 Later during this period—in the late 15th century—"ship-rigged" vessels with multiple square sails on each mast appeared and became common for sailing ships.Sailing ships in the Mediterranean region date to 3000 BCE, when Egyptians used a bipod mast to support a single square sail on a vessel that mainly relied on multiple paddlers.Later the mast became a single pole, and paddles were supplanted with oars.