Caligula's "Giant Ship", also known as the "Round Ship", was a very large barge, the ruins of which were found during the construction of Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino, Italy, in the 1950s.[1] This was previously a Roman port a few kilometres north of Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber River. The ship was dated to using dendrochronological dating methods.
This Roman barge had a length of about 312feet and a beam of about 69feet. It was probably able to carry 1,300 tons of cargo.
According to Pliny, this or a similar ship was used to transport the obelisk in St. Peter's Square from Egypt on the orders of Emperor Caligula.[2]