The Roman Fleet

PBS: UK Premiere Friday 24 April at 8.55pm

The Hollywood image of the Roman fleet, with galley slaves rowing under the whip, has become a cliché – and it’s wrong. The naval forces of Ancient Rome played a crucial role in its conquest of the Mediterranean and beyond, but how did the fleet operate?

To find answers, experimental archaeologists reconstructed a full-scale replica of a Roman ship, based on excavation findings and using ancient craftsmanship methods. It has now been put through its paces in the Mediterranean, in the waters where its ancestors sailed almost 2,000 years ago.

As the ship is put to the test for the first time, researchers ask which routes the fleet navigated, what dangers it faced, and what technical achievements contributed to its success.