A Preliminary report of recording the Stella 1 Roman River Barge,Italy

The remains of a Roman barge were found in 1981 in the River Stella, Udine, Italy. Its cargo consisted mainly of roof tiles. It was excavated in 1998 and 1999, and detailed recording of the hull, and a second wooden structure, was achieved in 2011. A spread of material upstream of the wreck has been investigated 2012–2015. The barge was originally dated to the first quarter of the 1st century AD by the in situ cargo. This article describes the bottom‐based sewn‐plank hull construction and examines it in the light of local boatbuilding traditions. The second wooden structure is also described, along with recent finds and new dating evidence from the dispersed material. The Stella 1 excavation was part of the Anaxum Project, a wider study of the Stella River's cultural landscape through time.     

Sails from the Roman port at Berenike, Egypt

A 1st-century AD midden deposit at Berenike, a major port on the trade route between the Roman Empire and India, has produced cotton textile fragments reinforced with a rectangular grid-pattern of cotton strips, interpreted as the remains of sails. Webbing fragments of cotton and linen, in some cases attached to stout cotton or linen cloth, may also have come from sails. The only published example of a Roman-Period sail is a linen sail of 1st-century BC-AD date from Thebes in Egypt, to which the Berenike fragments bear a close resemblance. The S-spun linen sails were presumably manufactured in Egypt. Most of the Berenike material, however, was of Z-spun cotton: an import, it is argued, of Indian origin. The construction of Mediterranean-type sails entirely from Indian materials has implications for the presence of Westerners on the Indian sub-continent.     

The Rigging and the 'Hydraulic System' of the Roman Wreck at Grado, Gorizia, Italy

The hull of the Roman wreck at Grado has been preserved under the cargo of amphoras. On the site, a lot of wooden elements of the rigging are preserved, including deadeyes, blocks, and toggles. Three possible bitts were identified, one of them sculpted; two were nailed to the hull while one was loose. Near the keel a lead tube, protected by a wooden box, has been interpreted as a bilge-pump but more probably it was a suction-pump. The tube would have been connected to a piston pump which has not survived. Possible explanations for its use are presented.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

The Roman wreck of c. AD 200 at Plemmirio, near Siracusa (Sicily): Interim report

A Roman wreck, named Plemmirio B^[1]i, lies on the rocky talus below the southern cliffs of Capo Murro di Porco, near Costa Bianca del Plemmirio (Penisola della Maddalena), prov. Siracusa, Sicily. The cargo of amphoras and iron bars, relatively well-preserved, is situated between 22 m and 47 m depth. Following brief examinations in 1974–1982, a University of Bristol expedition spent four weeks surveying the site in July-August 1983^[2] This paper presents an interim summary of these campaigns; a comprehensive report will be published after completion of excavations at the site^[3]. The archaeological deposit at Plemmirio B is characterized by concentrations of fragmented amphoras. There is no direct evidence for the structure of the ship, much of which may have disintegrated during the initial wreck process, but study of the artefact distribution suggests a vessel of fairly large capacity. The amphora consignment (which may have numbered no more than 200) comprised cylindrical African containers, 80% of which were form Africana 2A and 20% Africana 1^[4] w. The Africana 2A amphoras had internal resinous linings, and so may have contained a fish product rather than olive oil. Other amphoras exposed on the site were at least one Mauretanian Dressel 30 (Keay type 1) and two possibly intrusive amphoras of unclassified types. Ferrous concretions contained voids (hollow casts) which may once have been about 39 wrought iron bars, of two distinctive shapes. These, and several other concretions of unidentified forms, may represent a consignment of iron originally weighing approximately one tonne. Other finds from the wreck are two cooking pots, a small bowl or cup, a sounding lead, three fragments of tegula rooftiles, and two small stone blocks. One of the cooking pots confirms a date for the wreck based on the amphora association of circa AD 180–250, most likely in the first decade of the 3rd century. The amphora assemblage belongs to an important phase of commerce from North Africa represented by at least 20 known wreck cargoes; however, few of these sites have been scientifically recorded or are as closely dated as Plemmirio B, and the diversity of container types and cargo consignments on this wreck is of particular interest.     

Dibba: an ancient port on the Gulf of Oman in the early Roman era

In this paper recent archaeological evidence from the port city of Dibba in the United Arab Emirates is presented. Finds of both ceramics and elite objects detail the extensive maritime trade network that connected this part of Arabia with the broader Indian Ocean World.     

The Roman Ship 'punta Scifo d' and its Marble Cargo (Crotone,Italy)

In the first three centuries AD, large‐scale building projects, both in Rome and in the western colonies, stimulated the demand for marble from the eastern quarries. The Punta Scifo D shipwreck – discovered in 1986 in the Bay of Scifo, south of Crotone, Italy, and investigated in 2011 and 2013 by a team from the Università Ca' Foscari of Venice – is an important source for the reconstruction of this kind of trade in the Roman Empire. Studies of the cargo, dated to the third century AD, were the basis for the virtual reconstruction of a barge about 40 m long carrying a cargo of almost 340 tons. Petrographic and isotopic analyses demonstrated that it carried three different types of marble: mainly Proconnesian, some Pentelic, and one slab of Dokimean marble. The ship probably departed from the island of Marmara, and stopped at Ephesos, and perhaps also at Piraeus.     

The Roman Well at Piddington,Northamptonshire, England: an Investigation of the Coleopterous Fauna

Abstract

This report presents the entomological evidence obtained from 4th century fills of a Roman well at Piddington, Northamptonshire. Analysis of the Coleoptera remains was restricted to one sample from the lower fill. A large fauna suggested an open, dry environment with areas of vegetation and accumulations of occupation debris nearby. The deposit was formed through a variety of mechanisms including accidental incorporation, natural deposition and possibly the deliberate dumping of refuse.