Ivlia (ship)

Ivlia (bireme) is a modern reconstruction of an ancient Greek rowing warship (galley) with oars at two levels and an example of experimental archaeology. Between 1989 and 1994, this vessel undertook six international historical and geographical expeditions in the footsteps of the ancient seafarers.
Ship construction.
After processing the available scientific data utilising ancient illustrations on vases and reliefs, written and archaeological sources, members of the Odessa Archaeological Museum, under the leadership of Prof. Vladimir N. Stanko, PhD, proposed the building of a bireme since in antiquity it had been the most widely used vessel in the northern Black Sea region.
The ship was constructed in 1989 at the Sochi Naval Shipyard, by a team under shipwright Damir S. Shkhalakhov, as well as the active participation of the future crew members. Ivlia was built from Durmast oak and Siberian larch, the oars are of beech. Technical design of the project was carried out by specialists of the Nikolayev University of Shipbuilding. The main sponsor of construction of the ship was the Black Sea Shipping Company.
Expedition route.
Starting from Odessa in the Ukraine in 1989, "Ivlia" followed the routes of the ancient mariners on the Black Sea and the Mediterranean as well as the Atlantic, covering more than 3,000 nautical miles in six expedition seasons and visiting over 50 European ports, finally sailing up the river Seine to reach Paris. To celebrate the successful completion of the voyages, the Mayor of Paris and future President of France, Jacques Chirac, was received on board the "Ivlia". 
The expedition's progress was widely covered by the international media. During the time of the voyage, hundreds of articles were published, along with dozens of TV and radio reports. The ship was regularly visited by official delegations and thousands of tourists. "Ivlia" also took part in international maritime festivals: Colombo'92 in Genoa (Italy), Brest’92, Cancal’93, and Vieux Greements’94 (France). Over six seasons the crew members included more than 200 people – citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, France, Greece and Georgia.
Scientific aspects.
The authors of the project, Igor Melnik, Mikhail Agbunov and Pavel Goncharuk, together with the staff of the Odessa Archaeological Museum and the Nikolayev University of Shipbuilding, developed the research programme of the expedition primarily to address the following objectives:
The practical experience gained on "Ivlia"'s expeditions enabled the project authors to affirm:
In addition, the research programme conducted on board "Ivlia" included the participation of the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas. In accordance with the research program, developed under the leadership of the Acad. Y. P. Zaitsev. During the expedition, density, salinity, transparency and contamination of sea water were regularly measured. Also regular measurements were made of environmental parameters and the level of pollution of the sea water, assessments of the state of marine flora and fauna, and a variety of medical experiments were conducted. The data obtained during the six years of voyages are summarized in the articles and books subsequently published by the authors of the project.
External links.
[[Category:Ships of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Navy of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Naval warfare of antiquity]]
[[Category:Odessa]]
[[Category:Replications of ancient voyages]]
[[Category:Shipbuilding]]
[[Category:Human-powered vehicles]]
[[Category:Human-powered transport]]
[[Category:History of rowing]]
[[Category:Rowing boats]]
[[Category:Galleys]]
[[Category:1989 ships]]
[[Category:Replica ships]]