![]() ![]() Warships were built to be lightweight and very speedy. The ancient Romans built large merchant ships and warships whose size and technology were unequalled until the 16th century CE. This method was more systematic and dramatically shortened ship construction times. 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. 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. Planks used to build the outer hull were initially sewn together. ![]() 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. Excavated vessels also provide some clues about ancient shipbuilding techniques. There are a few surviving written documents that give descriptions and representations of ancient Roman ships, including the sails and rigging. 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. Shipbuilding in ancient Rome, however, was more of an art relying on estimation, inherited techniques and personal experience. Shipbuilding today is based on science and ships are built using computers and sophisticated tools. You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
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