The International Jouvnul of Nautical Archueology (2001) 30.

2: 21 1-220
doi:l0.1006/ijna.2001.0354

Sails from the Roman port at Berenike, Egypt

Felicity C. Wild and John P. Wild
30 Princes Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, Cheshire, SK4 3NQ, UK

A 1st-century A D midden deposit at Berenike, a major port on the trade route between the Roman Empire and India, has
produced cotton textile fragments reinforced with a rectangular grid-pattern of cotton strips, interpreted as the remains of sails.
Webbing fragments of cotton and linen, in some cases attached to stout cotton or linen cloth, may also have come from sails.
The only published example of a Roman-Period sail is a linen sail of 1st-century BC-AD date from Thebes in Egypt, to which
the Berenike fragments bear a close resemblance. The S-spun linen sails were presumably manufactured in Egypt. Most of the
Berenike material, however, was of Z-spun cotton: an import, it is argued, of Indian origin. The construction of
Mediterranean-type sails entirely from Indian materials has implications for the presence of Westerners on the Indian
sub-continent. 02001 The Nautical Archaeology Society
Key wov& Berenike, cotton, India, Roman, sails, webbing.

Introduction: the historical background
he site of Berenike lies on the Red Sea
coast of Egypt in the lee of the Ras Banas
peninsula (Fig. 1). The author of the ship-
ping handbook known as the Periplus Maris
Erythraei, generally considered to have been writ-
ten in the middle of the 1st century AD, regarded
it as one of the two main ports of trade between
the Graeco-Roman world and East Africa, South
Arabia and India. According to Pliny the Elder
(NH 6.33.168), the town was founded c. 275 BC
by Ptolemy I1 Philadelphus and named in honour
of his mother, but it appears to have come into
prominence during the expansion of trade be-
tween the Mediterranean world and the East from
the time of Augustus, when it acted as a transit
port from which goods from the East were trans-
ported overland to the Nile Valley and thence to
the Mediterranean (Sidebotham, 1995). Strabo
(2.5.12), writing of the year AD26, notes Myos
Hormos (Quseir al-Qadim) as the main port for
the India trade, noting elsewhere (17.1.45) that
Berenike had no harbour. By the middle of
the 1st century AD, however, this had been
rectified: Pliny specifically refers to a harbour
(NH6.26.103) and it may be argued that the
author of the Periplus implies its greater impor-
tance by starting his account of the voyage to
India from Berenike rather than Myos Hormos/
Quseir (Casson, 1989: 143). To the sailor, the
advantage of Berenike over Myos Hormos was
that, although the journey overland to the Nile
was longer, it obviated the necessity of beating
against the north wind for the further 230 nautical
miles up the Red Sea on the return journey.
The latest mention of the site, in the Martyrium
Sancti Arethae, suggests that Berenike was still
a functioning port in the early 6th century
(AD 524-5), contributing two ships, but only
two, to an Ethiopian expedition to South Arabia
(Acta Sanctorum Octobris X,VII (29)). Soon after
this, the town must have been abandoned
permanently.
Excavations at the site since 1994, directed by
Prof. S. E. Sidebotham of the University of
Delaware and Prof. W. Z. Wendrich of the
University of California, Los Angeles, have
started to reveal more about the history of the site
and the extent of its contacts with India. The
archaeological evidence confirms the impression
gained from the literary sources that the port was
particularly active in the 1st century AD. After a
possible decline in occupation in the 2nd and 3rd
centuries, when evidence for mercantile activity is
more scanty, the town experienced a renaissance
in both occupation and commerce in the late
4th century, which appears to have continued
until the final evacuation, probably in the early
6th century AD.

1057-2414/01/020211+ 10 $35.0010 02001 The Nautical Archaeology Society

NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 30.2
Figure 1. Location map of the area and sites mentioned in the text. (Drawing: J. P. Wild)
Evidence for trade with India and, indeed, for
the presence of Indians on the site, has come in
the form of: a graffito on a 1st-century AD
amphora in Tamil-Brzhmi (Mahadevan, 1996);
Indian and Sri Lankan beads (Francis, 2000:
221-223); pottery of South Indian origin (Begley
& Tomber, 1999; Tomber, 2000); and botanical
remains such as coconut and, in particular, large
quantities of black peppercorns (Cappers, 1998a:
31 1-319; 19986: 80-84). A high proportion of the
wood remains from the site was of teak, including
reused planks, possibly from dismantled ships
(Vermeeren, 1999: 319).
The textiles from the site were, in general, not
well preserved. The proximity of the sea and the
neighbouring wadi have led to the disintegration
of the textiles from the lower levels of the site:
heavy dews alternating with day-time heat have
attacked those near the surface. A high pro-
portion of the textiles recovered came from two
rubbish deposits, one dated by the associated
pottery and ostraka to not later than AD 75
(Bagnall et al., 2000), the other to the late 4th-5th
century AD. Fragments were small and, in many
cases, badly degraded by salt.
The textiles from the earlier deposit, coinciding
with the main period of early Roman activity on
the site, can best be described as utilitarian: amal-
gams of wool scraps probably reused as saddle
packing, fragments of medium-weight and coarse
212
linen and cotton tabbies (plain weaves), some-
times heavily and repeatedly patched, pieces of
webbing and sacking. They appear to represent
rubbish from the docks rather than the remains of
clothing and furnishing and their functions are
likely to have been concerned with the packing
and transport of traded goods. It seems a reason-
able supposition, borne out by the presence on
site of the teak planks and of brailing rings, that
at least some of the contents of the deposit are the
remains of sails, the almost complete absence of
which in the ancient world has been commented
upon by Black and Samuels (1991; 1992). The
purpose of the present article is to assess the
evidence from Berenike for sails and their nature
(see also Wild & Wild, 2000).
The textile remains
The greater proportion of the material considered
here is of cotton, a situation without parallel on
sites within the Roman Empire. The cottons can
be divided into two distinct groups: the one is
woven exclusively from S- or anticlockwise-spun
yarns (S/S), the other from Z- or clockwise-spun
yarns (Z/Z). Ancient spinners were highly con-
servative and the tradition in Egypt and the
neighbouring Roman provinces was for the S-
direction. It would be fair to assume that the
F. C. WILD & J. P. WILD: SAILS FROM THE ROMAN PORT AT BERENIKE, EGYPT

Table 1. Reinforcing strips, Z-spun cotton, from Berenike (ER: Early Roman; LR: Late Roman)

No. Context Date Measurements Folded width

~~ ~~

97.103 16.010 LR Fragments of tabby, 7-8 x 7 per cm, max. length 710 mm x 380 mm crossed by two reinforcing
strips, at right angles, probably of same textile.
1. (vertical) 20 mm
Two lengths of strip sewn end to end.
Overlies 2. (horizontal) 25 mm
Sail fragment shows patch, carefully aligned with warp.
0170 6.004 LR Strip of tabby, probably once blue and undyed check, 7-8 x 6 per cm, max. length
40 mm x 250 mm, crossed by two reinforcing strips at right angles, also probably blue check.
1. (vertical) c. 25mm
2. (horizontal) c. 25 mm
0169 6.004 LR Pieces of reinforcing strip, probably from 0170, with traces of blue check where edges turned
under.
1. 1 2 0 m m x 3 0 m m 22 mm
2. 150 mm x 30 mrn 22 mni
3 pieces c. 70 mm x 20 mm 18 mm
97.106 13.002 ER Two strips 1. 285 mm x 65 mm 35 mm
2. 300 mm x 60 mm 35 mm
two lengths sewn end to end
0724 19.006 ER 300 mm x 40 mm
0758 19.006 ER about 210 mm x 33 mm Edges folded
two strips sewn end to end
0827 19.008 ER Nine strips, 19 x 15, wide spaced, per cm. All probably sailcloth?
1. 265 mm x 70 mm
2. 400 mm x 85 mm
3. 480 mm x 85 mm
4. 250 mm x 65 mm 35 mm (folded)
5. 100 mm x 60 mm 40 mm (folded)
6. 70 mm x 30 mm
7. 100mm x 15+ mm
8. 100mm x 30mm
9. 90 mm x 25 mm
2509 33.026 ER 240 mm x 56 mm 33 mm
Possible reinforcing strips:
0829 19.008 ER 130 mm x 45 mm Cotton yarns sewn through it
0895 19.008 ER Two strips folded longitudinally, 13 x 8 per cm
1. 105 mm (lower count) x 50 mm
2. 110 mm x 50 mm

S-spun cottons were produced within Egypt,
where cotton-growing is attested by the 1st cen-
tury AD (Wild, 1997: 289-290). The Z-spun cot-
tons are best described as ‘intrusive’, but the
weight of ancient literary and documentary evi-
dence indicates India to be the only practical
source (Wild, 1997; Wild & Wild, 2000: 271-273).
All the cotton fragments discussed here were
Z-spun and presumably imported. The linen frag-
ments were uniformly S-spun and presumably of
Egyptian origin.
Among the fragments of Z/Z cotton tabby were
a number of strips, up to about 300mm long,
often sewn end-to-end with others (Table 1). The
raw edges on the long axis had been folded in to
form a band about 35 mm wide. The warp (taking
the denser system as warp) seems to run more
often widthways than lengthways and there is a
marked variability in yarn diameter (a character-
istic of the Z/Z cottons in general). Although most
of the strips came from the Early Roman deposit,
the key to understanding their function lay in
two pieces from Late Roman contexts. The first
(97.103, Figs 2 & 3) was a large, tattered and
patched fragment which, when stretched out,
proved to have strips, torn from the same or an
identical fabric, attached to it at right angles to
each other. The edges had been turned in, sewn
down to the main cloth on one side with running
stitches, and oversewn on the other. Two sections
of the vertical strip were sewn end-to-end. The
strips concealed nothing: there was no seam in the

213
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 30.2
Figure 2. Sail fragment from Berenike (97.103). (Photo-
graph: J. P. Wild & Berenike Project)
fabric beneath. The other fragment (0170) was a
strip of what was probably once a blue and
undyed cotton check, 250 mm x 40 mm, to which
had been sewn, at right angles, strips of the same
faded check (the blue yarn was barely visible
except where protected by the turned-in edges).
(It is interesting, but perhaps coincidental, that
the bands are narrower on these two late examples
(20-25 mm) than on the early Roman ones (ap-
proximately 35 mm).) Are these the reinforcing
bands for sails?
Sails are generally depicted in Mediterranean
art as bearing a grid pattern which has been
variously interpreted (Casson, 1971: 233-234;
Roberts, 1993). Most recently it has been sug-
gested, on the grounds that these dividing lines are
portrayed as being of a different colour from the
sail itself, that they represent reinforcing bands
sewn on separately (Weski, 1997: 89-90). The
evidence from Berenike appears to confirm this
suggestion.
214
Seam 0 5cm
U
7---
l Strip
n
Ground weave
Figure 3. Outline of sail fragment from Berenike (97.103).
(Drawing: J. P. Wild)
A relief of a Roman ship from Ostia (Graefe,
1979: 121-123, Abb. 133, Taf.124,2; Daremberg
& Saglio, 1877-1919: fig. 5295) (Fig. 4) clearly
shows brailing rings attached to the bands. A
number of circular brailing rings, of wood and
bone, have been found at Berenike, pierced with
two small holes for attachment to the sail. Al-
though none was found attached to a fragment
of sail, they occurred in the same contexts as
potential sail fragments within the early midden.
One example still retained Z-spun cotton string
through its holes. Similar string was attached to
the reinforcing strips (Fig. 5).
The Early Roman deposit also produced pieces
of webbing which may have served a similar
purpose to the reinforcing strips. These can be
divided into two categories: of S-spun linen (Table
2) and of Z-spun cotton (Table 3). The flax
webbing, uniformly 30-35 mm wide, was in bas-
ket weave (paired warp and weft) or half-basket
F. C. WILD & J. P. WILD: SAILS FROM THE ROMAN PORT AT BERENIKE, EGYPT
Figure 4. Relief of a Roman ship from Ostia. (After Daremberg & Saglio, 1877-1919)
weave (paired warp or weft). One example
(97.115) had single warp and paired weft. The
others had paired warp with a specific number of
single warps at each selvedge, generally either
eight or four, and either single or paired weft. The
singles at the selvedge, no doubt, provided added
strength. In four cases, three with paired weft, one
with single, there were the remains of a narrow
red pin-stripe within the eight singles to each side,
now faded to a pale pink and barely visible except
where protected. It is possible that, originally,
other fragments may also have had such stripes.
The cotton webbing varied from 3 5 4 3 mm in
width: all had a plied warp, with either single or
paired weft. In some of the examples with single
weft, there was a coloured pin-stripe to each side.
In at least one case, the stripe was blue-green
(Fig. 6); in another it appeared as brown, but was
badly decayed and may once have been red. A
third showed a bare strip to each side where the
coloured yarn had disappeared altogether. The
cotton webbing was less common than the flax
webbing: the ten pieces listed (Table 3) probably
came from only eight examples. If indeed these
are from sails, their scarcity may be accounted for
by the more common use of cotton tabby strips
for this purpose.
It is impossible to be certain that the webbing
was used on sails, but there are three pointers
which suggest this. Firstly, there is a marked
correlation in width between the webbing and the
reinforcing strips from Early Roman contexts.
Secondly, three pieces of linen webbing were sewn
firmly onto pieces of medium weight S/S flax
tabby (12 x 10, 12 x 11, 13 x 9 threads per cm
respectively) and one piece of cotton webbing
onto a piece of Z/Z cotton tabby (16 x 16 per cm).
One of the linen examples showed a red stripe: the
cotton example had also had a stripe. Finally,
there is the evidence of the ‘Lyons’ sail.
The ‘Lyons’ sail
There is one published parallel to the Berenike sail
fragments: fragments of what have been argued to
215
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 30.2
Figure 5. Reinforcing strip (0758) and brailing rings from Berenike. (Photograph: J. P.
Wild & Berenike Project)
have been a linen sail, torn up and used as
packing for a mummy from a grave in Thebes
(Rouge, 1987; Schoeffer et al., 1987). The textile,
dated by radiocarbon to 50 ik 100 BC, has been
studied and conserved and is currently in the
Natural History Museum at Lyons. The sail was
reinforced with strips of linen webbing to which,
in one place, half a wooden brailing ring was still
attached, of a similar pattern to those found at
Berenike. From the 46 fragments recovered, a sail
some 550 cm square is suggested.
The present writers were fortunate to have been
able to spend a day in Lyon examining the sail,
but in the time available were only able to make a
detailed study of four of the fragments. The
ground weave was of S/S linen, approximately
22 x 12 threads per cm. The webbing bands, how-
ever, although ostensibly uniform, showed minor
variations in detail and had, on occasion, been
renewed at least once. A common feature was a
narrow coloured stripe to each side of the band.
On the fragments studied, the vertical bands (35-
38 mm) were wider than the horizontal bands
(25-29 mm). All were in basket weave (paired
warp and weft), though on some of the narrower
bands the outer two warps on each side were
singles. All have a narrow coloured stripe of blue
and/or red to each side, the blue on the outside,
the red on the inside. There is, however, variety in
the number of pairs of each colour used and in the
216
number of pairs between the coloured stripes.
Two pieces showed a red stripe only, another a
blue stripe on its own. The wider, vertical bands
showed a double stripe (blue/red/blue/red). Light
brown streaks in the undyed linen of the bands,
particularly the narrow ones, suggest that the
bands may originally have been of a different
colour to the sailcloth.
As well as the renewal of the webbing bands,
the sail also showed considerable evidence of
patching during its period of use. Pieces of sail,
with bands attached and sometimes already them-
selves patched, had been seamed together, in one
case with the broad band oblique to the weave.
The final act of construction appears to have been
to add string ties down the side of the fragment
(the edge of the sail?) at about 80 mm intervals, on
and between the horizontal bands, possibly to
attach the brailing rings. In all, the sail appears
to have been made, patched and remade until it
was no longer fit to use for its original purpose,
after which it was torn up to recycle as mummy
packing.
The fragments from Berenike show similarity to
those from Thebes in both construction and date.
The main difference, only to be expected of ocean-
going ships, is that they appear to be considerably
stouter and stronger than the rather fine (though
obviously badly worn) Thebes sail, from a Nile
river-boat, no doubt. Many of the cotton tabby
F. C. WILD & J. P. WILD: SAILS FROM THE ROMAN PORT AT BERENIKE, EGYPT

Table 2. Flux webbing, S-spun, jiom Berenike

No. Context Width Warp Weft Structure

97.115 13.002 30 mm singles pairs about 46 singles in warp

0759 19.006 30 mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge
0797 19.008 43 mm pairs singles 5 singles at each selvedge
0798 19.008 30 mm pairs singles about 6 singles at edge
0799 19.008 (scrap of similar band to 0798)
0838 19.008 30 mm pairs singles 10 singles at each selvedge
0839 19.008 35 mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge. 3 lengths, sewn to S/S flax tabby (12 x 10
per cm)
0869 19.008 damaged pairs singles traces of singles at edge
0890 19.008 30 mm pairs singles 8 singles at one side, 6+ the other (damaged)
1372 19.009 35 mm pairs singles 4 singles at each selvedge
1465 29.002 35 mm pairs and sing1es Wa: Z spun pairs? in centre S spun singles at edges
singles
1480 29.006 35 mm pairs singles no singles noted in warp
1508 29.006 30 mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge
1509 29.006 32 mm pairs pairs no singles noted in warp
151 1 29.006 30 mm pairs pairs 4 singles at each selvedge
2357 33.017 30 mm pairs pairs 8 singles at each selvedge
1788 3 1.007 30+ mm pairs singles 4 singles/2 p a i d 4 singled4 pairdl single/8+ pairs
1818 3 1.007 38 mm pairs pairs 2 outer warps single, 3rd thicker single
1875 31.007 32 mm pairs pairs 4 singles at each selvedge
1876 3 1.007 30 mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge
1952 3 1.007 30 mm pairs pairs 8 singles at each selvedge. 4 und./4 red/27-28 p a i d 4 red/4 und.
1953 3 1.007 35 mm S/Z pairs S/Z pairs 9 S spun singles at each side (thicker than normal)
3174 3 1.cbn 40 mm pairs pairs 4 singles at each selvedge
3238 3 1 .cbw damaged pairs singles singles at selvedge, uncountable
2762 48.005 28 mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge
2802 48.005 38 mm pairs singles 4 singledl p a d 4 singled26 p a i d 4 singledl paid4 singles
2849 48.008 c. 30mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge. 4 und./2 redl2 und./ . . .
285 I 48.008 32 mm pairs pairs no singles noted
2887 48.008 25+ mm pairs pairs 4 und./4 red02 p a i d 4 red/4 und. Attached to S/S flax tabby (12 x 11
per cm)
2907 48.008 45 mm pairs singles 4 singles one side, 6 the other
2920 48.009 damaged pairs singles 6 singles one side, other missing
292 1 48.009 damaged pairs singles 8? singles one side, other missing
2923 48.009 damaged pairs singles 4 singled1 paid4 singled main pairs
2990 48.019 30 mm pairs singles 8 singles at each selvedge. Attached to S/S flax tabby (13 x 9 per cm)
308 1 48.cbw damaged pairs pairs 8 singles at selvedge. 4 und./4 red

fragments reveal evidence for extensive and skilled
patching, sometimes several times over. Apart
from the piece with the crossed reinforcing bands
(Figs 2-3), which shows a small, neat patch firmly
sewn down with two or more rows of stitching,
there is no specific evidence that these heavily
patched pieces are from sails. They may have been
used, or reused, as tarpaulins or for wrapping
goods, but the evidence of the Lyons sail raises
the possibility that sails may indeed have been
patched to this extent.
Discussion
The ‘Lyons’ sail was of linen, S-spun, and presum-
ably of local Egyptian manufacture. One would
expect the ocean-going vessels constructed in
Roman Egypt also to have had linen sails, of
which the pieces of S-spun flax webbing and
largely undiagnostic scraps of medium-weight flax
tabby are all that survive. A surprisingly high
proportion of the Berenike evidence, however, has
been for sails of Z-spun cotton, a material which
it is argued above was of imported, probably
Indian, origin. The sailcloth, the webbing, the
rope and sewing thread, even the patching
materials, are uniformly Z-spun, indicating manu-
facture in India and/or the use of Indian materials
for running repairs during the voyage.
These were not, however, Indian ships, but
ships of Mediterranean type, with a single main
mast and large, square, reinforced sail, ideal for

217
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 30.2

Table 3. Cotton webbing, Z-spun, from Berenike

No. Context Width Warp Weft Structure

97.107 13.002 35 mm plied singles? brown line, ?3 threads wide, now largely missing, 6 warps from one
(invisible) selvedge, 8 from the other
0888 19.008 38 mm plied singles Wa: ?5/ dec. missingt24ldec. missing/ ?5. Sewn to ZIZ cotton tabby,
16 x 16 per cm
1414 29.001 32 mm plied pairs
1510 29.006 43 mm plied pairs about 38 in total warp sheet
1512 29.006 35 mm plied singles blue-green stripe. Wa: 4 undyed12 bluet 18 und.12 blue14 und.
1539 29.006 damaged plied singles blue stripe (= 1512)
1599 29.cbn 43 mm plied pairs 36 in total warp sheet (probably= 1510)
1686 3 1.006 30 mm plied singles no decoration noted
2848 48.008 33 mm plied singles no decoration noted
2988 48.019 38 mm plied singles no decoration noted

running before the wind (Pekary, 1999). The ships
portrayed in Indian art (Schlingloff, 1988: 195-
207) are vessels with two or three main masts
and no sign of a grid pattern of reinforcement on
the sails. The evidence from Berenike suggests
Mediterranean-style ships, or at least sails, con-
structed of Indian materials and copying which
extended, in some cases, even to the conventional
coloured stripe on the webbing reinforcements.
The construction of ships at Berenike, in the
Eastern desert, cannot have been easy. The raw
materials would all have had to be brought from
elsewhere: perhaps down the Red Sea from the
Levant, certainly by land from the Nile Valley. An
ostrakon from Krokodilo, on the road between
Coptos, on the Nile, and Myos Hormos, records a
wagonload of timber for shipbuilding on its way
to Myos Hormos (Biilow-Jacobsen, 1998: 66).
Berenike lies almost 320 km (200 miles) south of
Figure 6. Detail of Z / Z cotton webbing (1512) from
Berenike (the faded blue-green stripe is not visible in black
and white). (Photograph: J. P. Wild & Berenike Project)
Myos Hormos; it is an estimated 11-12 days
journey overland from Coptos, as against six-
seven for Myos Hormos (Casson, 1989: 13). By
contrast, along the coasts of India materials must
have been ready to hand.
There were Greeks settled in the North of India
from the time of Alexander’s expedition, familiar
with Graeco-Roman ships. Tamil literature, re-
viewed by De Romanis in 1997 refers to the
presence elsewhere in India, too, of Yavanas,
foreigners of Mediterranean origin, a term which
clearly includes the merchants arriving annually
from Egypt (Akansuyu 149: 7-11) as well as
others, presumably settled, acting as mercenaries
for local rulers (Cilappatikaram 14: 66-7). The
Peutinger Table, a Roman map originally com-
piled in the 3rd century AD (Rivet & Smith, 1974:
149-150), places a ‘temple of Augustus’ near
Muziris, the main port of South India. Although
the significance-and reliability-of this is in dis-
pute, for instance, Kartunen (1997: 334) dismisses
it, if it had any basis in fact at all, its presence
must imply the work of Westerners. F. Richard’s
suggestion (pers. comm.) that it may be connected
with the cult of the emperor epibaterios, to whom
temples and dedications were made in ports
(Richard, 1988) rather than being a chronological
indicator of Augustan date makes the presence of
such a temple more probable, while reinforcing
the idea of the existence of Westerners in the area.
In addition, there is the archaeological evidence,
best exemplified by Arikamedu, near Pondicherry
on the east coast of India, which produced small
quantities of Italian terra sigillata tableware
dating to the early 1st century AD, as well as
other items of Mediterranean pottery and glass-
ware. Wheeler (Wheeler et al., 1946: 18-22) and,

218
F. C. WILD & J. P. WILD: SAILS FROM THE ROMAN PORT AT BERENIKE, EGYPT

more recently, Comfort (1991: 144-147) argue for
its use by Westerners in what was, effectively, a
trading enclave. If there were indeed groups of
Westerners settled all year round in or at the
edges of local communities, as Thapar suggests
(Thapar, 1991: 21), they would have been ideally
placed to assist in obtaining local materials to
repair or replace worn-out sails or boats for the
merchants arriving from Egypt on the south-west
monsoon, before their return on the gentler
North-East monsoon in December-January
(Pliny, NH 6.26.106).
The south-west monsoon of the outward jour-
ney was characterized by rough winds and heavy
rain. Arrival on the west coast of India before
September, when the winds slacken, was danger-
ous and to be avoided. The ships could well have
suffered from storm damage as well as the depre-
dations of pirates, mentioned in both Tamil and
Classical literature (Pliny, N H 6.26.101). The fol-
lowing weeks in port would have provided a
convenient pause, not just for acquiring and load-
ing cargo, but also to make good any damage
before the less arduous return journey to Egypt.
That this may provide a context for the cotton
sails from Berenike is not beyond the bounds of
possibility.
Acknowledgements
The Society of Antiquaries of London, the British
Academy, the Pasold Research Fund and the
G. A. Wainwright Near Eastern Archaeological
Fund have all kindly provided travel grants to
enable the authors to work at Berenike over five
seasons. The Directors of the Berenike Project,
Professor S. E. Sidebotham and Professor W. Z.
Wendrich gave every practical assistance. The
authors are particularly indebted to Dr Dierdre
Emmons of the Muskum d’Histoire Naturelle de
Lyon for allowing them to study in detail the sail
fragments from the museum’s collection.

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