''Ivlia'' (

bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...

) is a modern reconstruction of an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

rowing warship (

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

) with oars at two levels, and is an example of

experimental archaeology Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological Hypothesis, hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing v ...

. Between 1989 and 1994, this vessel undertook six international historical and geographical expeditions, tracing the route of the ancient seafarers.

Ship construction

After processing the available scientific data using ancient illustrations on

vases A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...

and

reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, as well as written and archaeological sources, members of the Odesa Archeological Museum, under the direction of Prof. Vladimir N. Stanko, Ph.D., proposed the building of a bireme because, in antiquity, it had been the most widely used vessel in the northern Black Sea region. Ivliaplan1

The ship was constructed in 1989 at the

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

Naval Shipyard by a team led by shipwright Damir S. Shkhalakhov. ''Ivlia'' was built from Durmast oak and

Siberian larch ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii ...

, while the oars were made of

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

. The technical design of the project was carried out by specialists of the Nikolayev University of Shipbuilding. The main sponsor of the construction of the ship was the

Black Sea Shipping Company Black Sea Shipping Company (; ) is a Ukrainian shipping company based in Kyiv. The company was established during the Imperial Russian rule in 1833. Following the World War I and reorganization of the former empire as a Soviet state, company w ...

Expedition route

Starting from

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in 1989, ''Ivlia'' followed the routes of the ancient mariners on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

as well as the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Ocean, covering more than 3,000

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...

s in six expedition seasons and visiting over 50 European ports, finally sailing up the river

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

to reach

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The Mayor of Paris,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

, was received on board the ''Ivlia''. The ship was visited by official delegations and open to tourists. ''Ivlia'' also took part in international maritime festivals: Colombo'92 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

(Italy), Brest’92, Cancal’93, and Vieux Greements’94 (France). Over six seasons the crew members included more than 200 people – citizens of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Scientific aspects

The authors of the project, Igor Melnik, Mikhail Agbunov and Pavel Goncharuk, together with the staff of the Odesa Archaeological Museum and the Nikolayev University of Shipbuilding, developed the research program of the expedition primarily to address the following objectives: * Clarification of written and archaeological sources of data on the design, construction technology, and load capacity of ancient Greek ships. * Practical research into the

seaworthiness Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea sta ...

of antique biremes. The bireme performed well, even with tailwinds of up to 7 on the

Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale ( ) is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. It was devised in 1805 by Francis Beaufort a hydrographer in the Royal Navy. It ...

. * Verification of

cabotage Cabotage () is the transport of goods or passengers between two places in the same country. The term originally applied to shipping along coastal routes, port to port, but now applies to aviation, railways, and road transport as well. Cabotage rig ...

routes of Hellenic sailors, as well as the possibility of galleys in antiquity making voyages on the open sea, out of sight of the coast. In the scientific world, there is continuing debate about how far the routes of ancient mariners were from the

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. Many scholars believe that ancient seagoing ships were weak, and consequently, their pilots kept close to the shores. However, a coast that was unlit and unequipped with navigation marks, as it was in ancient times, posed far more perils for navigation than the open sea. To this must be added the threat of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

attacks, since many of the coastal peoples engaged in

brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded ...

. * Clarifying the details of ancient

periplus A periplus (), or periplous, is a manuscript document that lists the ports and coastal landmarks, in order and with approximate intervening distances, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. In that sense, the periplus wa ...

and verifying a range of hypotheses from the project authors to localize the ancient Greek settlement of the North-Western Black Sea region. * Mastering the ancient art of navigation, control of an antique vessel by

sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

, and methods of

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...

and

anchoring An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a Watercraft, vessel to the Seabed, bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to Leeway, wind or Ocean current, current. The word derives from Latin ', which ...

galleys. The practical experience gained on ''Ivlias expeditions enabled the project authors to affirm: * The level of cartographical advancement and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

al knowledge of the ancient Greeks and the

of their ships were likely higher than is commonly believed. * Ancient mariners were likely able to navigate by the stars, make open sea crossings, were capable of sailing away from the coast, were familiar with and used the prevailing winds and

currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hy ...

. * The famous

trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...

s, which were distinguished by their performance in combat, were less seaworthy than the biremes: they were built for battle and used in large naval campaigns. *

Bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC a ...

s were the most common type of vessel used during the great Greek colonization of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. The geographical discoveries of antiquity were made on these vessels, suited as they were to long ocean voyages. As the most seaworthy ships of the time, it is likely that biremes were used by the

Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( ) usually refers to the civilisation of ancient Carthage. It may also refer to: * Punic people, the Semitic-speaking people of Carthage * Punic language The Punic language, also called Phoenicio-Punic or Carthaginian, i ...

explorers

Himilco Himilco was a Carthaginian navigator and explorer who lived during the late 6th or early 5th century BC, a period of time where Carthage held significant sway over its neighboring regions. Himilco is the first known explorer from the Mediterrane ...

and

Hanno Hanno may refer to: People * Hanno (given name) :* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno" *Hanno (, ; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name :* Hanno the Navigator, Carthaginian explorer :* Hann ...

for explorations beyond the

Pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules are the promontory, promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar, Calpe Mons, is the Rock of Gibraltar. A corresponding North African peak not being predominant, the identity of ...

,Roller, Duane W. (2006). Through the pillars of Herakles: Greco-Roman exploration of the Atlantic. Taylor & Francis, pp. 27-28. as well as Pytheas of Massalia's voyage to the legendary island of

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

. In addition, the research program conducted on board ''Ivlia'' included the participation of th
Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas
In accordance with the research program, developed under the leadership of the

Acad The Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts) is a public art university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that operates four academic schools. The institution originated from the art department ...

. Y. P. Zaitsev. During the expedition,

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

, transparency and

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that renders something unsuitable, unfit or harmful for the physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination Within the scien ...

of seawater were regularly measured. Also, regular measurements were made of environmental parameters and the level of pollution of the seawater, assessments of the state of marine

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

, and a variety of medical experiments were conducted. The data obtained during the six years of voyages are summarized in the articles and books subsequently published by the authors of the project.

Gallery

File:Spusk na vodu.jpg, Launching of bireme Ivlia File:Ivlia & Komarow.jpg, Ivlia and the research vessel - Kosmonavt Vladimir Komarov. File:Ivlia in Dardanelles.jpg, Ivlia in the Strait

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

File:Gulf of Naples. Silver.tif, Calm in

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean ...

. File:Fonserannes Locks.jpg, Ivlia at the exit from Fonserannes locks. File:Ivlia & Gagarin.jpg, Ivlia and the escort yacht - Yuri Gagarin. File:Odessa Lighthaus.jpg, Ivlia leaves

port of Odesa The Port of Odesa or Odesa Commercial Seaport (), located near Odesa, is the largest Ukrainian seaport and one of the largest ports in the Black Sea basin, with a total annual traffic capacity of 40 million tonnes (15 million tonnes dry bulk and ...

. File:Ivlia Cancale.tif, Ivlia in

Cancale Cancale (; ; Gallo: ''Cauncall'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan. Population Inhabitants of Cancale are called ''Cancalais'' in French. ...

. File:Ivlia Douarnenez.tif, The culmination of the famous maritime festival Brest'92 is the transition of all boats to the port of

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

. Parade of participants. File:Etching Expedition Black Sea (2).jpg,

Etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

"Black Sea" Expedition, author Vladimir Bakhtov, 1989.

References

Literature

* ''Bockius, Ronald (2007). Schifffahrt und Schiffbau in der Antike, p. 52-64. Theiss Verlag. '' * '' Casson, Lionel (1991). The Ancient Mariners, ch.8. Princeton University Press. '' * ''Gilles, Daniel (1992). L'Album Souvenir de la Fete Brest'92, p. 7, 111, 236, 257. Le Chasse Maree. Armen. '' * ''Mark, Samuel (2005). Homeric Seafaring. Texas University Press. '' * ''Melnik, Igor K. (2010). Historical Maritime Sailing in Models & Reconstruktions, p. 46-49. Kyiv, Phoenix. '' * ''

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

, John. The Athenian Trireme, pp. 28–30. Cambridge University Press. '' * ''"

Il Secolo XIX ( ) is an Italian newspaper published in Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limit ...

", (

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

), 23.05.1992. "In porto, dopo 3 anni d'odissea, una triremi russa", Giorgio Carrozi.'' * ''"

La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...

", (Italy), 31.05.1992 (№147). "E'approdata a Sanremo la triremi dell'antica Grecia".'' * ''"

Il Tirreno ''Il Tirreno'' (English: "The Tyrrhenian") is a regional Italian newspaper, printed in Livorno and serving the Tuscany region. ''Il Tirreno'' also features sixteen local editions around the whole region. History It was founded in 1877 under th ...

", (Italy), 06.05.1992. " Una mostra per l’Ivlia".'' * ''"

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

", (

), 19.07.1992. "Pavel, galerien d'Odessa", Annick Cojean.'' * ''" Revue Thalassa", (France), 07.1992 (№3). "Et vogue la galere" p. 64-65.'' * ''"Presse – Ocean (Ouest)", (France), 09.09.1994. "Ivlia se prepare pour une transatlantique", Severine Le Bourhis, p. 15.'' * ''"

Le Télégramme ''Le Télégramme'' is a French-language daily newspaper from the Brittany region of France, based in the commune of Morlaix. It was founded in 1944 and still exists to this day, although circulation has been declining since 2012. History and pro ...

", (France), 02.08.1994. "La galere antique a la conquete de l’Atlantique", Noel Pochet.'' * ''"La Presse de la Manche", (France), 14.08.1993. " Et vogue la galere ukrainienne", Th. Motte, p. 3-4.'' * ''"Le Chasse Maree", (France), 07.1992 (№67). "Ivlia, la galere", p. 16.'' * ''"

Le Marin Le Marin (; or ) is a town and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. Population Points of interest In Le Marin there is Église du Marin, an old church built in 1766. It contains a marble altar and some figurettes worth se ...

", (France), 21.05.1993. "Sous le vent de la galere", Cristhine Le Portal.'' * ''"

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

", (edition Paris), 16.09.1993. "Une galere antique", Laurent Mauron.'' * ''"

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...