Akko 1 shipwreck: the effect of cannon fire on the wooden hull

The Akko 1 shipwreck was discovered inside the harbour of the old walled city of Akko (Acre, St. Jean d'Acre, Akka), Israel. The ship's hull was built mainly of oak, with closely-set framing timbers that created a solid side. The shipwreck was apparently a result of the naval bombardment of the town in 1840.     

The Akko 1 Shipwreck, Israel: the First Two Seasons

The Akko 1 shipwreck was found in 4 m of water inside the ancient harbour of Akko (Acre), 250 m from the ancient wall, with its stern touching a submerged rampart. The dense framing-pattern and relatively thin planking, the extensive use of oak and the origin of the timber, suggest that this is the remains of a small armed ship or auxiliary vessel built in the Eastern Mediterranean. The ship has been provisionally dated to the late-18th or early-19th century, the late Ottoman period. The finds testify to its involvement in one of the naval campaigns at Akko.
© 2008 The Authors     

New Dating and Contextual Evidence for the Fragmentary Timber Remains Located in the Dor D Site, Israel

The laboratory report for a wood-sample taken from one of the ship-timbers discovered at the Dor D site for C14 analysis is completed. This dating result indicates a potential revision for the group of timbers in this deposit and, consequently, new chronological contexts for their construction characteristics. Subsequent excavation and survey in the lagoon has resulted in a revised interpretation for the components of the Dor D deposit. Taken together, this new dating and contextual evidence helps to clarify what these timbers can and cannot contribute to the understanding of trends in ship construction.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

The Tantura F Shipwreck, Israel

Tantura F is the first wreck excavated so far in the eastern Mediterranean dated to the beginning of the 8th century AD (the local early Islamic period), based on ¹⁴C and pottery analysis. Among the finds were the remains of about 30 ceramic vessels, two anchors, food remnants, fish-bones, a needle, a spoon and a glass vessel. Tantura F was c .15 m long and 5 m wide, and hull remains comprise keel, frames, planks, stringers, mast-step, and other internal components. Construction features clearly indicate frame-based construction, considerably earlier than it is generally thought to have been first employed.
© 2006 The Authors     

The iron anchors from the Tantura F shipwreck: typological and metallurgical analyses

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in 1995 in Dor (Tantura) lagoon, about 70 m offshore. It was a coaster that plied the Levant coast during the local early Islamic period. Among the finds exposed in the wreck site were two iron anchors of the T-shaped type. This type of anchor, dated to between the second half of the fourth and the thirteenth centuries AD, is found throughout the Mediterranean. The anchors were analyzed by typological and archaeometallurgical methods, including radiography, metallographic cross-sections, microhardness tests, SEM/EDS analysis and Optical Emisson Spectroscopy (OES) analysis. Light microscopy revealed heterogeneous microstructure consisting of ferrite, Widmanstätten ferrite-pearlite or pearlite, which is typical of wrought iron made by bloomery. The metallographic and microhardness results revealed that decarburization had occurred, probably during the final hot-working process. The OES analysis, supported by SEM/EDS data, showed that the anchors are similar in composition. Soda-blast cleaning followed by chemical etching revealed the forge-welding lines, clarifying the manufacturing process, which is similar in the two anchors. Thus, it is likely that both anchors belonged to the same ship and, hence, were in situ. This information extends the limited knowledge of technologies and materials used, specifically for the development of metallurgy in the Eastern Mediterranean during the early Islamic period, and enlarges the database of the typology of anchors of that period.     

An Arab-Period merchant vessel at Tantura Lagoon, Israel

During the excavation and analysis of a 6th-century AD vessel in Tantura Lagoon, Israel, members of the joint Institute of Nautical Archaeology and Center for Maritime Studies team located an Arab-Period vessel in the vicinity. The dating of the vessel to the 8th–9th century AD is based on pottery, found in association with timbers. Only a matter of days before the end of the excavation season, one end of the vessel was unearthed and preliminary recordings, drawings, and photographs were made. None of the timbers were removed from their in-situ positions for analysis as both time and facilities were not permitting. Though a full analysis was not possible, information gleaned during the several days of recording affords an understanding of the ship's construction.