Bacàn 1, 1450s
Country: Italy
Place: Near the inlet to the Venetian lagoon, close to the island of Sant’Erasmo
Coordinates (approximate): 45.4401, 12.4104
Type: Probably a marano (marrano), a flat cargo carrier with two lateen sails
Identified: No
Dated: 1450s, by radiocarbon dating of wood samples
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Probably two, if a marano; a mast step is part of the keelson.
History of the wreck
Two wrecks were found near the inlet to the Venetian lagoon during archaeological monitoring of the canal management works. Under the Magistrato alle Acque-Consorzio Venezia Nuova, the sites were inspected between 2004 and 2010 under the direction of the Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage of the Veneto (Medas 2012b: 78; Medas 2012a: 115-117).
Bacàn 1 was found in 2004 as a pile of large stone slabs near Sant’Erasmo, at first thought to belong to a former lighthouse, the Faro della Pissotta. Further investigation showed that the stone was the cargo of a wooden vessel lying beneath it. The ship seems to have been lost on the edge of an ancient channel leading to the port beyond Sant’Erasmo, which was closed several times in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and finally sealed to favour San Nicolò (Medas 2012b: 82-83).
A preliminary excavation in 2006 recorded the site; the stone cargo was retrieved in 2009, and in 2010 the hull was revisited (Medas 2012a: 117-118). The investigators suggest the ship was a marano (marrano), a flat cargo carrier with two lateen sails used in the lagoon and in the Adriatic coastal trade, heavily loaded with stone, which sank while trying to enter the channel in heavy seas (Medas 2012a: 124).
See also the fiche of Bacàn 2 (Med285), found nearby.
Description of the site
The wreck lies on the edge of an ancient channel near the lagoon inlet. Cross currents caused by the canal works and the jetties built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries left no stratigraphy; the wreck was repeatedly scoured and reburied, and modern debris was found under the stone slabs and the hull. Few artefacts could be attributed to the wrecking event (Medas 2012b: 79, 82). After recording, the hull was covered with geotextile, welded mesh and sandbags and left in situ (Medas 2012a: 117-118).
Cargo
Large stone slabs, retrieved in 2009.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not reported.
Iron concretions
Not reported.
Hull Remains
The preserved hull is what survived under the stone cargo; nothing is known of the keel scarfs or the posts (Medas 2012b: 79-80).
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel is rectangular in section, with rabbets along its length (Medas 2012b: 79-80).
A rebated keelson ran along the centreline, with an expanded mast step cut in the same timber. It is fastened to the keel with seven or eight bolts through the floor timbers; a single iron nail may relate to a scarf (Stefano Medas, pers. comm.).
Frames
The frames have square floor timbers overlapping, without a scarf, futtocks of similar size; the futtocks of each side butt against each other over the keel instead of overlapping briefly. The room-and-space is slightly smaller than the frames’ width, which, with the long overlap between floors and futtocks, suggests a hull reinforced for heavy loads (Medas 2012b: 79-80).
Planking
The surviving planking is thin for the size of the ship and fastened only with iron nails; the hull section suggests a flat floor and a round bilge (Stefano Medas, pers. comm.).
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
The ceiling runs longitudinally and was fastened with treenails (Stefano Medas, pers. comm.).
Caulking
Not reported.
Size and scantlings
No measurements are given; the room-and-space is slightly smaller than the frames’ width.
Wood
Not reported; wood samples were used for radiocarbon dating.
Bibliography
Medas, S. 2012a. [Full reference to be completed.]
Medas, S. 2012b. [Full reference to be completed.]
Medas, S. Personal communication.
Bendig, C. 2021. [Full reference to be completed.]