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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cmezner, post: 26079768, member: 87809&quot;]On coinage depicting war galleys one can see the naval ram (Rostrum), a remarkable weapon that dominated Mediterranean naval warfare for nearly five hundred years. A rostrum is a bronze ram attached to the bow of an ancient warship. It was used to punch holes into the hull of enemy ships to puncture, disable or sink them. The rostrum was made of cast bronze and was molded directly onto the bow of the finished galley. It was fitted to different types of ships. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armored beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Phoenicians were famed in antiquity for their ship-building skills, and they were credited with inventing the keel, the battering ram on the bow, and caulking between planks. From Assyrian relief carvings at Nineveh and Khorsabad, and descriptions in texts such as the book of Ezekial in the Bible we know that the Phoenicians had three types of ship, all shallow-keeled. Warships had a convex stern and were propelled by a large single-masted square sail and two banks of oars (a bireme), had a deck, and were fitted with a ram low on the bow.</p><p>The Roman historian Livy gives a description of their use at the Battle of Side in 190 BC:</p><p>Whenever a ship encountered an enemy vessel head on, it either shattered its prow, or sheared off its oars; or else it sailed through the open space in the line and rammed it in the stern[[1] Livy History of Rome XXXVII 24, translated by Henry Bettenson, Penguin edition].</p><p><br /></p><p>The best definitions about devices on ancient galleys that I have found are from the Dictionary of Roman Coins at </p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Illustrated%20Ancient%20Coin%20Glossary" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Illustrated%20Ancient%20Coin%20Glossary" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Illustrated Ancient Coin Glossary</a></p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Acrostolium" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Acrostolium" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Acrostolium</a></p><p><br /></p><p>It is not uncommon to find descriptions of coins where the acrostolium and the aplustre are wrongly identified. </p><p><br /></p><p><u>Acrostolium</u></p><p>An ornamental extension of the stem post on the prow of an ancient warship. Often used as a symbol of victory or of power at sea <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Acrostolium" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Acrostolium" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Acrostolium</a>.</p><p><u>Acroterium</u></p><p>Alternate spelling acroterion, is an ornament, such as a decorative knob or a statue, on the pediment of a temple or other building. Some are at the apex, others are at the corners. On Roman galleys they are at the top of the Acrostolium (round object at the left in image below)</p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Illustrated%20Ancient%20Coin%20Glossary" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Illustrated%20Ancient%20Coin%20Glossary" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Illustrated Ancient Coin Glossary</a></p><p><u>Aplustre</u></p><p>Alternate spelling apluster, (Latin: Aplustrum) or Aphlaston, an ornamental appendage of wood at the ship&#039;s stern, usually spreading like a fan and curved like a bird &#039;s feather. The aplustre is used on ancient coins to symbolize maritime power Dictionary of Roman Coins, <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Aplustrum" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Aplustrum" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Aplustrum</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=aplustre" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=aplustre" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=aplustre</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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