Information signalée par Jacques Elfassi

Maritime Technology and the Ancient Economy:
Ship-design and Navigation

Tuesday 16 June 2009, 9am-6pm, and Wednesday 17 June 2009, 9am-6pm

A two-day conference held at the American Academy on June 16 and at the Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” on June 17. The conference aims to tackle a set of technical but intriguing questions about the commercial sea-faring of the ancient Mediterranean. Thousands of ancient shipwrecks are scattered all over the floor of the Mediterranean, and yet we know that from time to time Greeks, Romans, and others thought of better ways of building ships and of keeping them afloat. Which innovations — if any — really made the Mediterranean safer for ancient commerce? Scholars from France, Italy, Britain, Austria, and the United States will attempt to resolve this problem.

The conference is organized by William V. Harris, RAAR’79,’83 (Columbia University), with the support of the Distinguished Scholar Award received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (2008-2011), and by Elio Lo Cascio (Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”).

Source : American Academy in Rome