phoenicians were the first to build proper ships and to brave the rough waters…

Weather and Sea around Sicily

Ancient Sicily is the boundary mark between the eastern and central Mediterranean. This boundary is…

Phoenician Merchant Ship

The best navigators and shipbuilders of the ancient world in 1500 – 1000 years B.…