The Sarissa Precision merchant vessel is typical of merchant ships plying their trade across Mare Nostrum or Mediterranean sea.

The merchant ship’s main function was to transport lots of cargo over long distances and at a reasonable cost. Merchant ships transported agricultural goods, for example olive oil from Greece, wine, grain from Egypt’s Nile valley, and raw materials such as marble, granite, iron bars, copper, lead ingots, etc.

Small merchant vessel at sea showing typical sized crew

Sail rigging

A typical merchant vessel in a Roman harbour.

Unlike warships, merchant ships did not have to be fast or very maneuverable. Since they anchored to ports, they also did not have to have a flat hull like warships and had instead a V-shaped hull and a ballast which rendered them more stable. They also had double planking which strengthened their hull thereby allowing them to transport heavy cargo.

A cut-away view of a small merchant ship.

Our knowledge of Roman shipping comes from two sources, ancient drawings and illustrations, and shipwrecks. The large number of shipwrecks found around the Mediterranean illustrates not only the quantity of shipping that took place, but the perils of traveling by sea in earlier times. We can verify this based on the detailed account in Acts of the Apostles of Paul being shipwrecked on his way to Rome. Depending on size and intended use of the ship, the hull shape could be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. In the first case the stern and bow were essentially identical. In the asymmetric version, the bow was located at a lower height. The bow was sometimes concave, due to the presence of a cutwater. These were added not as a ram, but a structural modification to improve the vessel’s sailing ability.  

These divers can be seen recovering amphora from a Roman shipwreck.

Roman merchants moved all sorts of goods and foodstuffs by sea. Commercial vessels were known by a variety of names, such as corbita, gaulus, ponto, or cladivata, depending upon the region. Overall, the ships demonstrated great uniformity in design. This would be expected given the level of maritime commerce within the Empire. Innovations and improvements were quickly shared and disseminated within the industry.

I am not sure how this might be used in a game of “Gangs of Rome” other than a piece of terrain or scenery. I am thinking that one useful purpose could be a scenario where some robbers have to escape back to their getaway ship in the harbour. The main thing is that it looks good and will add to the aesthetics of the port.