Baie de Briande, c. 150 BC
Country: France
Place: Baie de Briande, between Cap Taillat and Cap Lardier (Var), at a depth of 37 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.17, 6.63
Type: Roman Republican merchant ship
Identified: No
Dated: c. 150 BC, based on the Graeco-Italic amphorae of the cargo (Tchernia 1969: 473).
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown; the keel was not preserved.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Baie de Briande wreck was discovered in 1967 in the bay of the same name, between the capes of Taillat and Lardier (Var, France). At the time of its discovery it formed a large mound of Graeco-Italic amphorae dated c. 150 BC (Tchernia 1969: 473), covering an area of 13 × 7 m. An attempt was made to protect it against looting by laying interlaced coils of barbed wire over it. This protection was removed by looters, and the entire amphora cargo disappeared. The looting was systematic, to the point that no significant artefact remained in 1995, when P. Pomey intervened on the hull of the ship within the research programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée (Pomey 2002b: 15). The hull was in an acceptable state of preservation, although the looters had damaged it, notably disturbing the mast step and the ceiling of the hold (Figure 1).
Description of the site
The wreck lies at a depth of 37 m. Pomey excavated an area of 5.50 × 3.50 m in the central part of the site, which showed that the keel and most of the garboard strakes had been lost through a strong impact at the level of the rabbet.
Figure 1. Plan of the Baie de Briande wreck (plan drawing by Michel Rival, CCJ-CNRS, after Pomey 2002b: 15).
Cargo
The cargo consisted of Graeco-Italic amphorae dated c. 150 BC, which formed a mound covering 13 × 7 m when the wreck was discovered (Tchernia 1969: 473). The entire cargo was subsequently removed by looters.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported.
Hull Remains
The hull remains uncovered in the 5.50 × 3.50 m excavation area comprise part of the mast step and keelson, the framing, the planking of the bottom and bilge, and part of the ceiling. The keel and most of the garboard strakes were missing (Figures 1 and 2).
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel had been lost, together with most of the garboard strakes, through a strong impact at the level of the rabbet. The excavation exposed the end section (heavily eroded) of the mast step, of oak (Quercus), 34 cm wide and 8 cm high. It was fixed onto the floor timbers by means of notches cut transversely to the longitudinal axis. The floor timbers, in turn, had recesses cut facing one another on their side faces to improve the support. Adjacent to the mast step was a keelson, also of oak (Quercus), 13 cm wide and 8 cm high.
Frames
The framing, of oak (Quercus sp.), consists of floor timbers and half-frames alternating in a regular pattern. The floor timbers are 8–10 cm sided and 23–27 cm moulded at their centre, leaving a gap of 8–9 cm between the lower heel of the floor timber and the keel. Their moulded dimension is similar to that of the half-frames, which have the same sided dimension as the floor timbers. The triangular shape of the floor timbers indicates that the hull had a strongly pinched section, with a prominent keel (Figure 2). The floor timbers are continued transversely by futtocks, but in an unusual way, since there is a gap of 45–70 cm between these two elements of the framing. All the framing timbers are fastened to the hull with nails driven through wooden treenails, which acted as guides or plugs, and the nails were bent over for a better hold.
Figure 2. Sections of the Baie de Briande wreck, showing the loss of the keel, the planking strakes of varying width at the bilge, the gap between a floor timber and its futtock, and the transverse ceiling system giving access to the bilge (section drawings by Michel Rival, CCJ-CNRS, after Pomey 2002b: 16).
Planking
The hull planking, of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.), includes strakes of considerable thickness, 4–5.5 cm, greater than the usual values in this wreck, where the average is 3 cm. These thicker strakes would have reinforced the hull in the areas of the bilge and the futtocks.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
As for the ceiling of the hold, stringers 2.4–2.9 cm thick, of holm oak (Quercus ilex), were preserved, nailed onto the frames, together with removable ceiling strakes, part of which had disappeared. In the area of the extension of the keelson there are transverse ceiling planks of oak (Quercus) on both sides of it, 3.5–3.9 cm thick, which gave access to the bilge.
Caulking
Not reported.
Size and scantlings
No estimate of the ship’s dimensions is given. The sharply pinched hull section with a prominent keel, the robust floor timbers and the locally thickened planking at the bilge and futtocks characterise the surviving structure.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Baie de Briande Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson | 13 | 8 |
| Maststep Mortise | 34 – | 8 – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | 8–10 | 23–27 |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | – | |
| Planking | – | 3 (avg.) 4–5.5 (max.) |
| Ceiling Stringers Transverse planks | – – | 2.4–2.9 3.5–3.9 |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Mast step: dimensions of its surviving (eroded) end section. Floor timbers: moulded dimension at the centre; the half-frames have the same sided dimension and a similar moulded dimension.
Wood
Mast step, keelson, transverse ceiling planks: oak (Quercus). Frames: oak (Quercus sp.). Stringers: holm oak (Quercus ilex). Planking: silver fir (Abies alba Mill.).
Bibliography
Pomey, P. 2002b. Remarques sur la faiblesse des quilles des navires antiques à retour de galbord. In L. Rivet and M. Sciallano (eds), Vivre, produire et échanger: reflets méditerranéens. Mélanges offerts à Bernard Liou, 11–19. Montagnac: Monique Mergoil.
Tchernia, A. 1969. Direction des recherches archéologiques sous-marines. Gallia 27.2: 465–499.