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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D.

@sdecasien.bsky.social

1.9K followers 460 following 520 posts

Nautical Archaeologist & Ancient Historian • Greek & Roman Maritime History & Archaeology • Naval Warfare, Warships, & Naval Rams • Postdoc Research Fellow at Dalian University of Technology (DUT), China • PhD from TAMU. http://stephendecasien.com

stephendecasien.com

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · May 26

Welcome new followers! I’m Stephen, an ancient maritime historian and archaeologist focused on naval warfare, from technology to battle tactics. I’ve worked on sites in Italy and Greece and enjoy connecting with others. I’m always open to collaborations and joint pieces—feel free to reach out!

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 1d

Happy to share my article “On Naval Rams (Rostra) at the Battle of Tauris (47 BCE) in the Bellum Alexandrinum” has been accepted by Historia, a journal I’ve admired since my student days in ancient history! You’ll have to wait to find out why Publius Vatinius added rams to merchant ships… or did he?

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 1d

There are also a few ram-like artifacts that I have excluded because I do not think they are rams at all while others do…maybe I’ll add them as well. 🤔

Reposted by Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D.

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 2d

I’ve put together a quick overview of all naval rams and related artifacts on my personal website, along with some relevant publications. It’s meant to serve as a handy reference and a “current count” table. Will updated will more info later!

stephendecasien.com/naval-rams/

Naval Rams

Archaeologically Attested Three-Bladed Waterline Rams: Current Count: 33 Name:Publication: Acqualadroni RamBuccellato, C. A., & Tusa, S. 2013. The Acqualadroni Ram Recovered Near the Strait of …

stephendecasien.com

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 2d

One day I’ll try to write that book! 😅 but first we have to try to formally publish all the unpublished rams.

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 2d

Naval Rams

Archaeologically Attested Three-Bladed Waterline Rams: Current Count: 33 Name:Publication: Acqualadroni RamBuccellato, C. A., & Tusa, S. 2013. The Acqualadroni Ram Recovered Near the Strait of …

stephendecasien.com

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 7d

“The Athenians, having pursued the defeated for a considerable distance, filled the whole nearby area of the sea with corpses and wreckage.” -Diod. 13.100.1.

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 20d

@egarcmol.bsky.social you’ll understand the struggle here!

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 20d

Every time I say I’m done gaming and I’ll just focus on writing, they pull me back in with stuff like this…

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Reposted by Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D.

Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 22d

The Association of Ancient Historians meeting will be in Iowa City from April 16-18, 2026. For those new to the AAH, we have preset panel themes; you pick 1 to apply to. The theme overall is Ancient Exchanges in a Global Antiquity. See CFP: abstracts are due by December 1. aah.conference.uiowa.edu

AAH Annual Conference 2026 | The University of Iowa

The 2026 AAH Annual Meeting will take place in person at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA from April 16-18, 2026. We invite abstracts for papers of 15-20 minutes in length. Please submit anonym...

aah.conference.uiowa.edu

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · 26d

Another wall-mounted decorative ship with ram? Odd-looking ram design, but the article dates it to the late 2nd–3rd c. CE, which fits. Very similar to examples from Pompeii. Naval rams truly permeated every aspect of Greek and Roman society.

www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/09/a...

A Bronze Ram of a Roman Warship to Scale Found in Ancient Iuvavum

In the second courtyard of the Neue Residenz, where scaffolding now rises to shape the future home of the Belvedere Museum of Vienna in the city of Salzburg, Austria, archaeologists have unearthed an ...

www.labrujulaverde.com

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Sep 7

Indeed 🫡

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Sep 7

Many dedicated people worked tirelessly to bring these remarkable objects to light. Congratulations to the Soprintendenza del Mare Sicily, the RPM Nautical Foundation, and the Society for the Documentation of Submerged Sites. I’m just a small part of the crew, grateful to sail alongside them.

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Sep 7

The inscriptions on Roman rams with Winged Victory motifs are in relief with the other Roman examples being inscribed. This one stands out though as it has no other decorations that can be seen (at this point in the conservation process at least)!

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Sep 7

Also, Egadi Ram 25 is one of my favorites! Its design features stand out compared to the other Roman rams, and it shows significant battle damage. The wale pockets are also slightly larger than those on the other rams from the site, perhaps evidence of a larger ship. Still piecing it together!

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Sep 7

Now that it’s in Italian news, I can share: a new inscription has been found on Egadi Ram 25.

It reads SER SOLPICIO C F QUAISTOR PROBAVE[T] — “Servius Sulpicius, son of Caius, Quaestor, approved (this).”

This likely refers to the son of Caius Sulpicius Galus, Roman consul in 243 BCE.

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 30

Grateful for the links! So helpful 👍

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 30

Message me your email address 🤙

Reposted by Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D.

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Apr 4

Out online already!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Reposted by Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D.

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 6

It’s out! This paper explores how the naval ram was more than just a weapon, it was a cultural symbol woven into almost every part of ancient Greek and Roman life. Of course, not every ram “portrayal" is fully explored, leaving plenty more to research and discover!

jaha.org.ro/index.php/JA...

View of NAVAL RAM PORTRAYALS IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

jaha.org.ro

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 30

Perfect! Thanks for the info!

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 30

It’s a worthwhile question, since much of the scholarship has focused on the trireme, which tends to receive far more attention than the larger warships. Beyond the trireme, the only other ancient standard ‘ship of the line’ was the quinquereme, a vessel just two classes larger.

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 29

Triremes were relatively small compared to the larger polyreme warships. The ram of a trireme likely weighed between ~80 and ~150 kilograms, based on its design, whereas the ram of a dekeres (a ten) may have reached as much as 2,000 kilograms.

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 29

By this period, the classical-style naval ram you see here was no longer in use. Three-bladed waterline rams saw a steep decline after the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, with their final appearance likely occurring as late as the 500s CE, though they may have disappeared even earlier.

Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 29

This would be the first that I know of! Like you said Egadi rams have Latin or Punic. Other rams lack inscriptions but have little design features or motifs that help identify a possible cultural origin.

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Stephen DeCasien, Ph.D. @sdecasien.bsky.social · Aug 29

Right! They say it has an inscription with the word Αἐόλος, like swift or nimble! Great name for a ram on a fast moving smaller warship. I cannot wait for that publication 😁

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