Dendrochronological Dating and Provenancing of Timbers from the Arade 1 Shipwreck,Portugal

As part of a larger project promoting the development of historical dendrochronology in the Iberian Peninsula, ship‐timbers from the Arade 1 wreck (mostly planking and framing elements), stored at the DANS/IGESPAR in Lisbon, were examined. Of these, 52 samples were identified as deciduous oak (Quercus subg. quercus) and two as chestnut (Castanea sativa). Of 24 timbers selected for dendrochronological research, 23 could be dated, placing the origin of the wood in western France and the felling of trees between AD 1579 and 1583. Their homogeneity suggests they are part of the original construction, which probably took place shortly after AD 1583. © 2012 The Authors     

An Early Portuguese Mariner's Astrolabe from the Sodré Wreck‐site,Al Hallaniyah,Oman

A unique leaded‐gunmetal disc decorated with iconic Portuguese markings was recovered in 2014 during archaeological excavations at the Sodré shipwreck site in Al Hallaniyah, Oman. Initially the identity and function of the disc was unknown, although it did possess characteristics suggesting it could be an astrolabe. Laser imaging of the disc post conservation revealed regular scale marks on the limb of its upper right quadrant. Accurate digital measurements of the marks show them to be graded at close to 5‐degree intervals, thus confirming the identity of the disc as a mariner's astrolabe and the earliest known example discovered to date.     

Moulds,Graminhos and Ribbands: a pilot study of the construction of saveiros in Valença and the Baía de Todos os Santos area,Brazil

The survival of late medieval Mediterranean techniques to conceive and build ships and boats in Brazil was noted by John Patrick Sarsfield in the 1980s, but his study of the Valença shipwrights was interrupted by his untimely death in 1990. This paper summarizes Sarsfield's account of these shipbuilding techniques, examines that published by Lev Smarcevski (1996), and provides some preliminary results of the pilot stage of a project to further research traditional shipbuilding in Valença and the Baía de Todos os Santos region.     

The 5th‐Century BC Shipwreck at Tektaş Burnu,Turkey: evidence for the ship's hull from nail concretions

The Tekta? Burnu ship (440–425 BC) sank along a rough and desolate stretch of the Turkish Aegean coast. Archaeological excavation of the shipwreck site by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University resulted in the retrieval of hundreds of small fragments from the ship's wooden hull and its metal fasteners. Recent study of this artefact assemblage suggests that the coastal trader was built with pine planks and made‐frames, and assembled by a shell‐based construction method. Fasteners include pegged mortise‐and‐tenon joints and double‐clenched copper nails, and the ship may have had laced extremities consistent with other contemporaneous shipwrecks.     

Geothermal fluids circulation at Caldas do Moledo area, Northern Portugal: geochemical and isotopic signatures

A hydrogeological conceptual model of the Caldas do Moledo geothermal site is proposed that shows mixing between geothermal waters and local shallow groundwaters. Stable isotope values of Caldas do Moledo geothermal waters indicate recharge areas located at relatively high altitudes (850–1250 m a.s.l.). The NW–SE Vigo–Régua shear zone plays an important role in fluid recharge and circulation towards the NNE–SSW Régua–Verin fault system, forming a path for ascent of geothermal fluids. The apparent ¹⁴C age of geothermal fluids (15.66 ± 2.86 ka BP) was estimated in the total dissolved inorganic carbon (TDIC). Geothermometer calculations indicate that, assuming a conductive temperature gradient of 32°C per kilometer for northern Portugal, the maximum depth of circulation is roughly 1.8 ± 0.4 km. The K, Ca and SO₄ concentrations found in some Caldas do Moledo geothermal spring waters show mixing between deep geothermal and shallow groundwater systems. Local shallow groundwaters showing the highest SO₄ concentrations were found at low elevation areas, originating from fertilisers and pesticides applied to the Port wine vineyards in the Douro River valley. Geothermal waters from boreholes AC1 and AC2 do not show evidences of direct pollution from the spreading of such agrochemicals.     

The Arade 1 Shipwreck: Preliminary Results of the 2004 and 2005 Field Seasons

Lost after partial destruction by dredging in 1970, Arade 1 was a priority for the Centro Nacional de Arqueologia Náutica e Subaquática (CNANS). The upper part of the hull, lying over a 7-m-long area of the bed of the Arade river, was fully observed and recorded during the first two seasons (2001 and 2002) and dismantled in a third phase (2003). The 2004 and 2005 seasons aimed at the excavation, full recording and dismantling of the lower hull, briefly observed at the end of 2002. This second, detached, portion of the hull, was buried in the sediment and corresponds to midships.
© 2008 The Authors     

The 4th‐Century‐BC Mazotos Shipwreck,Cyprus: a preliminary report

Since November 2007 an underwater project has been carried out by the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus, in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities, at a shipwreck on the south coast, 14 miles south‐west of Larnaca. Its cargo consists mainly of Chian amphoras and has been provisionally dated to the 3rd quarter of the 4th century BC. The good state of preservation of the site gives an opportunity for studying amphora stowage and the wreck‐formation process. Moreover, it can shed new light on sea‐routes and trade between Cyprus and the Aegean during the late Classical period. © 2010 The Author     

The 'Mardi Gras' Shipwreck: Results of a Deep-Water Excavation, Gulf of Mexico, USA

The 'Mardi Gras' Shipwreck is the remains of an early-19th-century sailing vessel lost in approximately 1220 m of water in the Gulf of Mexico. A recent archaeological investigation documented the wreck and recovered several artefacts, including glassware, ceramics, navigational instruments, a cannon, and a stove. Analyses of these artefacts and the surviving hull have led to preliminary conclusions on the nature of the vessel and its crew.
© 2009 The Authors     

Mary Ellis (1897–1907): Workhorse of the South Australian Mosquito Fleet

In 2006, as part of the Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Field School, Department of Archaeology staff and students excavated and recorded the remains of the Australian-built ketch Mary Ellis . Colonial-period Australian shipbuilding has, for the past 20 years, been considered one of the most important themes in Australian maritime archaeology. This paper presents a summary of field investigations and a preliminary interpretation of the shipwreck, which adds to the slowly-building dataset on this theme of Australian maritime archaeology.
© 2008 The Authors     

Report on Finds from the Saint-Quay-Portrieux Wreck, France

In 1987, some divers discovered the cargo of a merchant ship which was wrecked off the rocks of the Saint-Quay Islands in Brittany. Several expeditions were conducted by the discoverer, DRASSM and the Art and History Museum of Saint-Brieuc on the site between 1987 and 2003 but the wreck remains unidentified. The ship is believed to have traded with Africa in the first part of the 18th century. Though no remains of the ship's structure were found, the artefacts recovered, including trading goods, ship's equipment, and domestic utensils, allow comparisons to be made with other contemporary materials.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

A 16th‐Century Ship‐Find from Amager Beach Park,Denmark: description and preliminary interpretation

When establishing the new Amager Beach Park near Copenhagen, Denmark, a small clinker‐built ship dating to the 16th century (dendro‐dated to 1560–70) was discovered. The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde excavated the wreck in 2004, and parts of the ship were later taken to the museum and recorded in 3D. This article describes the excavation and the documentation, and presents the preliminary interpretation of the ship‐find. The ship is interpreted as a small cargo vessel, probably carrying two masts. Its hull‐form indicates that the vessel was specially designed for navigating the waters of the Sound between Denmark and Sweden. © 2010 The Author     

The Pepper Wreck, an early 17th-century Portuguese Indiaman at the mouth of the Tagus River, Portugal

Found in 1993 of the rocks of the fortress São Julião da Barra, at the mouth of the Tagus River, the SJB2 shipwreck—or Pepper Wreck—was tentatively identified as the Portuguese Indiaman Nossa Senhora dos Mártires , lost at this location on its return voyage from Cochin, in India, on 14 September 1606. Its archaeological excavation disclosed a collection of artefacts from the late 16th and the early 17th centuries and allowed the study of the surviving hull structure. The evidence suggests that the Pepper Wreck was a typical Portuguese Indiaman, similar to those described in Portuguese 16th century ship treatises, with a keel of around 27.7 m and an overall length of nearly 40 m.     

A Portuguese East Indiaman from the 1502–1503 Fleet of Vasco da Gama off Al Hallaniyah Island,Oman: an interim report

Two Portuguese naus from Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India, left behind to disrupt maritime trade between India and the Red Sea, were wrecked in May 1503 off the north‐eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The ships, Esmeralda and São Pedro, had been commanded by da Gama's maternal uncles, Vicente and Brás Sodré, respectively. A detailed study and scientific analysis of an artefact assemblage recovered during archaeological excavations conducted in Al Hallaniyah in 2013 and 2014 confirms the location of an early 16th‐century Portuguese wreck‐site, initially discovered in 1998. Esmeralda is proposed as the probable source of the remaining, un‐salved wreckage.     

The Hull Construction of Yenikapı 14 (YK 14), a Middle Byzantine Shipwreck from Constantinople's Theodosian Harbour,Istanbul, Turkey

Yenikap? 14 (YK 14) is one of 37 shipwrecks discovered by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums during the Marmaray Project excavations in Istanbul's Yenikap? neighbourhood, the site of Constantinople's Theodosian Harbour. Dated to the 9th century AD, YK 14 is one of a group of Yenikap? round ships constructed using similar methods: it was a flat‐floored, shallow‐draught vessel built primarily of oak using a distinctive combination of shell‐ and skeleton‐based construction methods. Regularly spaced pegs called coaks were used to assemble the hull planking edge‐to‐edge from the keel to the first wale, above which planks were fastened exclusively to frames.     

The Mortella II & III Wrecks: premiminary observations on two 16th‐century archaeological sites discovered in Saint‐Florent Bay,Corsica, France

In 2005 and 2006 the remains of great armed vessels dated from the 16th century were discovered within an archaeological survey framework led by the Société d'Etudes en Archéologie Subaquatique (SEAS) in Saint‐Florent Bay (north Corsica, France). The preliminary study of the two archaeological sites located, named Mortella II and Mortella III, sheds light on these highly interesting shipwrecks and the contribution their excavation—programmed for 2010—will be able to provide to the maritime archaeology of this period, about which relatively little is known. © 2010 The Author     

The 7th–9th Century Tantura E Shipwreck,Israel: construction and reconstruction

The Tantura E shipwreck was discovered in Tantura lagoon, Israel, in a water depth of 2.8 m, covered by 1 m of sand. It was a coaster that plied the Levant coast, dated to the 7th–9th centuries CE. It was recorded under water, but several components were studied on land, as well as the finds. The hull is of frame‐based construction, with flat floor timbers and a sharp turn of the bilge. The archaeological evidence, as well as modern design tools and regulations, suggests that Tantura E was c.12.5 m long, of 25 tonnes displacement, and could load c.17.5 tonnes.     

Site Identification and Correlation Using Geoarchaeological Methods at the Cabeço do Porto Marinho (CPM) Locality, Rio Maior, Portugal

Several geoarchaeological techniques have been employed in evaluating an open-air site within a uniform sand matrix, near Rio Maior, Portugal. Electrical resistivity data, acquired at the Upper Palaeolithic site complex of Cabeço do Porto Marinho (CPM), delineated an important new occupational locus. This result was confirmed, first by auger testing which recovered subsurface artefacts, and then by direct excavation. In addition, 107 samples were recovered at the site for magnetic susceptibility measurements. Comparisons between magnetic susceptibility profiles from two loci, including the new area at CPM, show distinctive patterns which allow direct correlation between the occupation areas. These methods provide quick and inexpensive means for investigators to evaluate new sites or to correlate between and within sites, without resorting to other more time-consuming and expensive techniques.