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Title: Caligula's Nemi Ships

Subtitle: The History of the Roman Emperor's Mysterious Luxury Boats

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Scott Clem

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-08-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

For several centuries, fishermen on Lake Nemi in Italy could see ship wreckage on the floor of the lake, and in 1928, under the patronage of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, one of the most extraordinary archaeological recovery processes was begun to raise from the floor of Lake Nemi, a small volcanic lake in the Alban Hills some 30 miles south of Rome, two sunken barges that had lain half buried in the silt since the reign of the Roman Emperor Caligula.

The recovery of these two vessels was a massive archaeological operation, unique in scope and scale, but also not atypical of the local and international prestige projects which Mussolini used to embellish his popularity, and for which he had become known. Through undertaking projects of this nature, Mussolini sought not only to highlight the splendor of Italian imperial history but also to recreate it, and to guide the Kingdom of Italy, and his own fascist dictatorship, along the road towards recapturing the glory days of the great Roman Empire.

The recovery of the Nemi Ships was one such enterprise. It presented Mussolini with the opportunity to reveal to the world once again the superiority of ancient Roman culture and technology, while at the same time illustrating the advances in modern Italian technology that allowed for such a daring and groundbreaking salvage operation to take place. As the waters of Lake Nemi subsided, and as the carcasses of the first ship came into view, the shores of the lake were crowded with archaeologists, researchers, journalists and politicians bearing witness to one of the greatest moments in archaeological history.

Members Reviews:

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Caligula's excesses and Roman shipbuilding

Caligula's Nemi Ships: The History of the Roman Emperor's Mysterious Luxury Boats I recommend that an editor review the dates and correct the English used where appropriate. After reading the first 10 pages or so I wondered why the authors wrote this book. I knew from past readings that the Romans were great builders and in some respects used methodology that were lost to history until similar methods were produced in modern times. The building of the Nemi Ships demonstrates the incredible competency of Roman engineers and scientists. The book provides excruciatingly detailed information about how the boats were manufactured. The book also describes how many people attempted to scavenge the ships for plunder. More than likely if it had not been for the Italian dictator Mussolini desire to link fascism to the greatness of Rome, the two ships would not have been completely removed from the lake. At least the surviving contents of the ships were cataloged in a manner useful for archaeologist and other scholars to understand the might of Rome. I really liked the book and to be honest if this was not a Charles River book that offered the opportunity to learn about a topic in an hour or so, I would not have brought this book. Still I highly recommend this book especially to someone interested in Caligula's excesses and Roman shipbuilding.

Roman Imperial History

A excellent review of the recovery of Caligula's pleasure boats from Lake Nemi. The construction technique used by the Roman's was lost for all of the dark ages and then some.