How Mediterranean galley hulls were assembled

The video moves from fleet totals to the physical sequence used to make a galley hull. Builders used a full keel suitable for hauling the vessel onto a beach, added structural ribs, and fitted planks over that framework. Gaps between planks needed caulking, with crushed shell mixtures strengthened by fibres such as flax or horsehair so the seal would hold. Traditions also linked timber felling to the moon and sap cycle, although urgent fleet programmes allowed a fairly broad acceptable window. This close view of construction makes the speed of ancient naval mobilisation more intelligible without pretending that ships required no specialised knowledge.