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History | |
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Name | Isis |
Namesake | Isis |
General characteristics | |
Type | Alexandrian grain ship[2] |
Tonnage | c.1,200 t (1,181 long tons)[1] |
Displacement | Unknown |
Length | 180 ft (55 m) |
Beam | c.45 ft (14 m) |
Depth of hold | 44 ft (13 m) |
The Roman ship Isis was a very large ship that operated on the Mediterranean during the Roman Empire around 150 AD, carrying grain from Egypt to Italy. The Isis was apparently 55 meters (180 feet) long and had a beam of 13.7 meters (45 feet). Its cargo hold was 13.4 meters (44 feet) deep.[3] It has a carrying capacity of 1200 short tons or 1,071 long tonnes.
In his book Πλοἶον ἢ Εὐχαί ("The Ship, or The Wishes") the sophist Lucian described the Isis when he saw it in Athens' seaport Piraeus:
The wreck of the Isis was discovered by Robert Ballard in 1989 off the coast of Sicily. [5]