- chapter 40: Seafaring –
Figure 40.3 Olla (jar) from Bisenzio, Olmo Bello necropolis, tomb 24. Rome, Museo di Villa Giulia,
inv. 57069/4.The little model boat of tomb 10 of the burial ground of Porto Madonna has a short
cutwater on the bow, in a continuation of the line of the keel. Boats of the same type
are also documented in Tarquinia (Fig. 40.4) and San Giuliano, where they are part of
important contexts, which are characterized by the presence of helmets as covers for the
ossuaries and by miniature chariots. If the hypothesis that these grave goods can refer to
ranking individuals who exercised a hegemony on land (the chariot) and by sea (the ship)
is contrasted with the same evidence from some contexts relevant to female fi gures (e.g.
tomb 8 of Tarquinia-Poggio Selciatello), it leads us to prefer interpretative perspectives
that are more closely linked to funeral ideology, the series of Tarquinian vessels furnishes
many important reasons that are pertinent here. Although this is not so much the case
for the study of the engineering aspects, since we may notice some deformation in the
reproduction of boats, especially as regards the proportions of length and width, however
it can well be appreciated that both in general, and for the profi les and details of the
stempost and sternpost. Among other things, two ship models deserve special attention,
obviously restoring the image of ships of a certain size that are clearly intended for
navigation on the high seas. In both cases they are round-hulled vessels with the nearly
vertical stempost topped with a great bird-shaped protome similar to that of the stern at
the extremity of which was the place for the helmsman at the steering-oar, and propelled
by a series of oars on both sides, seven pairs in the ship model from Arcatelle, and perhaps
six pairs in the fragmentary model from Poggio dell’Impiccato, according to the number
of holes that pierce the sides just below the gunwale. The latter also included a mast
for the sail, which had to be inserted into a cavity present in the central frame and also
affi xed by stays running fore and aft (one or two – the right-hand side is incomplete), the
fastenings of which are rendered plastically. Some details show that the ship had a shell
of “sewn” planks, reinforced by an internal framework of fi ve frames held together at the
top by the gunwale. At the end of the keel at both bow and stern, there is a spur, probably
a cutwater. Compared to the model ship from Arcatelle, with the slender profi le and
propelled only by oars, the vessel from Poggio dell’Impiccato has a decided enlargement
in the middle, giving the ship a “mixed” character, as well as the mixed propulsion
system, driven both by oars and sail: intended essentially for transport, the ship was still
agile and ready, as needed, to defend or attack according to the dialectic between prexis
and lesteia that characterizes sea traffi c in this age.