Posted: Dec 05, 2016 3:48 pm
Weaver wrote:You seem to think that the trade was direct - from Britain to Syria, with no stops in between - and that it was isolated to single-cargo trades.
You are totally wrong on both counts.
Syrian material ending up in Britain doesn't mean it went there directly via a single boat journey (although, again, it would be MUCH easier in the Med, with multiple port stops and the ability to resupply, than it would be on the open ocean) - it is far more likely that material from Syria gradually spread across the Med as trade technology improved, eventually resulting in short-distance trades between the British Isles and coastal France.
Don't forget, we're talking 5,000 years ago. Do you think that trade was that complex, even then?