Draft:Phoenician Travels and Ships

The Phoenicians have been largely regarded as the "rulers of the sea (coast)" (Ezekiel 26:16), but due to a lack of firsthand accounts of their travels, Phoenician maritime activities have been studied through third-party accounts and through various shipwrecks, that researchers have deemed Phoenician. Phoenician seafaring is often used as an umbrella term for an assortment of large and small exchange networks, with the ships differing in size, type of cargo, routes they took, and economic origins.

Historians and Researchers alike have gathered much of what they know about Phoenician ships through stylized stelae (symbols) that were found carved onto recovered Phoenician ships and through other pieces of artwork that show how the Phoenician ships were designed. Both commercial and war or battleships were used by the Phoenicians, but they were different in construction in order to accommodate their different purposes. Phoenician warships often were constructed with sharp-edged waterline rams and braided sailing rigs, while commercial ships often had less specific riggings. From other depictions, Phoenician commercial ships had a rounder bow and stern, and two banks of five oars, that were decorated with shields and symbols. Warships were often longer than the commercial ships and equipped with a ram, a square superstructure above the bow, a furled sail, two sets of eight oars, and a high curved stern to potentially increase speed.

The Phoenicians used a variety of sailing and navigation techniques that the Canaanites are often recognized as coming up with. The "loose-footed sail" being one of the more notable innovations the Phoenicians used, because of the new type of rigging that would allow the seafarers to navigate without being controlled or swayed by unforgiving winds. Another important technique used by the Phoenicians was pegged mortise and tenon joints that were used to fasten together the hull planking of the boats. This new style replaced the older approach of sewn-plank joinery, by linking mortises from their edges using a tenon which was then inserted into parallel planks and secured with wooden pegs or nails to fasten them in place. The ever-changing styles used by the Phoenicians helped them to create some of the fastest ships in the Mediterranean.

While the Phoenicians were skilled in boat craftsmanship, they frequently called upon the Goddess Tanit to guide them on their journeys. The artistic sign of the Goddess appeared on various ships as Tanit has various maritime characteristics that were seen as valuable to the Phoenicians. Along with depictions of Tanit, dolphins and fish stelae were found carved onto ships with the same purpose as the Goddess, since they were all regarded as special omens that would help and warn the sailors if there were signs of trouble or impending storms. The Phoenicians were careful when they set out to trade or find new land and used their ships as tools in their expeditions, but also used their religion as a way to protect themselves from the sea.