Calvi 1

Country: France (Corsica)

Place: Calvi harbor, northwestern coast of Corsica, ca. 50 m from an industrial quay, adjacent to the remains of a historic fort

Type: Round ship (Mediterranean)

Identified: Not identified by name

Dated: Late sixteenth century, based on ceramics embedded in concretions at the bottom of the hull structure

History of the shipwreck

In 1979, Antoine Roucayrol reported finding a shipwreck within Calvi harbor. Luc Long, from DRASSM, examined the site and noted significant hull structure from amidships to stern. Full excavation of the site began in 1985, during which the forward end of the ship was not found (Villié 1989, 19-22).

The wreck site was heavily disturbed by its proximity to the industrial quay, where cargo and cruise ships docked constantly. The loose sand covering the hull often shifted and exposed timbers that had not been seen during the original 1979 investigation; initial surveys in 1985 clearly show timbers exposed prior to excavation. During the four-year project, archaeologists collected artifacts spanning the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Only after locating ceramics embedded in concretions at the bottom of the hull structure were investigators confident that this was a late sixteenth-century vessel (Villié 1989, 45-53).

Based on the surviving hull structure, it appears the ship sank and rolled onto its port side, where the lower deck collapsed and protected the after section. The earlier 1979 survey noted additional upperworks and possibly the forward section near the master frame that were no longer present by the start of excavations in 1985. Nonetheless, Calvi 1 provides nautical archaeologists with an important example of stern construction on an early modern Mediterranean round ship.

Description of the site

The site lies roughly 50 m from an industrial quay, directly adjacent to the remains of a historic fort, in water only 8 m deep. The harbor bottom consists of loose sand and plant debris that can fluctuate up to 2 m in depth over the site (Villié 1989, 19-22).

Cargo

No cargo is described in the source text. The artifacts recovered spanned the sixteenth to the twentieth century, and only ceramics embedded in concretions at the bottom of the hull structure were used to date the vessel to the late sixteenth century.

Hull Remains

Keel

Calvi 1's keel is relatively square throughout and rabbeted for the garboards. The end of the keel rounds upward, its aft face hook scarfed to the sternpost at 65°; at the after end of the keel, carpenters cut a sharp angle to meet the heel of the sternpost. Support for the keel/sternpost scarf is provided by a stern knee (Villié 1990, 84-6).

Stern knee and deadwood

The forward end of the stern knee includes a flat scarf connecting to another deadwood timber that provides additional rising for the floor timbers. Rebates on the top face of the stern knee fit the bases of the Y-timbers, while the bottom face of the knee does not follow the same curve as the keel; the resulting gap is filled with a custom-shaped timber. Another void, created between the overlap of the keel, the upper arm of the stern knee, and the sternpost, was left empty. Investigators believe the stern knee may have been a reused timber, given its imperfect fit within the stern assembly (Villié 1990, 86).

Differently sized filler pieces fill the spaces between the Y-timbers to create additional deadwood in this area. The space between the first two floor timbers, which lack filler pieces, contains rebates on their fore and aft faces with a plank inserted between them. Above this assembly, the after end of the keelson terminates before the upward turn of the keel and stern knee. Two filler timbers overlap the keelson: the lower piece is a short shim supporting a much larger timber that extends diagonally to the sternpost, and another knee with a longer forward arm is bolted atop this filler timber (Villié 1990, 118).

It remains unclear why the shipbuilders chose such a complex stern assembly, though one theory suggests a shortage of choice timber led to the use of many smaller pieces. Several types of bolts secure this section, including three exceptionally long fasteners connecting the upper stern knee down through the underside of the keel. All the Y-timbers further aft were connected to the sternpost with bolts driven at different angles, including most of the filler timbers (Villié 1990, 86, 104-11; Villié 1991, 76-7).

Transom

The inside upper face of the sternpost supports a square composite transom made from many small, overlapping compass timbers that together form a surface for attaching the transom's chevron planking. This complex assembly is further reinforced by a false sternpost on the inside, itself supported by the short upper arm of the second stern knee (Villié 1990, 118).

Frames

Framing consists of floor timbers hook scarfed or dovetailed to overlapping futtocks. Overlaps between upper futtocks often include either a half lap or a recess in one timber to accommodate the other. Floor timbers are often rectangular, owing to the rising added at the stern, while the futtocks are square (Villié 1990, 104-11; Villié 1991, 76-7).

Keelson

The keelson is fashioned from a single log with the bark removed, laid along the centerline of the ship. It was rebated amidships and bolted to the keel at every other frame station; any floor not bolted down by the keelson is connected to the keel with a single nail (Villié 1990, 87).

Stringers and ceiling

Dual stringers are present at the overlap of the frame elements, with space between each; the only exception is where the second futtocks cross the third, where a stringer supports a shelf clamp located directly above it. Lower bilge stringers also appear to be logs with the bark removed, while the upper stringers show additional squaring work with chamfered edges. Above the lower bilge stringers is a crenulated sill, with filler pieces inserted between the futtocks to seal the bilge. Two longitudinal ceiling strakes run between the keelson and the lowest bilge stringers (Villié 1990, 88-9, 95, 115).

Beams and knees

At the stern, angled knees rest over the middle pair of stringers, and lodging knees connected to the shelf clamp support the internal face of the flat transom. Both the tops of the lodging knees and the shelf clamp were rebated to fit beams spaced intermittently between them. Hanging knees are positioned over the underlying futtocks and recessed over the stringer and shelf clamp to sit flush with the beams; another rebate allowed the hanging knees to help partially support the adjacent beam. Positioned over a vertical flat scarf connecting two sections of the shelf clamp, a half-circle cut into the inside face between futtocks has no clear indication of its purpose. Surviving evidence suggests the ends of the beams were shaped into narrower tenons that fit into the shelf clamp and were fastened vertically. Archaeologists found portions of a carling supported by stanchions fitted atop the keelson, without evidence of ledges to support this deck; deck planking was fastened with square nails (Villié 1989, 25, 28-32).

Wales

A pair of massane (lower wales) is tucked directly at the junction where the Y-frames give way to the first futtocks, on either side of the hull. These wales disappear after the last surviving forward floor timber and transition into normal hull planking. As the hull shape opens forward from the stern, the placement of the massane also shifts on the outside of the hull, from between the bilge stringers to directly under the lower bilge stringer near amidships (Villié 1991, 82).

Planking

Planking dimensions vary by location; most of the lower strakes share the same thickness but differ in width. After the massane, a deliberate difference in plank thickness creates an alternating recess every other strake. This rhythm is broken by two wales fitted directly adjacent to the stringer and shelf clamp, reinforcing this section on the outside (Villié 1991, 78-82).

Fastenings

Iron nails and bolts were the primary fastenings throughout the hull: floors and futtocks were secured with one to three round iron nails, the keelson was bolted to the keel, and planking was fastened with two round iron nails per frame station, clenched on the inside of the hull. Only a single treenail was recorded on the entire wreck, driven into the portside shelf clamp (Villié 1989, 25; Villié 1990, 87, 104-11).

The overall shape of the ship suggests either a flat floor with a round bilge at amidships or a wineglass form throughout. The latter shape is supported by the one-fifth-scale reconstruction, which required a 75 cm addition to the base of the furthest-forward surviving floor timber to fair the hull lines (Villié 1990, 86-7, 108; Villié 1991, 102-5; Daeffler 1993, 146-8).

Caulking

Both the inside and outside of the hull are pitched, while the keel and garboard are explicitly covered in lead sheathing (Villié 1989, 25).

Size and scantlings

No overall ship dimensions are given. Floors and futtocks are fastened to one another with one to three round iron nails, and planking is fastened with two round iron nails per frame station. The one-fifth-scale reconstruction required a 75 cm (full-scale) addition to the base of the furthest-forward surviving floor timber to fair the hull lines (Villié 1990, 86-7, 108).

References

Villié, P., 1989. “L'épave Calvi 1” [full citation not given in source text];

Villié, P., 1990. [full citation not given in source text];

Villié, P., 1991. [full citation not given in source text];

Daeffler, [initial not given], 1993. [full citation not given in source text].