Navis lusoria
As Navis lusoria (Latin literally means " playful / dance- ship"; plural naves lusoriae ) a Roman warship type of late antiquity is called. Lusoriae were slender and shallow-draft boats, which were driven by thirty rowers, who sat in a plane. In addition, an mast be set.
Importance in Roman times
Naves lusoriae were used mainly for patrols on rivers. With a length of up to 21.7 m, a width of about 2.80 m and 96 cm rim height they belonged to the category of small, fast naval vessels, which also shallow and confusing flow ranges could be traveled, about the Classis Germanica to Rhine and Danube. Archeology is the type that is mentioned of late antique writers like Ammianus Marcellinus, especially by the findings of the Mainz Roman ships known. Since the Lusoriae have no keel, the mast down ( sailing) is considered to be extremely demanding.
From the Navis lusoria the older type of Navis is to distinguish actuaria, which was a transport ship in the first place.
Reconstructions
Danube
Built on the remains of the Mainz Roman ships reconstruction of Olaf Höckmann served as the basis for the authentic replica of a Navis lusoria by students of the Department of Ancient History at the University of Regensburg. The Regensburg ancient historians have been investigating the ship's christening in 2004 by numerous trips on the river Naab and on the Danube experimentally the use of this late antique ship type with regard to the nautical facilities. So was tested, how about the bottleneck of the Danube breakthrough in Kelheim near Regensburg could be overcome with a Navis lusoria. In summer 2006 the ship was subjected to a long distance test: In the Footsteps of the Emperor Julian the route Regensburg to Budapest was on the Danube kilometer. In the course of this endurance test, in which it is the longest river trip of a Roman rowing vessel since the end of antiquity, the students were able to stretch up to 100 km to cover the day and thus demonstrate the high degree of mobility of the late Roman river fleets.
Lusoria Rhenana
Another reconstruction of a lusoria Navis, which is also based on the Mainz ship finds, was built on the site of Sponek barracks in Germersheim since January 2010. In April 2011, the ship in Wörth was lowered into the water, in May 2011, made its first test drives. Later to tourists and visitors will have the opportunity to sail with the ship some ancient waters of the district of Germersheim. For the scientific supervision of the project and the faithful reconstruction is characterized Christoph Schäfer from the Department of Ancient History at the University of Trier in charge, who was already involved in the Regensburg reconstruction. Since 6 April 2013, the Lusoria available through the summer months on the Setzfeldsee in Neupotz and can be hired for trips and weddings.