Description
During the Bronze Age, trade networks developed as a result of the growing demand for copper and tin - the two metals needed to make bronze. Maritime transport played an essential role in long-distance trade. Shipping was mainly coastal: sailing and rowing boats sailed along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, stopping regularly to trade or refuel.
Some ships even travelled as far as Scandinavia to bring back Baltic amber. Shipwrecks from this period, loaded with a variety of goods, have been found off the coasts of Britain and Turkey, confirming the intensity of these maritime exchanges. The conference will look at the various known models of ship and their construction techniques.
Talk given by Jean-René Chatillon.
