The dimensions of Carthage's Admiralty Harbour provide evidence for quinquereme hulls about 4.8 metres wide. Its two larger berths do not prove that Carthage could possess only two larger warships. The installation may reflect a peacetime fleet plan created before Rome became a sustained naval challenger. Archaeology works best here when the surviving layout is read alongside the fleet's changing wartime requirements.
Notable Point · 22:22-23:17
What Carthage's Admiralty Harbour can reveal
Harbour dimensions help reconstruct Carthaginian warships, but a peacetime building plan does not necessarily define the fleet used in a prolonged war.