I - 96 : Cypresses - the Rare Earth of 2'000 BC?

Cypresses line the Road to my House in the South of France

A row of Cypress trees lines the road to my property in the South of France. Dark and tall, they guide you to the house. You know that you are in a Mediterranean context when you see them. Planted a good 20 years ago, they are now 7 meters tall, gently swaying in the morning breeze every day. Thought that my Cypress trees had a purely decorative purpose – a tree that pleases the eye. Untill I wrote my piece on triremes a few weeks ago.

The Chania Boat, a Replica of a Minoan Sail Ship, now in Chania's Maritime Museum

Researching which timber the Phoenicians and Greeks used for building their triremes, I discovered something interesting. Found out that the Mediterranean’s first maritime traders, the Minoans, built their ships with cypresses - the trees which decorate my property. Cypress wood is versatile - almost as hard as oak thus can be used for keels. Almost as light and flexible as pine, thus useable for planks. In addition, the sap makes it rot resistant - very appreciated for ships. The Cypress’ straight, tall trunk makes an it ideal material for lengthy structures. The trunk's narrower upper part is excellent for ship ribs.

Computer designed Picture of a Minoan Sail Ship based on the Findings in Akotiri

From wall paintings found in Akrotiri on Santorini, we have a pretty good understanding of how Minoan boats looked. Between 2’000 and 1’500 BC they dominated the Mediterranean and pushed as far west as Sardinia. With 17 meters in length, the Minoan boats were only half as long as the later triremes. They also only had 20 rowers. But they were slim, cut through the waves and had a good length - width ration. In one word, they were sea worthy. Their shape resembles the Viking boats which crossed the Atlantic 3’000 years later. The square sail was adopted from Egypt. It made long journeys possible. Astronomy "maps" from the Middle East guided them in open waters. They could not carry much cargo thus must have traded precious goods like bronze, silber and pottery for which the Minoan craftsmanship was famous for. Most importantly, the Minoans had their own raw material. The cypress woods on their upper mountain slopes.

The "Cockpit" of one of the Akrotiri Boats

But the Minoans 1'000 years long dominance of the Mediterranean came to an end. By 900 BC, the Phoenicians from the Levant were the masters of the Mediterranean. What had happened to the Minoans? Replacing their trading networks, relationships and outposts must have been difficult. The collapse probably started during the dark ages from 1200 – 900 BC when long-distance trading came to a stand-still. The still mysterious sea people overrun the Mediterranean. Looting and theft was their trademark. What was not very well protected went up in flames. Were also other factors at play?

Dark Green = Forests; Green = Shrubs; Brown = Olive Groves; Ocre = mainly wines; Grey = Barren or Snow covered Mountains

Less than 10% of Crete is nowadays covered by proper forest. The woods are scattered in small pockets but am sure there was considerably more tree cover 4’000 years ago during Minoan time. There are ample shrubs though. Over-grazing reduced the forests after the collapse of the Roman Empire. We know from archelogy digs that Crete’s contemporary flora is almost identical to 2’000 years ago. Pollen show the plants are the same.

Sclerophylos and Karmes Oak (Quercus Coccifera) make up most of the Shrub Vegetatin

The lower lands were covered by Sclerophyllous and Kermes Oaks – basically shrubs and gnome trees with twisted and short branches – not ideal for any construction. Further up in the mountains were – and still are – larger cypress forests which the Minoans harvested for their ships and palaces. They were limited in hight and width though - and few. Large and tall cedars or oaks with wide trunk cannot be found anywhere.

Comparison of Annual Rainfall in Greece and the Levant - today's Climate is more arid than during the wetter Roman Intermediate Climate from 200 BC to 150 AD

A quick look at the weather pattern explains why. Whilst Crete receives more rain than any other Aegean islands, it is still far less than what the mountains on the Albanian – Greek boarder get. It is the region from where Perikles, Athens’ leader during the Persian wars, procured timer for his fleet. Average percipitatios in the Lebanon, the Phoenician’s home, is also much higher. There were thus large cedar and oak forests with giant trees ideal for building large structures. Little rainfall produces gnome trees, high rainfall large trees.

There are still a few Pockets of the original Cedar Forest left on the Lebanon Mountain

By exporting timber to Egypt for the Pharaoh’s palaces and temples, the Phoenicians learnt how to float the giant logs from the mountains and ship them to the Nile delta. We know from Assyrian reliefs found in Khorsabad, one of their capitals, that some of the timber was used for building boats.

Phoenician Sailors shipping Cedar Logs from the Levant to Egypt. Relief from Khorsabad

The sturdy and large oak was ideal for keels. The softer and lighter cedar perfect for planks. These large timbers made it possible to build ships twice as long and three times as wide as the Minoans. The building technique did not change much – it simply was adapted to the larger material. The bigger ships could carry more rowers and a heavy ram thus becoming the first proper warships. Or carry more cargo. By the 5th century BC we find freighters able to ship 30 tons of cargo – and warships with a crew of 170 rowers and 50 other staff.

Relief of a Phoenician - Punic Cargo Vessel, probably from 700 BC

The Minoans were out-competed by new-comers which had materials that allowed them to build bigger and sturdier boats. Cypress wood in shipbuilding became obsolete - it was replaced as the mechanical typewriter I still used for my doctoral thesis by Microsoft Word.

Artist Impression of the giant Roman Naval Base just to the West of Forum Julii

In the age of sail, access to high quality timber was an important consideration for any great ruler.  We have to look no further than Frejus (Forum Julii) on the Cote d’Azur in France. After winning the civil war, Augustus moved his fleet from Naples to forum Julii – simply for the abundant supply of oaks and pines. The shipyards of the Royal Navy in England tell the same story. They were never too far away from the oak orchards planted for this purpose.

Never saw an entire Cypress Forest in my Life - can't wait to see these trees this summer

The Cypress with all its sturdiness, flexibility and resilience limited the Minoan ship builder to smaller ships. They lost out against the competitors with the bigger boats. Having lost its No 1 position in trading, Crete had to change its business model and became one of the Mediterranean's largest exporters of olive oil and wine. These two plants still dominate Crete’s agriculture.

Model of one of the largest Ships the Minoans built with 50 rowers and 25 oars on each side

That access to timber once determined who dominated maritime trade reminds me of today’s global competition for rare earths. Without rare earths there are no computer chips. Without chips, there is no modern technology. Whoever wins the race for the rare earths will probably dominate advanced technologies such as communication, space, quantum computing and AI. Seems raw materials still matter. Cypresses gave the Minoans the edge 4'000 years ago. Rare earths will give it to China or the Western world. The race is on.