Original subtitles

- This week on "Ancient Top 10,"

a ship that carried more men

than a modern day aircraft carrier.

- Its deck was bigger than an American football field.

Get your mind around what it would take

to build something like that.

- The "Titanic" of the ancient world.

- It was the most luxurious passenger ship

that had ever been built.

- A lethal torpedo ship that saved a nation.

- The trireme is the epitome of ancient naval warfare.

- A 2,000-year-old ship with technology onboard

that's still in use today.

- They are so opulent. They are so extraordinary.

They are such remarkable feats of engineering.

- And the first ironclad vessel in history.

- This was an unbelievable ship.

The beast of the east.

- The most advanced naval designs of their time.

Where will they be ranked on the only top ten list

thousands of years in the making?

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

The spread of trade, culture, and civilization,

land grabs and invasions--

so much in the ancient world was influenced by ships.

- One thing that separates humans from the rest of

the natural world is our desire and our ability

to explore around us, and in the ancient world,

that could not have been done without amazing ships.

- Thousands of years ago,

waterways were an essential part of life.

And the key to military dominance.

- We tend to think of seas as boundaries,

but actually, if you lived in any ancient civilization,

these were the highways.

If you could rule the waves, then basically

you could rule your world.

- This week's "Ancient Top Ten"...

it's ancient ships.

The most astonishing vessels, ranked according

to how advanced they were for their time.

Coming straight in at number ten...

♪ ♪

The devastating Phoenician fireship.

- The fireship, it's been used throughout history.

It's simple.

You steer a floating firebomb at your enemy.

[explosion]

- During the 4th century B.C.,

Alexander the Great was at war with the Phoenicians.

He attacked their island city of Tyre.

- It was a strategic port in what is now Lebanon,

on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Alexander wanted to expand the Macedonian Empire into Asia,

and conquering Tyre was the key.

- In order to reach it, he built a giant causeway

and was pushing two huge siege towers across it.

However, the Phoenicians had a trick of their own.

They counter-attacked with a Phoenician fireship.

- The timber frames of the towers

would make them highly vulnerable

to this ingenious, floating weapon.

- The design of a fireship is actually

surprisingly difficult, because ships are made of wood

and they're made of wet wood, which tends to put fires out,

so the fire has to breathe to allow it to carry on burning,

and the Phoenicians faced up

to that design problem and absolutely nailed it.

- The Phoenicians took an old cargo ship

and filled it with combustible material.

There were two masts and they hung cauldrons

full of flammable liquids from them.

They lit the whole thing on fire and drove it into the causeway.

- The back of the ship was weighed down

so that the bow was raised

and could make contact with the siege towers.

On impact, the the cauldrons spilled their contents,

fueling the flames and causing a massive explosion.

[explosion]

There was a 500-foot-wide firestorm.

- Alexander's men were jumping into the sea

to escape the flames, but there was no escape,

because the sea itself was on fire.

- The brilliance of the Phoenician design

was in creating a floating chemical firebomb

that could stay lit, even in water.

It's theorized that bees wax, animal fat,

and other buoyant but flammable ingredients were used,

but we don't know for sure.

It's a clever, ancient mystery.

- The Phoenician fireship was the first recorded use

of the fireship in history, and what an impressive design.

Sailors fear nothing more than fire at sea

because there's nowhere to run,

and the basic idea and design

of the Phoenician fireship

was copied for millennia.

- A floating weapon of fire which could attack

large targets at close range.

It showed the importance of controlling the sea

as well as land during invasions.

And gave power-grabbing dictators in the ancient world

a new way to expand their empires.

Just the fireship on its own would have been a contender

for our top ten countdown.

But the explosive Phoenician fireship is guaranteed a place.

♪ ♪

Another ship powering its way on to our list

is a Nordic warrior of stealth,

used to inflict terror on unsuspecting enemies.

Sailing in at number nine...

♪ ♪

The Viking longship.

- Scandinavia in Europe, 1,000 years ago,

home to the Vikings.

They were fearless explorers

and soldiers of the sea.

- People often think of the Vikings as these

axe-wielding barbarians.

They were very tough fighters,

but they were incredible navigators,

and the Viking age would not have happened

without the longboat.

- The name "Viking" means "a pirate raid,"

and that's exactly what they did throughout Europe

with one of the greatest ships ever.

- The Vikings were masters of surprise.

Sailing right to the shore,

they could storm the enemy.

They were feared for their slaughter and violence,

spilling the blood of priests,

even human trafficking.

They repeatedly targeted monasteries

lying on remote areas of the British coast

because they held treasure troves of wealth.

And for this, they needed a boat

capable of traveling long distances quickly.

- They could reach a top speed of 15 knots,

which is faster than anything else on the sea at the time,

and it's true that the Vikings simply couldn't have achieved

what they managed to achieve without their longships.

♪ ♪

- The Vikings weren't interested in naval warfare,

that is, you know, ships fighting out at sea.

What they were interested in was raiding enemy territory.

- And the ships they built were perfect for the job in hand.

- The awesome design of the Viking longship

meant they could travel in just three feet of water.

No shoreline was safe from Viking attack.

- It had a very shallow draft and flat bottom.

That meant the ship could sail close to the coast

and also way up into the river systems.

- On one occasion, the Vikings managed to row and sail

over 100 miles inland and they attacked Paris,

which absolutely shocked the whole of Europe.

- And the Vikings demanded a ransom to leave.

The French King had to pay 5,700 pounds

in weight of silver to get rid of them.

[all screaming]

Light and strong, some could even be carried

to maneuver around obstacles blocking their way.

The biggest could hold 60 men and was 100 feet long.

[lightning crashing]

At the bow of the ship was often a dragon's head.

It scared off the evil spirits of the sea

and earned them the name "dragonships."

There was one other feature of the longship

that was particularly ingenious.

- It had no front or rear, both ends were identical.

And that meant it could run up the beach,

Vikings could jump out, do battle,

jump back in the ship, and head out to sea

without turning the boat around.

- The Vikings then had two ways to make a swift exit,

either by oars or sail.

♪ ♪

The sail made the longships travel faster and further

with far less manual effort.

But oars were used near the coast or in a river

to gain speed quickly, or when the wind was low.

During raids, the unpredictability of the wind

made rowing the better method to make an escape.

- They weren't just brilliant for these quick strikes.

They were also perfect for long sea voyages,

which gave the Vikings a huge reach.

It meant that no one was safe from them.

- One epic journey led to the Vikings becomingny

the first Europeans to visit America,

nearly 500 years before Columbus.

It's believed that Viking explorer Leif Ericson

was blown off course when he travelled a staggering

7,000 miles with his crew.

He landed on Vinland, what is now Canada,

and the North American natives were superior in number

and fierce in combat.

He didn't settle there for long and was never to return

to North American shores again.

- Ships were so important to the Vikings,

they also used them to honor their most prominent people.

After an important Viking died, they would be placed

in a specially-made burial ship

and surrounded by their weapons, jewelry,

even sacrificed slaves.

This would be set alight,

in order to lead them into a successful afterlife.

♪ ♪

The longship was a marvel of engineering design

that was both durable and fast,

and opened up a world of untold riches.

♪ ♪

- Coming up, a Chinese symbol of opulence and power,

forming the largest armada the ancient world had ever seen.

♪ ♪

And a military warship used by the Romans

that was a weapon of stealth and surveillance.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- Welcome back to "Ancient Top Ten's"

top ten ancient ships, ranked by experts,

according to how advanced the ships were for their time.

Coming in at number eight...

♪ ♪

The extraordinary Chinese junk.

- The true mark of a fantastic design

has to be longevity, and that's why

the Chinese junk's in my top ten.

It hasn't just been around for centuries, but for millennia.

It's one of those perfect maritime designs.

♪ ♪

- The word "junk" simply comes from a Chinese word

for "boat" or "ship."

It's the longest-lasting ship design,

having been used constantly since the 2nd century A.D.

Six centuries ago, Chinese Admiral Zheng He

used the junks to form the largest armada

in the ancient world.

Zheng He embarked on seven epic trading expeditions.

♪ ♪

Nearly 28,000 men sailed on 317 ships.

♪ ♪

The junk was versatile and adaptable.

It could navigate rivers and seas.

This was due to its shallow draft.

- The Chinese junk had a flat bottomed hull.

This came about because, surprisingly, for a country

so big, there wasn't a huge amount of the best

ship-building wood, so they designed a boat

that would use the least amount of wood possible.

- Despite the junk's economical use of materials,

it took armies of craftsmen to build Zheng He's vast armada.

30,000 carpenters, sailmakers, and shipbuilders

worked day and night in the shipyards.

They even lived there.

And they worked on several design features

that were way ahead of their time.

- What was extraordinary about the Chinese junk

was that the sails could completely rotate

around the mast.

This meant the ship could sail directly into the wind

just like a modern day yacht.

- Being able to take advantage of the wind,

rather than be at its mercy, was vital for the long voyages

taken by Zheng He and his crew.

Also crucial to their navigation

was another Chinese invention.

- One of the key attributes of the Chinese junk

is that its rudders could be lifted up or down.

This allowed it to travel in shallow or deep water.

It could go practically anywhere.

- From rivers to treacherous seas,

the ingenuity of the design of the junk had no limits.

- Chinese junks were the first ships to have

internal bulkheads, or walls.

And this was inspired by the structure of bamboo.

- The shipbuilders noticed that

bamboo stalks were separated into sections,

which gave them added strength.

They copied this ingenious design using bulkheads,

which they also realized could be made watertight.

- Bulkheads separated up the ship and could be sealed

in case of danger of flooding.

- So if one was damaged, it could be flooded

and not endanger the rest of the ship.

- The Chinese were so innovative, that in the West,

bulkheads weren't introduced until the age of steamships,

1,000 years later.

Another remarkable feature of the junk's design

is that it could be scaled up or down.

From small river craft, to this.

♪ ♪

This is a life-sized replica of a 15th century junk

in Zheng He's fleet.

Known as a "treasure ship," it's over 400 feet long.

In fact, Zheng He's largest treasure ship was so big

that all the ships belonging to Christopher Columbus

could have been stored on just one deck.

- Each of these Chinese junks were the size

of a football field,

and fleets of these things were assembled for massive

long-distance voyages, for example, to Africa.

Some scholars believe that they were used to travel across

the Pacific all the way to the Americas.

A kind of Columbus-type voyage.

- While the showboating junk was used to attract

awe and attention, our next ship was designed

to do the exact opposite.

An ancient patrol boat that surveyed Roman borders,

it was used to deter a barbaric enemy.

Coming in at number seven...

♪ ♪

The Roman Mainz ships.

♪ ♪

This is the German town of Mainz on the Rhine River.

In Roman times, it was the capital of the Roman province

of Germania Superior.

The river was the frontline between the Roman Empire

and the hostile German tribes on the other side.

And it's here that a remarkable discovery was made.

- Back in the 1980s when some builders were digging

the foundations for a hotel, they found there in the ground

what turned out to be one of the most amazing

ancient archaeological discoveries.

- There were the remnants of five

extraordinary ancient ships.

They were Roman, from the 4th century A.D.,

and originally part of a flotilla of warships

who were protecting the provincial capital.

- The Mainz ships were a perfect design solution

to a strategic problem.

The Romans needed to control rivers within their empire.

- It was clear that they were sleek and built to be fast.

This is what one of the Mainz ship looked like,

recreated in a German museum.

70 feet long and just nine feet wide

with space for 30 oarsmen,

who were protected by shields.

- Mainz ships are an innovative design.

It's a huge leap forward in terms of construction.

They built the skeleton first

and then put thin planking on the outside.

This made it incredibly light and maneuverable,

exactly what you want for a river patrol vessel

and exerting power.

This is how we still build ships today, 1,500 years later.

♪ ♪

- Because they were so light,

they could achieve speeds of ten knots,

which meant they could race to block the river

against German boats at short notice

to protect the capital against a surprise attack.

♪ ♪

They were also ramming machines,

targeting enemy fortifications along the river.

They had a strong stern, able to withstand impact.

- There were no weak points.

The frame of the ship, the spine, was crafted

from a solid tree trunk.

The Mainz ships were strong, they were slim-line, agile,

but they could punch through anything

they found on the river.

- The Mainz ships could be manned

with heavily-armed soldiers,

or their design slightly altered so that they could mount

heavy artillery, like a ballista, a giant crossbow.

- Soldiers on these boats might have had

handheld ballistas, too.

One of these has been discovered in north Germany.

It's one of the rarest weapon finds in history.

Experts believe it was used on close-combat ships.

- For the Germanic tribespeople at the very edge

of the Roman Empire, this would have been

technological wizardry.

- With the Rhine as the frontline,

the Romans would have deployed these fighting boats

in much the same way as armed river patrol boats

were later used in the Vietnam War.

American troops used boats to secure vital waterways,

intercept enemy ships, and quickly and stealthily

deploy Navy Seals.

But for the Romans, the Mainz patrol boats

just weren't enough.

- As amazing as these ships were,

there was only so much they could do

when they were faced with hordes of murderous barbarians.

Control of the river was ultimately lost,

and there were actually abandoned forts

all along the river.

♪ ♪

- Though the Romans lost that battle,

they won the war when it came to innovation.

♪ ♪

Coming up, an all-powerful floating fortress.

And a brutal ramming ship that would rule the seas

with a deadly force of a modern-day torpedo.

It's the "Ancient Top Ten" countdown.

♪ ♪

- We're counting down the most awe-inspiring

ancient ships in history,

according to how advanced they were for their time.

It's no surprise that we find ourselves

once more in the waters of ancient China.

Coming in at number six...

♪ ♪

The Chinese tower ship,

the ultimate power in the Chinese universe.

- The Chinese tower ships must have been a terrifying sight.

These were floating fortresses with three decks

packed full of weapons.

- They guarded the country's huge inland rivers.

Traveling by land was difficult and dangerous.

Control of the rivers was the key to power,

and there were 20,000 miles of them.

- The Chinese Emperor's forces had to patrol the rivers

to keep order, and they needed ships to do it,

because if trouble ever broke out,

it was always along the river systems,

because that's where the local kingdoms and power bases were.

- On the mighty River Yangtze in the 3rd century A.D.,

naval architects came up with this:

the "tower ship."

Measuring up to 600 feet square

and resembling a castle, its multiple decks

could carry an entire army.

- Imagine how awe-inspiring it must have been

to watch this floating fortress just sail on past.

♪ ♪

- It must have been absolutely terrifying.

Like having the Death Star appear on your doorstep.

♪ ♪

- And it allowed the Emperor to use his force

to oppress any rebellion.

After this colossus, fortified ships became

a feature on the great Chinese rivers.

This monstrous example from the 6th century A.D.

was five stories high.

It even has a massive arm with a huge weight

to smash enemy boats.

And then there was this beast from the 5th century A.D.

This bizarre vessel may look like a big barge,

but it's actually an ancient warship.

There are no oarsmen.

All the men are hidden and totally protected.

It's propelling itself across the river as if by magic.

The Chinese had invented pedal power.

- Throughout history, the Chinese have been

at the forefront of military technology.

- The floating fortresses were astonishing battleships.

Any one of them could make our list of ancient ships.

But the greatest of all was the monster of the Yangtze.

The immense scale of it makes it beat anything

we've seen so far.

Size doesn't always win out, though.

Our next ship is smaller, yet more deadly.

A ramming ship that packs a brutal punch.

Smashing in at number five...

♪ ♪

The brutal, terrifying trireme.

- The trireme is the epitome of ancient naval warfare.

It has to be in the top ten.

- In the 8th century B.C., Greece was beginning to emerge

as a powerful civilization in the ancient world.

Within a few centuries, classical Greece

was at its height.

Its growth coincided with the development of this:

the trireme.

- The trireme was no ordinary ship.

It was one of the most effective warships of the ancient world.

And they perfected this design 2,500 years ago.

♪ ♪

- The design of the trireme was so superior

that it made the Greeks the deadliest force on the seas.

- With a standard length of 118 feet,

standing 21 feet high and just 12 feet wide,

it was a sleek, fast war machine.

And sitting close to the waterline

was its secret weapon.

- Part of the trireme's design was this huge copper-clad ram

in the front of the vessel, and it would use that

to punch holes in enemy ships and sink them,

making it the equivalent of a modern day torpedo.

♪ ♪

But for this, it needed speed,

and the trireme was one of the fastest ships

on the ancient seas.

- It was thanks to the unique arrangement

of highly trained oarsman.

This reconstruction of an ancient Greek trireme

built in the 1980s shows how effective they were.

170 rowers, 85 a side,

arranged in three levels,

one above the other.

This is why it's called a trireme,

which means "triple rowed."

By having the upper rows stick out,

each oarsman can be to the side of the one above or below,

making it possible for everyone to row at the same time.

That's three times the power in every stroke.

This had never been tried before.

- They would row at three speeds--

they had cruising speed, battle speed,

and then ramming speed, where they would effectively

turn the trireme into a deadly torpedo,

and you better hope that you weren't at the receiving end.

♪ ♪

The best example to show the effectiveness of the trireme

can be found at the Battle of Salamis.

The Greek ships were outnumbered

by their Persian enemies, up to three to one.

And they would've surely lost if it wasn't for the power

of the awesome trireme.

♪ ♪

The Greek Trireme smashed into the Persian ships,

effectively winning them the battle and the war.

Many people actually see this as the first victory

of democracy over tyranny.

- It led to a period of Greek cultural growth,

during which it's said that the basic principles

of today's Western society were formed.

♪ ♪

This takes us past the halfway mark of our top ten list

of ship designs that were so advanced,

they changed the ancient world.

Coming up, an armor-plated, futuristic vision

from 500 years ago.

And a luxury cruise ship that was the "Titanic" of its time.

It's the "Ancient Top Ten" countdown.

♪ ♪

- This is the "Ancient Top Ten" list of ancient ships,

ranked according to how advanced they were

for their time.

At number ten, we saw the explosive Phoenician fireship.

At number nine, the remarkable Viking longship.

At number eight was the enduring Chinese junk.

Number seven, the deadly Roman Mainz boats on river patrol.

And at number six was the Chinese tower ship.

And at number five, the lethal trireme.

All of these were made of wood,

but next in our countdown is something truly revolutionary.

The world's first ironclad ship.

[explosions]

At number four...

the monstrous turtle ship.

- This was an unbelievable ship,

the beast of the east,

and it had its own armor, just like a turtle.

♪ ♪

This was the best-protected ship there had ever been.

♪ ♪

- In the 16th century,

Korea was under attack

from its historical enemy, Japan,

and its navy was outnumbered 30 to 1.

The Korean admiral, Yi Sun-Sin,

knew that he needed to come up with something new

and extraordinary.

So he designed something himself.

And this was it.

This is an exact replica in a military museum

in Seoul, South Korea.

It was called a "turtle ship"

because of its protective armor.

- The turtle ship was a 16th century Korean battleship.

It was covered in metal plates hundreds of years

before ironclad ships would be seen in Europe or America.

♪ ♪

- This unique feature formed an enclosed deck

which protected the ship and the crew inside.

The metal plates also had vicious iron spikes

sticking out of them.

In battle, straw mats were used to hide the spikes,

so that anyone who tried to attack, got a nasty surprise.

- Not only did the enemies trying to board the ship

have to deal with the metal spikes,

there was also a great dragon's head

that spewed gases that may have been poisonous.

- The turtle ship was like nothing else on the sea.

Admiral Yi Sun-Shin actually describes the release

of noxious gases from the bow of his turtle ship.

This is incredible.

It's chemical warfare hundreds of years ago.

- The ship could also unleash massive firepower.

- The turtle ship was armed with 14 cannons

positioned all the way around the ship,

which gave it a 360-degree field of fire,

and each of those cannon was incredibly powerful.

It had a range of up to 1,600 feet,

which was far more powerful than anything else at the time.

It was by far the most deadly ship on the sea.

♪ ♪

- The cannon fired missiles like a weapon

from the 20th century.

And it's possible that smoke was emitted

to make smoke screens to hide its movement

from the enemy in close combat.

The result was that, when the turtle ships

went into action, the Japanese took a hammering.

- In one battle, 133 Japanese ships

faced just 12 turtle ships.

And those turtle ships damaged 90 of the Japanese ships

and sank 31 of them.

The Japanese had to flee.

It was one of the most decisive naval battles in history.

Not one turtle ship sank.

- The design of this Korean warship

was so advanced for its time, it saved a nation.

It's no surprise that military power struggles

have inspired the most technological innovations

in the ancient world.

But thankfully, someone also had an eye

on the more pleasurable side of life.

Our number three is like a modern day cruise ship.

The extraordinary "Syracusia."

- The ship was the brainchild of Archimedes,

and essentially what he's creating

is an ancient "Titanic,"

in terms of luxury and scale.

This is a new experience on the sea like never before,

and this construction is so luxurious,

it's like the first cruise ship.

- In the 3rd century B.C., the city of Syracuse

on the island of Sicily was home to one of

the greatest minds of all time,

the extraordinary inventor, Archimedes.

Not only was he one of the world's greatest

mathematicians, but he created some incredible technology.

He thought up a giant claw that could reach out

from the walls of Syracuse to tear enemy ships from the sea,

a steam cannon that could fire missiles

at a frightening speed,

and possibly an ancient solar death ray,

which turned the sun into a scorching laser beam

that could set ships on fire.

It's also thought that he designed this:

the "Syracusia."

Quite possibly the world's first cruise ship.

- Historical sources tell us that the "Syracusia"

was the height of luxury.

It had a gymnasium, library, and apartments.

♪ ♪

- It was the most luxurious passenger ship

that had ever been built.

It was filled with paintings and statues,

bronze bath tubs, even irrigated flowerbeds.

It's been estimated that it was up to 360 feet long,

and it would take the same amount of timber to build it

as it would to build a fleet of 60 triremes.

- And inside this floating palace

was yet more of the amazing inventions of Archimedes.

One of his most famous of all time--

and it would make the difference between success

or fatal failure of the "Syracusia."

And it's coming up on TV's most "Ancient Top Ten."

♪ ♪

[thunder rumbling]

- The most incredible ships sailed the seas centuries ago,

exploring virgin lands, invading new territories,

forming and re-shaping empires.

But a cruise ship?

That isn't something normally associated

with the ancient world.

Then again, it's a world full of surprises.

♪ ♪

At number three in our countdown

is the "Syracusia," a luxury liner

from the 3rd century B.C.,

and the brainchild of the Greek genius, Archimedes.

- Not only was "Syracusia" luxurious, but it was armed.

It had a catapult designed by Archimedes

that could throw a massive 180-pound stone.

Nobody was gonna mess with this ship.

- Even if they did, it wouldn't go down easily.

The "Syracusia" had on board the Archimedes Screw,

one of his most famous inventions,

that pumped water uphill.

- In fact, it's possible that Archimedes invented

his famous screw as a fundamental solution

to pumping water out of the "Syracusia."

Amazingly, it's believed that this mega-ship was kept afloat

by one man operating the bilge pump.

All this is owed to Archimedes.

- For its technology alone, the "Syracusia" was already

way ahead of the game.

But the added features of passenger comfort and pleasure

made it even more advanced.

Together, they earn it a well-deserved

place on our list.

♪ ♪

We're nearing the top of our countdown

of the most awe-inspiring and technologically advanced

ships of ancient times.

Up next, A titan of the sea.

A ship built to blow the "Syracusia" out of the water

in a deadly game of one-upmanship

by its ancient Egyptian Pharaoh.

At number two...

it's the "forty."

- Ancient sources describe the forty as being massive.

420 feet long, 4,000 rowers,

and 3,000 soldiers.

- The forty was one of the largest ships of ancient times.

It is possibly the biggest human powered vessel--

and wooden ship--in history.

And how did it do this?

- The only way to build something this big

is to have a double hull, like a catamaran.

- Double hull, double capability.

Everything was super-sized.

But why was this monster of the sea built?

Partly because of the number three on our list,

the luxury Greek liner, the "Syracusia."

This spectacle of wealth and power

ignited a rivalry in Egypt.

- The Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy was not gonna be outdone

by "Syracusia," so he built a bigger ship,

and that ship was the forty.

- But the forty was no pleasure cruise.

- Ptolemy IV's ship was a huge troop carrier.

Its deck was bigger than an American football field.

Think about this, if you could move troops

en-masse to a conflict you could control any part of the world.

It was basically an ancient aircraft carrier.

♪ ♪

- In fact, sources say its crew was 7,500 men.

♪ ♪

That's more than any modern ship--

2,000 more than the USS Roosevelt.

- The forty got its name from the fact that it had

40 banks of rowers.

Get your mind around what it would take

to build something like that.

You need the engineers and the construction laborers,

but you also need all those raw materials.

This was no small feat.

- And it was built to be superior on many more levels.

It also had the potential to be a giant weapon itself.

It weighed nearly 4,000 tons.

Smaller ships wouldn't have stood a chance.

- In ancient times, harbors had chains to protect them

from enemy ships.

But they would have been useless

when up against the forty.

It's even possible it could have been used

to crush the harbor walls themselves.

- The sheer bulk of it would have been a power unmatched

in the ancient world.

- But how was this behemoth maneuvered around?

It seems an impossible task.

The rowers on the upper tiers

somehow had to work oars-- an incredible 57 feet long.

- One of the biggest mysteries about the forty

is how they fit 4,000 people inside the ship

and then coordinated their rowing.

We still don't know how they did it and we may never know.

♪ ♪

Coming up, it's our number one.

♪ ♪

With under-floor heating, ball bearings,

and incredible technology--

and built by one of the most

sadistic Roman Emperors ever.

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- This is "Ancient Top Ten's" list of incredible

ancient ships, based on how advanced they were

for their time.

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At number ten was the terrifying Phoenician fireship.

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At number nine was the sleek, stealthy Viking longship.

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The pearl of the east, the Chinese junk,

was at number eight.

And at number seven, the lethal Roman patrol boats

on the River Rhine.

At number six, the massive floating fortress from China.

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And at number five, the devastating torpedo ship,

the trireme.

Number four was the extraordinary

Korean turtle ship.

And number three, the remarkable luxury liner,

the "Syracusia."

Number two, the monster of the seas,

the forty.

But now it's time for the most advanced

ancient ship design of all.

When it was discovered by archaeologists,

they simply couldn't believe their eyes.

Not just one but two breathtaking ships

found side by side.

At number one...

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The exceptional Nemi ships.

- The Nemi ships-- the most awe-inspiring

ancient ships ever.

- They come from the greatest, most advanced civilization

of the ancient world: Rome.

Its emperors were all powerful and they competed

to be the most outrageous, the most extravagant,

the most magnificent.

- I can't express to you enough how much Roman emperors

believed in themselves.

They were the masters of the universe.

They believed they were gods.

- It's not surprising, then, that the 20th century

fascist leader of Italy, Benito Mussolini,

looked back nostalgically to those times.

And the fanciful dreaming of a modern-day dictator

led to one of the most amazing discoveries ever.

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It was here, at Lake Nemi,

a small volcanic lake just south of Rome.

"Drain it," said Mussolini.

Why?

Because he knew that beneath its surface

lay something extraordinary:

the biggest ruins of ancient ships ever found.

- The Nemi ships are an incredible discovery.

It's safe to say they are the Pompeii of maritime archaeology.

- What they discovered showed two of the most

technologically advanced ships of ancient times.

They were the result of one man's superhuman ego,

and he was the most infamous Roman emperor of them all.

- The most power crazy of the emperors?

Caligula.

He was determined to show off his god-like powers

by being the most extravagant and the most outrageous.

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- From this power-crazy madness came something

absolutely incredible.

- These were Caligula's wonder ships,

both nearly 250 feet long.

- One was a temple ship where you could worship

the goddess Diana.

But the other was a party ship

where you could see Caligula in his true light.

- He lived a hedonistic life.

His debauchery and sexual depravity knew no bounds.

- Caligula said he desired nothing as much as that

which was impossible, and the Nemi ships are really

an incarnation of that idea.

They are so opulent. They are so extraordinary.

They are such remarkable feats of engineering.

So they seemed to really encapsulate

Caligula's excessive, slightly split personality.

- Emperor Caligula was trying to outdo all the ships

that had come previously.

The Nemi ships were fitted with the latest technology.

Bilge pumps, under-floor heating, ball bearings.

We're talking almost 2,000 years ago.

These ships were packed with the latest tech.

- Ball bearings were unheard of in the ancient world.

They might have been part of a spectacular, magically rotating

statue of the goddess Diana.

They weren't seen again until almost 1,500 years later

with Leonardo da Vinci.

And even the ship's anchors were ahead of their time.

- The Nemi ships had anchors made of iron rather than wood.

This was a first, and it goes to show how forward-thinking

the designers of this incredible ship were.

- Iron was a much more effective material to use.

And the innovation didn't stop there.

There were incredible chain bilge pumps,

next seen over 1,000 years later.

Super advanced plumbing with piston pumps

for hot and cold water--only re-invented in the Middle Ages.

But the ships were so high-spec that building them

almost bankrupted Rome.

- It's not known quite why the ships were left to sink,

but after their recovery from the lake,

the Italians built a huge museum to house them.

Tragically, it was largely destroyed

in the devastation of World War II.

But just the few remaining artifacts are themselves

technological wonders.

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- There's no question that the Nemi ships

brilliantly project the decadence

and the extravagant power of Rome.

And that's why they have to be number one in our top ten.

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- The shipbuilders of antiquity came up with a huge array

of fantastic ships.

Their pioneering work thousands of years ago

gave us designs which are still in use today.

The ships in our top ten show us that the ancient world

was filled with technology, and with each new

archaeological discovery, we find it was more advanced

than we ever thought possible.

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