Tag Archives: Ancient Mariners

Did Ancient Mariners use Sunstones to Navigate?

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According to ancient Icelandic texts, a mysterious object known as a sunstone could locate the sun in a clouded-over sky. Such an object might explain how ancient mariners like the Vikings traveled across the oceans with otherwise rudimentary technology. But did sunstones actually exist? Or were they merely allegorical references?

Recently, researchers discovered a slab of mineral in a 16th century shipwreck. This mineral, known as Iceland Spar, might just be the mythical sunstone. Here’s more from Raphael Satter at the Associated Press (posted at R&D Mag):

A rough, whitish block recovered from an Elizabethan shipwreck may be a sunstone, the fabled crystal believed by some to have helped Vikings and other medieval seafarers navigate the high seas, researchers say.

In a paper published earlier this week, a Franco-British group argued that the Alderney Crystal—a chunk of Icelandic calcite found amid a 16th century wreck at the bottom of the English Channel—worked as a kind of solar compass, allowing sailors to determine the position of the sun even when it was hidden by heavy cloud, masked by fog, or below the horizon.

That’s because of a property known as birefringence, which splits light beams in a way that can reveal the direction of their source with a high degree of accuracy. Vikings may not have grasped the physics behind the phenomenon, but that wouldn’t present a problem.

“You don’t have to understand how it works,” said Albert Le Floch, of the University in Rennes in western France. “Using it is basically easy.”

(See the rest at R&D Mag)

Ancient Roman Shipwrecks?

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A few weeks ago, surveyors were examining the Mediterranean Sea in preparation for a new gas pipeline. In the process, they discovered two ancient shipwrecks in deep waters. Did ancient sailors risk the open seas?

Ancient Roman Shipwrecks?

We talk a lot about pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact here at Guerrilla Explorer. Over the years, scholars have speculated that various civilizations traveled to America long before Christopher Columbus and even the Vikings. Other scholars have argued for travel going the other way, most notably Topa Inca Yupanqui’s legendary expedition in 1480.

So, these ancient shipwrecks take on additional interest in our eyes. If ancient Roman merchants were willing to travel outside of coastal routes, then it’s certainly possible a few of them might’ve decided to test the ocean itself.

The shipwrecks in question date back to the third century. They were found between Corfu and Italy under 0.7 to 0.9 miles of seawater. This is rather unusual as most shipwrecks from that era are discovered under just 100 to 130 feet of water.

“There are many Roman shipwrecks, but these are in deep waters. They were not sailing close to the coast. The conventional theory was that, as these were small vessels up to 25 meters (80 feet) long, they did not have the capacity to navigate far from the coast, so that if there was a wreck they would be close enough to the coast to save the crew.” ~ Angeliki Simossi, Head of Greece’s Underwater Antiquities Department

Now, its possible these ships were pushed off-shore in a storm. Plus, undersea currents might’ve caused the wreckage to shift over time. Also, these ships could’ve been helmed by unusually brave (or foolhardy) captains who were more prone to test limits. However, other ancient wrecks have been found far from land over the last decade or two, leading some scholars to question “the coast hugging theory.”

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

Unfortunately, Greece has yet to release the exact location of the shipwrecks. Thus, it’s impossible to draw too many conclusions. According to Simossi, the ships had not been “sailing close to the coast.” But it remains to be seen how far away they actually got from coastal routes.

“In antiquity, ships didn’t sail around with depth finders and keep track of how deep they were. It was more how far they were on the surface in relation to land. After 30 meters of depth the boat’s safe, so if it’s 30 meters (100 feet) or 3,000 meters it’s a little irrelevant.” ~ Jeffrey Royal, Director of RPM Nautical Foundation

So, for now, we’ll wait for more information. But if these ships were found far off-shore, it’ll add a little bit of hope to the theory that ancient mariners ventured further into the seas than we once believed. Maybe, just maybe, a few of them set sail many centuries ago and headed into the ocean, hoping to discover a New World.

Neanderthal Mariners?

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Were the Neanderthals land-locked? Or did they master the seas as ancient mariners?

Neanderthals: Were they Ancient Mariners?

Recently, researchers discovered Neanderthal-type tools in Greece as well as on several Greek islands. Although they have yet to be dated, they provide some intriguing evidence that Neanderthals crossed the Mediterranean Sea 100,000 years ago. It’s possible the water level was significantly lower back then and the islands were connected to the mainland. It’s also possible Neanderthals swam the distance. Or maybe, just maybe, they built boats and sailed to the islands as ancient mariners. Here’s more on Neanderthals as ancient mariners from New Scientist:

It looks like Neanderthals may have beaten modern humans to the seas. Growing evidence suggests our extinct cousins criss-crossed the Mediterranean in boats from 100,000 years ago – though not everyone is convinced they weren’t just good swimmers.

Neanderthals lived around the Mediterranean from 300,000 years ago. Their distinctive “Mousterian” stone tools are found on the Greek mainland and, intriguingly, have also been found on the Greek islands of Lefkada, Kefalonia and Zakynthos. That could be explained in two ways: either the islands weren’t islands at the time, or our distant cousins crossed the water somehow…

(See New Scientist for more on Neanderthal ancient mariners)

Ancient Sea Mariners?

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Homo erectus is an extinct hominid species. Most scholars consider it a direct African ancestor of Homo sapiens or perhaps, a separate species that originated in Asia. Popular opinion holds they were unintelligent cave-dwellers. But recent discoveries promise to rewrite those views. Did Homo erectus conquer the seas? Were they ancient mariners?

Ancient Mariners?

Until recently, researchers believed that man first crossed the Mediterranean Sea around 12,000 B.C. But according to the Daily Mail, archaeologists now think that “man was crossing the Mediterranean Sea from northern Africa at least 130,000 years ago – more than 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.”

Holy smokes! That’s quite a change. So what brought it about? In 2008-2009, a team led by archaeologist Thomas Strasser discovered stone tools predating Homo sapiens on Crete, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Since Crete has been an island for many millennia, prehistoric people would’ve had to cross the the Mediterranean to reach it. In other words, they had to be ancient mariners.

Ancient Mariners on Crete?

Crete’s unique geology aided the dating process. Earthquakes in the region have slowly driven the island upward for eons. This created unique rock formations consisting of ancient beach sand. Some of the tools were discovered within those rock formations.

“We know that the tools are tens of meters above the terrace we dated at 50,000 years old, so we know right off the bat that they have to be at least that old.” ~ Karl Wegmann, Geologist

By studying the higher rock formations in which the tools were found, Wegmann was able to calculate their age at about 130,000 years old.

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

And just like that, our knowledge of Homo erectus has changed forever. No longer should we view them as unintelligent, uncreative cave-dwellers. They possessed far greater skills that we ever imagined. For the time being, Homo erectus has earned its place in history as the first of the ancient mariners.