Ancient and Modern Ships, Part 1: Wooden Sailing Ships

This handbook offers a concise tour through the long and often elusive history of wooden sailing vessels, beginning with the earliest evidence preserved in Egyptian stone carvings and moving forward to the ships that graced European waters in the age of Henry VIII. The author explains how sparse records, misleading artwork, and lost archives make the task challenging, yet recent archaeological finds are gradually filling the gaps.

In the first part, readers encounter the enigmatic boats of the Phoenicians, the archaic Greek bireme depicted on a newly discovered vase, and the sturdy longships that carried Norse raiders across the North Sea. Illustrated with seventy‑four detailed plates, the text balances scholarly citations with clear explanations, giving listeners a solid foundation for understanding how wooden ship design evolved long before modern shipbuilding took hold.