[gothic-l] The Gothic and Eruli: shipbuilding [was proto-vikings]

[Frank Kermes]

The large numbers of ships does suggest that new ships were built, but my
question is by whom?  Did the invaders have the ability to coerce the
Bosporans to build more ships for them?  Or were they secure enough in their
bases to do the construction themselves?  Or were these captured ships
(and/or carpenters--there was a lot of slave-raiding going on, as well) from
other expeditions?

And the details of the raids are rather . . . fuzzy.  Is it appropriate to
call them "proto-Viking raids," i.e. sail up a river to an unfortified
target, wade ashore, take all the stuff they can carry, and sail away before
the militia comes--or were they more like mass troop movements facilitated
by sea--more like the Normans (or the Viking Great Host in England in 869 .
. .)

It seems to me that they opted for the sea route because the land routes had
become too difficult, either to traverse, or to sustain soldiers living off
the land.  The Vikins, on the other hand, being coastal Scandinavians
(whether sea or river) were pretty much a boat-based people to begin with,
and their type of raiding was merely an extension of usual seafaring
activity.

And how does the Black Sea behave compared to the Baltic?  One boat design
does not suit all environments.  Something that worked well for the Goths
and Heruli in the Baltic might not have been so good in the Black sea for
whatever reason.

Just some thoughts.

Cheers,
Frank
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