Cap de l’Estérel, 1st century BC
Country: France
Place: One nautical mile south-east of Cap de l’Estérel, Giens peninsula (Var), at a depth of 23 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.02, 6.14
Type: Roman Republican merchant ship
Identified: No
Dated: 1st century BC, based on the Dressel 1A amphorae.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Unknown; a mast step is preserved.
History of the wreck
The Cap de l’Estérel wreck was discovered in 1968. It is a wreck of the 1st century BC with Dressel 1A amphorae, covering an area of 12 × 5 m, whose cargo has been damaged by trawling (Tchernia 1969: 475–476). In 1971 Carrazé carried out an intervention, partly prompted by looting. Although there are some short studies of the stamps observed on the cargo, the information available on its construction is very limited, despite the well-preserved remains of its hull. The few data available come from the analysis carried out on this wreck within the programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée directed by Pomey and Guibal (Pomey 1994: 44).
Description of the site
The wreck lies near the Giens peninsula (France), one nautical mile south-east of the cape, at a depth of 23 m. The site covers an area of 12 × 5 m (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Top view of the Cap de l’Estérel wreck, showing the mast step with the mortises for supporting the mast (photo: Chéné, CNRS-CCJ, after Pomey 1994: 43).
Cargo
Dressel 1A amphorae, some of them stamped. The cargo has been damaged by trawling and looting.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported.
Hull Remains
The hull remains are well preserved. The ship was built with a single hull, without an outer sheathing of lead sheets.
Keel, keelson and mast step
The mast step is preserved, notched over the floor timbers (Figure 1).
Frames
As Pomey observed, and this is what led the author to include this wreck in the corpus, the framing along the ship’s centreline consists solely of a succession of floor timbers (not only in the area of the mast step), with no half-frames at all.
Planking
Not reported.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Not reported.
Caulking
Not reported. The hull has no lead sheathing.
Size and scantlings
No dimensions are reported.
Wood
The wood identifications show oak (Quercus), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and silver fir (Abies alba) for the construction of the hull, and holm oak (Quercus ilex) for the joining elements.
Bibliography
Pomey, P. 1994. Épave du cap de l’Estérel. Bilan scientifique du DRASSM 1993, 43–45. Paris.
Tchernia, A. 1969. Direction des recherches archéologiques sous-marines. Gallia 27.2: 465–499.