Image Details
Courtesy Israel Dept. of Antiquities and Museums/Photo: Danny Friedman
Oars poised, a boat in a first-century A.D. mosaic remains forever at sea. Decorating a house in the Galilee seaside town of Migdal, only a mile from the discovery site of the Galilee boat, the mosaic boat appears to be propelled by six oars, three on each side. However, the sternmost oar widens at its base and therefore should be interpreted as a steering oar, or quarter rudder. Thus, this mosaic boat may resemble the Galilee boat, which probably had four rowers (two on each side) and a helmsman who steered with the quarter rudder.