Shipbuilding today is based on science and ships are built using computers and sophisticated tools. Shipbuilding in ancient Rome, however, was more of an art relying on estimation, inherited techniques and personal experience. The Romans were not traditionally sailors but mostly land- based people, who learned to build ships from the people that they conquered, namely the Greeks and the Egyptians.

今天的造船是以科学为基础的，船只是使用计算机和复杂的工具建造的。然而，古罗马的造船业更像是一种依赖于估计、继承的技术和个人经验的艺术。罗马人传统上并不是水手，大部分而是陆地人，他们从他们征服的人民，即希腊人和埃及人那里学习了建造船只。

There are a few surviving written documents that give descriptions and representations of ancient Roman ships, including the sails and rigging. Excavated vessels also provide some clues about ancient shipbuilding techniques. Studies of these have taught us that ancient Roman shipbuilders built the outer hull first, then proceeded with the frame and the rest of the ship. Planks used to build the outer hull were initially sewn together. Starting from the 6th century BCE, they were fixed using a method called mortise and tenon, whereby one plank locked into another without the need for stitching. Then in the first centuries of the current era, Mediterranean shipbuilders shifted to another shipbuilding method, still in use today, which consisted of building the frame first and then proceeding with the hull and the other components of the ship. This method was more systematic and dramatically shortened ship construction times. The ancient Romans built large merchant ships and warships whose size and technology were unequalled until the 16th century CE.

有一些幸存的书面文件对古罗马船只进行了描述和表示，包括帆和索具。挖掘出来的船只也提供了一些关于古代造船技术的线索。对这些船的研究告诉我们，古罗马的造船商先建造了外船体，然后再继续进行到框架和船的其余部分。用来建造外壳的木板最初是缝在一起的。从公元前6世纪开始，它们被用一种叫做榫眼和榫头的方法来固定，即一块木板锁在另一块木板上，而不需要缝合。然后在现在的头几个世纪，地中海造船商转向了另一种造船方法，至今仍在使用，包括先建造框架，然后继续建造船体和船的其他部件。该方法更有系统，大大缩短了船舶施工时间。古罗马人建造了大型商船和战舰，其规模和技术直到公元 16 世纪都是无与伦比的。

Warships were built to be lightweight and very speedy. They had to be able to sail near the coast, which is why they had no ballast or excess load and were built with a long, narrow hull. They did not sink when damaged and often would lie crippled on the sea's surface following naval battles. They had a bronze battering ram, which was used to pierce the timber hulls or break the oars of enemy vessels. Warships used both wind (sails) and human power (oarsmen) and were therefore very fast. Eventually, Rome's navy became the largest and most powerful in the Mediterranean, and the Romans had control over what they therefore called Mare Nostrum meaning 'our sea'.

军舰被建造重量很轻，而且非常迅速。它们必须能够在海岸附近航行，这就是为什么它们没有压舱物或多余的负荷，而且有一个又长又窄的船体。它们在受损时不会沉没，而是在海战后经常会残缺不全的飘在海面上。他们有一个青铜攻城槌，用来刺穿木壳或折断敌人船只的桨。军舰同时使用风(帆)和人力(桨手)，因此速度非常快。最终，罗马海军成为地中海上最大、最强大的海军，罗马人控制了他们所谓的诺斯特拉姆，其意味着“我们的海洋”。

There were many kinds of warship. The 'trireme' was the dominant warship from the 7th to 4th century BCE. It had rowers in the top, middle and lower levels, and approximately 50 rowers in each bank. The rowers at the bottom had the most uncomfortable position as they were under the other rowers and were exposed to the water entering through the oar-holes. It is worth noting that contrary to popular perception, rowers were not slaves but mostly Roman citizens enrolled in the military. The trireme was superseded by larger ships with even more rowers.

战舰有很多种类型。“特里雷姆“号是公元前 7 世纪至 4 世纪的主要战舰。它的上、中、下层都有划桨者，每层大约有 50 名划桨者。在底部的桨手的位置最不舒服，因为他们在其他桨手的下面，并暴露在通过桨孔进入的水中。值得注意的是，与大众的看法相反，桨手不是奴隶，而是大多数参军的罗马公民。特里雷姆被拥有更多桨手的更大的船所取代。

Merchant ships were built to transport lots of cargo over long distances and at a reasonable cost. They had a wider hull, double planking and a solid interior for added stability. Unlike warships, their V-shaped hull was deep underwater, meaning that they could not sail too close to the coast. They usually had two huge side rudders located off the stern and controlled by a small tiller bar connected to a system of cables. They had from one to three masts with large square sails and a small triangular sail at the bow. Just like warships, merchant ships used oarsmen, but coordinating the hundreds of rowers in both types of ship was not an easy task. In order to assist them, music would be played on an instrument, and oars would then keep time with this.

商船的建造是为了以合理的成本长途运输大量货物。他们有一个更宽的船体，双木板和一个坚实的内部以增加稳定性。与军舰不同，它们的V型船体深在水下，这意味着它们不能航行得离海岸太近。它们通常有两个巨大的侧舵位于杆外，通过与缆绳系统相连接的小型舵柄进行控制。他们有一到三根桅杆，有大方形帆，船头有一个小三角形帆。就像军舰一样，商船使用桨手，但协调两种船的数百名桨手并不是一项容易的事。为了帮助他们，音乐会用乐器演奏，而划桨者则跟着音乐的节奏。

The cargo on merchant ships included raw materials (e.g. iron bars, copper, marble and granite), and agricultural products (e.g. grain from Egypt's Nile valley). During the Empire, Rome was a huge city by ancient standards of about one million inhabitants. Goods from all over the world would come to the city through the port of Pozzuoli situated west of the bay of Naples in Italy and through the gigantic port of Ostia situated at the mouth of the Tiber River. Large merchant ships would approach the destination port and, just like today, be intercepted by a number of towboats that would drag them to the quay.

商船上的货物包括原材料(比如铁棒、铜、大理石和花岗岩)，以及农产品(例如来自埃及尼罗河谷的谷物)。在帝国时期，罗马是一个按照古代标准，大约有 100 万居民的大城市。来自世界各地的货物通过位于意大利那不勒斯湾以西的波祖奥利港和位于台伯河河口的巨大的奥斯蒂亚港到达这座城市。大型商船会接近目的地港口，就像今天一样，会被许多拖船拖到码头时拦截。

The time of travel along the many sailing routes could vary widely. Navigation in ancient Rome did not rely on sophisticated instruments such as compasses but on experience, local knowledge and observation of natural phenomena. In conditions of good visibility, seamen in the Mediterranean often had the mainland or islands in sight, which greatly facilitated navigation. They sailed by noting their position relative to a succession of recognisable landmarks. When weather conditions were not good or where land was no longer visible, Roman mariners estimated directions from the pole star or, with less accuracy, from the Sun at noon. They also estimated directions relative to the wind and swell. Overall, shipping in ancient Roman times resembled shipping today with large vessels regularly crossing the seas and bringing supplies from their Empire.

沿着许多航线航行的时间可能差别很大。古罗马的航海并不依赖罗盘等复杂的仪器，而是依靠经验、当地知识和对自然现象的观察。在能见度良好的条件下，地中海的海员经常能看到大陆或岛屿，这大大促进了航行。他们通过注意自己与一系列可识别的路标的相对位置来航行。当天气条件不好或陆地不再可见时，罗马水手们会通过北极星，准确性差一些，或正午的太阳来辨认方向。他们也会通过风和海浪来辨认方向。总的来说，古罗马时代的航运就像今天的航运一样，大型船只经常横渡大海，从他们的帝国带来补给品。