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SHIPWRECKS

Melian obsidian and large fish bones in the Franchthi Cave of the Peloponnese indicate Aegean seafaring since at least the eighth millennium B.C., with an estimated loss of more than 100,000 ships in the Mediterranean since that time. Shipwrecks with cargoes have yielded art works as well as ceramic, stone, metal, glass, and other artifacts in closed contexts, sometimes dated by coins. Hulls which have been partially protected by mud or sand against teredos (shipworms) reveal that from at least the 5th c. B.C. until the 4th c. A.D., Graeco-Roman ships were constructed by the so-called shell-first technique, their planks held together with mortise-and-tenon joints and their ribs inserted later. By the 7th c. A.D. these joints had become structurally less important, and at least some ships were built by the more modern skeleton-first technique above the waterline; the increased use of iron rather than copper nails at this time suggests that the new, cheaper technique came into vogue for economic reasons.

Hundreds of ancient wrecks have been located, mostly carriers of Roman amphorae or stone which are most easily spotted by divers. Some have been surveyed or photographed, a few salvaged, and a very few excavated.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Atti del II Congresso lnternazionale di Archeologia Sottomarina, Albenga 1958 (1961); J. du Plat Taylor, ed., Marine Archaeology (1965, 1966); G. F. Bass, Archaeology Under Water (2d ed. 1970, 1972); id., ed., A History of Seafaring based on Underwater Archaeology (1972)MPI; Atti del III Congresso Internazionale di Archaeologia Sottomarina, Barcellona 1961 (1971); L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (1971) esp. 201-16.


Agde See Rochelongues.


Albenga

Lead-sheathed merchant ship sunk 80-60 B.C., 44 m deep off NW Italy. Salvage operatons with a diving bell and clamshell grab have raised over 1000 of an estimated 3000 amphorae, pottery from the ship's galley, three bronze helmets, and hull pieces.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

N. Lamboglia, “Il Primo saggio de scavo sulla nave romana di Albenga,” RStLig 30 (1964) 219-28PI; id. et al., “Albenga,” Marine Archaeology 53-66M.


Antibes

A pillaged cargo of Etruscan amphorae and fine pottery, from the first quarter of the 6th c. B.C., excavated off Cap d'Antibes in S France.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

F. Benoît, “Épaves de la côte de Provence,” Gallia 14 (1956) 32-34; id., “Nouvelles épaves de Provence,” ibid. 16 (1958) 30-31.


Antikythera

Wreck of 80-50 B.C. discovered near this Greek island in 1900, ca. 60 m deep, by sponge divers who subsequently salvaged the famous bronze Youth, bearded Philosopher, and other bronzes, 36 poorly preserved marble statues, and numerous other finds including a unique astronomical computer. National Museum, Athens.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. D. Weinberg et al., “The Antikythera Shipwreck Reconsidered,” TransPhilSoc 55, 3 (1965)I; D. Price, “An Ancient Greek Computer,” Scientific American 200 (June 1959) 60ff; Marine Archaeology 34-39M.


Artemision

End of 1st c. B.C. or beginning of 1st c. A.D. The bronze Zeus or Poseidon, a bronze jockey, and fragmentary horse (all in the National Museum, Athens), and bits of wood and pottery have been salvaged from a depth of 40 m off Cape Artemision in N Euboea.


Chretiènne

A small offshore rock near Cap Dramont in S France, and the site of at least four ancient wrecks. The badly looted wreck A, a 1st c. amphora carrier, is the best known; its mast step is preserved.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dumas, Épaves antiques (1964) 99-188MPI.


Dramont A

Amphora carrier sunk 35 m deep near a reef 1 km S of Cap Dramont in S France in the 1st c. B.C. Partially excavated after being looted and dynamited.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

C. Santamaria et al., “Dramont A,” Marine Archaeology 93-103MI.


Fiumicino

Remains of seven Roman vessels, three of them harbor barges of the 3d-5th c. A.D., discovered in Claudius' Harbor near the Rome international airport.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

O. Testaguzza, “The Port of Rome,” Archaeology 17 (1964) 173-79MPI; Casson, Ships and Seafaring passim.


Gelidonya

Ca. 1200 B.C. A small ship, carrying over 900 kg of copper ingots, tin ingots, and scrap bronze when it sank in 33 m of water off Cape Gelidonya in SW Turkey. The lamp, cylinder seal, scarabs, and stone objects recovered suggest a Semitic origin. Bodrum Museum, Turkey.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. F. Bass et al., “Cape Gelidonya: A Bronze Age Shipwreck,” TransPhilSoc 57, 8 (1967)MPI.


Giannutri See Punta Scaletta.


Grand Congloué

A lead-sheathed Roman amphora carrier, ca. 38-45 m deep off the Grand Congloué, an island near Marseilles. It produced over 100 different forms of Campanian pottery dated to between 180 and 150 B.C., but two wrecks may be involved.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

F. Benoît, L'Épave du Grand Congloué a Marseille, Gallia suppl. 14 (1961)MPI, rev, by G. F. Bass, Antiquity 37 (1963) 155-57.


Huelva

A 7th c. B.C. cargo of scrap bronze (swords, spearheads, arrowheads, fibulas) dredged from 9 m below the bed of the Huelva estuary NW of Gibraltar in Spain.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Bosch-Gimpera, “Huelva,” in Ebert, Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte V (1926).


Kyrenia

A 4th c. B.C. merchantman, ca. 19 m long, which sank 30 m deep near the N coast of Cyprus in the early 3d c. B.C. Its lead-sheathed hull carried a mixed cargo of amphorae, almonds, and stone grain mills. Restored in the Kyrenia Museum, Cyprus.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

M. L. Katzev, “The Kyrenia Ship,” A History of SeafaringMP; id., “Kyrenia 1969: A Greek Ship is Raised,” Expedition 12, 4 (1970) 6-14.


London

Although built in N Europe in the 3d c. A.D., the ship found on the site of the County Hall in 1910 was constructed in the Roman manner; coins on board date its sinking to after A.D. 293.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P.R.V. Marsden, “The County Hall Ship,” Trans. London and Middlesex Arch. Soc. 21, 2 (1965) 109-17; id., “Ships of the Roman Period and After in Britain,” A History of SeafaringMPI.


Mahdia

Shipwreck of the 1st c. B.C. found about 42 m deep 4.8 km off the Tunisian coast by sponge divers. The salvaged cargo of art works included a bronze herm signed by Boethos of Chalkedon. Stone capitals, bases, and 60 columns remain mostly on the sea bed. Bardo Museum, Tunisia.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. de Frondeville, Les visiteurs de la mer (1956); id., “Mahdia,” Marine Archaeology 39-53MP; W. Fuchs, Der Schiffsfund von Mahdia (1958)I.


Marseilles

Part of a Roman hull, dated to the 2d or 3d c. A.D. by pottery, found in 1864 and given the fanciful name of Caesar's Galley.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Throckmorton, “Romans on the Sea,” A History of SeafaringI; F. Benoît, L'Épave da Grand Congloué, Gallia suppl. 14 (1961) 145.


Marzamemi

A cargo of ca. A.D. 500, including all of the stone ornamental features of a church, discovered off the coast of Sicily in ca. 6 m of water. Nearby were 15 large blocks of unworked stone from Greece, sunk in the 3d c.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. Kapitän, “Schiffsfrachten antiker Baugesteine und Architekturteile vor den Küsten Ostsiziliens,” Klio 39 (1961) 290-302MPI; F. van Doorninck, “Byzantium, Mistress of the Sea: 330-641,” A History of Seafaring.


Mellieha

A shallow wreck from the turn of the 2d and 3d c. A.D., investigated in Mellieha Bay, Malta. The main cargo was of mortaria, but amphorae, domestic pottery, and glass were also found.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

H. Frost, The Mortar Wreck in Mellieha Bay (1969).


Methone

Two stone shipments, one of granite column fragments, probably Roman, and the other of granite sarcophagi, probably sunk in the 2d or 3d c. A.D., were surveyed in shallow water near Cape Spitha in the Peloponnese.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Throckmorton & John Bullitt, “Underwater Surveys in Greece: 1962,” Expedition 5, 2 (1963) 16-23.


Nemi

Two huge pleasure barges of the 1st c. A.D., 78 and 79 m long, were recovered over a four-year period from the bottom of Lake Nemi, 26 km SE of Rome, by the partial draining of the lake. The lead-sheathed hulls were burned during WW II, but models and many of the finds are displayed in a museum near the lake.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. Ucelli, Le Navi de Nemi (1950)MPI.


Pantano Longarini

A wreck of the 5th-7th c. A.D. was discovered in excavation of a drainage canal in a marsh in S Sicily; its transom stern is unique and important for its early date.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Throckmorton & G. Kapitän, “An Ancient Shipwreck at Pantano Longarini,” Archaeology 21 (1968) 182-87MPI; F. van Doorninck, “Byzantium . . . ,” A History of Seafaring; P. & J. Throckmorton, “The Roman Wreck at Pantano Longarini,” IJNA 2 (1973) 243-266.


Planier III

An amphora carrier of the middle of the 1st c. B.C., 29 m deep off the small island of Planier, near Marseille.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Tchernia, “Les Fouilles sous-marines de Planier (Bouches-du-Rhône),” CRAI (1969) 292-309MPI; id., “Direction des recherches archéologiques sous-marines,” Gallia 27 (1969) 465-99.


Porticello

Late 5th or early 4th c. B.C. ship lost in the Straits of Messina. The looting of two life-size bronze statues from the site led to its excavation. The hull was mortise-and-tenon joined and lead-sheathed. Reggio Calabria Museum.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

D. I. Owen, “Excavating a Classical Shipwreck,” Archaeology 24 (1971) 118-29I; id., “Picking up the Pieces . . . ,” Expedition 13, 1 (1970) 24-29MP.


Punta Scaletta

Mid 2d c. B.C. shipwreck 35 m deep off the island of Giannutri. Finds include the cargo of Campanian pottery, coins, roof tiles, and a mixture of four lead composite anchors and three iron anchors.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

N. Lamboglia, “La Campagna 1963 sul relitto de Punta Scaletta all'isola di Giannutri,” RStLig 30 (1964) 229-57PI.


Rochelongues

Cargo of copper ingots, scrap bronze, metal-working tools, and bronze buckles, chains, razors, and arrowheads of the 6th c. B.C., excavated at a depth of 6 to 8 m off Rochelongues near Agde in S France.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Bouscaras, “Découverte d'une épave du premier âge du fer a Agde,” RStLig 30 (1964) 288-94I; id., Bull. Soc. Arch. . . . Béziers (Herault) 4 ser. 30 (1964) 5-19; 5 ser. 1 (1965) 81-99; 2 (1966) 5-15; id., “Epave des bronzes de Rochelongues, campagne de 1968,” ibid. 4 (1968) 5-16.


San Pietro

A 2d or 3d c. cargo of 22 unfinished sarcophagi, surveyed in 4-7 m of water near San Pietro, SE of Taranto, Italy.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

J. B. Ward-Perkins & P. Throckmorton, “The San Pietro Wreck,” Archaeology 18 (1965) 201-9PI.


Spargi

Roman amphora carrier sunk between 120 and 100 B.C. in 20 m of water between the island of Spargi and Sardinia. Its lead-sheathed hull, 33-38 m long, held ca. 3000 amphorae and hundreds of dishes, bowls, and pitchers.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. Roghi, “Spargi,” Marine Archaeology 53-66MP; N. Lamboglia, “La Nave romana di Spargi (La Maddalena),” Atti del II Congresso . . . 141-66I.


Titan

An amphora carrier 27 m deep off the E end of the Ile du Lévant (Toulon) in France, sunk ca. 50 B.C. Excavation revealed galley roof-tiles, domestic pottery, lamps, and a good part of the hull.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Tailliez, “Travaux de l'été 1958 sur l'épave du ‘Titan,’ a l'ile du Levant (Toulon),” Atti del II Congresso . . . 175-98MPI; English tr. in Marine Archaeology 76-93.


Torre Sgarrata

A merchant ship carrying ca. 154 metric tons of marble, including sarcophagi, from Asia Minor when she sank near Taranto in S Italy in the late 2d c. A.D. Well-preserved hull fragments have been excavated.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Throckmorton, “Romans on the Sea,” A History of SeafaringMPI; id., “Ancient Ship Yields New Facts—And a Strange Cargo,” National Geographic 135, 2 (1969) 282-300.


Yassi Ada

A small island also known as Lodo between the Turkish mainland and the Greek island of Kalymnos. Its dangerous reef sank perhaps a dozen ships in antiquity. Two have been completely excavated.


A 4th c. A.D. merchantman ca. 19 m long, excavated at a depth of 36-42 m. Its cargo of 1000 amphorae has been dated by a complete set of galley wares; the hull was well preserved. Bodrum Museum, Turkey.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. F. Bass & F. van Doorninck, “A Fourth-Century Shipwreck at Yassi Ada,” AJA 75 (1971) 27-37PI; Van Doorninck, “Byzantium, Mistress of the Sea: 330-641,” A History of Seafaring.


An amphora carrier of the same size lost ca. A.D. 625. This wreck has given perhaps the most complete picture of any ancient ship yet discovered, with its 11 iron anchors, tiled galley roof, and sets of weights, iron tools, coins, and galley wares. Bodrum Museum, Turkey.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

G. F. Bass, “A Byzantine Trading Venture,” Scientific American 224, 2 (1971) 22ff; F. van Doorninck, “Byzantium . . . ,” A History of Seafaring.

G. F. BASS

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