Caveaux 1, late 2nd–early 1st century BC
Country: France
Place: Off Cap Caveaux, south-east of the island of Pomègues, roadstead of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), at a depth of 20 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.26, 5.30
Type: Roman Republican merchant ship
Identified: No
Dated: Between the end of the 2nd century BC and the beginning of the 1st century BC, based on the Dressel 1A amphorae.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown; the keel was not preserved.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Unknown; notches for a mast step are present.
History of the wreck
The Caveaux I wreck was the subject of archaeological interventions by DRASM in the 1980s, which located remains of its hull that remain unpublished. In the campaign carried out by Pomey and Guibal in 1992, within the research programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée, a study of its construction was made. In Pomey’s opinion (2002: 14), the way in which the ship’s backbone has disappeared, while the floor timbers and part of the hull survive, indicates that the ship was wrecked in a violent collision that tore away the keel.
Description of the site
The wreck lies off Cap Caveaux, south-east of the island of Pomègues, in the roadstead of Marseille, at a depth of 20 m. The surviving remains of the hull are very small, 4.50 × 2.50 m (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Caveaux I wreck: plan of the excavated remains (drawing by Michel Rival, CCJ-CNRS, after Pomey 2002b: 14).
Cargo
The ship’s cargo was homogeneous, consisting of Dressel 1A amphorae.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported.
Hull Remains
The surviving structure is very small, 4.50 × 2.50 m, with part of the framing and a dozen planking strakes (Figure 1).
Keel, keelson and mast step
There is no evidence of the keel, garboard strakes or mast step. Five of the floor timbers have triangular notches facing each other on their side faces, characteristic of the support of the mast step in ships of the Hellenistic-Republican architectural family.
Frames
The species chosen for the frames, without any pattern, are oak (Quercus) and elm (Ulmus). Floor timbers and half-frames alternate regularly. The floor timbers, very triangular in shape, which indicates that the hull section was strongly pinched, are 11 cm sided and up to 27 to 30 cm moulded, levelling out at 11 cm in the part furthest from the centreline. Five of them have triangular notches facing each other on their side faces for the mast step. The half-frames are 9 cm sided and 9 cm moulded. The framing is fastened to the hull by wooden treenails that served as plugs for nails, which were bent over for a better hold. There is no fastening between the keel and the floor timbers.
Planking
The planking (Pinus leucodermis) has strakes 4 to 4.5 cm thick.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
No ceiling was preserved.
Caulking
Not reported.
Size and scantlings
No estimate of the ship’s dimensions is given. The strongly pinched hull section, the robust floor timbers (11 × 27–30 cm) and the thick planking (4–4.5 cm) characterise the surviving structure.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Caveaux I Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | 11 | 27–30 (max.) 11 (ends) |
| Half-frames | 9 | 9 |
| Room-and-space At central frames | – | |
| Planking | – | 4–4.5 |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Planking: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
Frames: oak (Quercus) and elm (Ulmus), used without any pattern. Planking: Bosnian pine (Pinus leucodermis).
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.