The main
activity of the Phoenicians was navigation, in fact the cites of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre ae
important for navigation.The Phoenicians were probably the first to discover how to rule
the winds and to navigate referring to the sun, during the day, and to the stars,
particularly to the North Star, at night.They were the most able shipbuilders of ancient
times and constructed not only merchant vessels capable of carrying large cargoes, but
also warships.Their most significant contribution was the “round boat”, a
broad-beamed ship that depended principally on sails more than oars and provided a much
larger cargo-space than the narrow galleys. The Phoenician ships were very strong because
they were made up of cedar wood which was particularly strong. Moreover ships were very
safe because the hull went into the water more deeply and this gave greater stability and
greater balance to them. They had a curious mast. It was a ‘V’ upside-down.
Sometimes they had two sails on the mast, one for each side of the ‘V’. Of
course, sailors could not handle these sails so navigators had to follow the direction of
the wind.
The main
activity of the Phoenicians was navigation, in fact the cites of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre ae
important for navigation.The Phoenicians were probably the first to discover how to rule
the winds and to navigate referring to the sun, during the day, and to the stars,
particularly to the North Star, at night.They were the most able shipbuilders of ancient
times and constructed not only merchant vessels capable of carrying large cargoes, but
also warships.Their most significant contribution was the “round boat”, a
broad-beamed ship that depended principally on sails more than oars and provided a much
larger cargo-space than the narrow galleys. The Phoenician ships were very strong because
they were made up of cedar wood which was particularly strong. Moreover ships were very
safe because the hull went into the water more deeply and this gave greater stability and
greater balance to them. They had a curious mast. It was a ‘V’ upside-down.
Sometimes they had two sails on the mast, one for each side of the ‘V’. Of
course, sailors could not handle these sails so navigators had to follow the direction of
the wind.