Chrétienne C, second third of the 2nd century BC
Country: France
Place: Near the bay of Agay, close to Saint-Raphaël, between Cannes and Fréjus (Var), at a depth of 35 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.42, 6.88
Type: Roman Republican merchant ship
Identified: No
Dated: Second third of the 2nd century BC, based on the amphorae, the tableware and a Roman coin of 211–170 BC.
Beam: Estimated at 5.5 m.
Keel Length: Unknown; 8.13 m preserved.
Length Overall: Estimated at 15.5 m.
Number of Masts: One, probably far forward.
History of the wreck
The Chrétienne C wreck was discovered in 1953 near the bay of Agay, close to Saint-Raphaël, between Cannes and Fréjus (France). It was described as a group of well-aligned amphorae that did not form a mound. Damaged by looting divers and by trawlers, it had been flattened by 1970. Its archaeological excavation began in 1971 and ended in 1973, with the participation of the vessel Archéonaute1 (Joncheray 1975).
The cargo is one of the earliest pieces of evidence for the export of Italian wine to Gaul, on a route that coincides with that of the Chrétienne A, wrecked nearby a century later with more than 2,000 identical amphorae. A single coin was found, with the helmeted goddess Roma and, on the reverse, the Dioscuri galloping, with the legend ROMA, dated between 211 and 170 BC. These elements allow the authors to date the Chrétienne C to the second third of the 2nd century BC.
Description of the site
The wreck lies at a depth of 35 m. About 11 m of length and 3.80 m of width of the hull were preserved: the keel and four strakes on its port side and about 20 on the starboard side, divided into two groups by a longitudinal fracture. Next to the keel, in the northern area, was a fragment of the ship’s stem. All the timber was badly affected by Teredo navalis and was in a very delicate state at the time of excavation (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Plan of the Chrétienne C (based on Joncheray 1975).
Cargo
The cargo consisted of about 500 Graeco-Italic amphorae of the transitional type characteristic of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, with an estimated weight of 13 to 15 t.
The tableware on board included five pieces of Campanian A ware, Lamboglia 34 paterae and a cup of form 27; a lamp, two unguentaria, a small grey Emporitan jug and various pieces of common ware. An amphora of Punic tradition and one of Rhodian type are also attributed to the crew. The remains of tools such as adzes and a wooden mallet were found, perhaps related to the maintenance of the ship by a carpenter on board.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Three lead anchor stocks were recorded in the area interpreted as the bow, where fragments of tegulae were also found.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. There is no evidence of copper or bronze on the Chrétienne C; the fastenings are of iron.
Hull Remains
About 11 m of length and 3.80 m of width of the hull were preserved, comprising the keel, four strakes on the port side and some 20 on the starboard side, a fragment of the stem, 20 frames (23 including impressions) and a few elements of the internal longitudinal structure (Figure 1). The Chrétienne C is the first evidence of a ship with a flat-bottomed rather than a pinched section. It may belong to a particular architectural signature for which there is as yet no parallel.
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel is 8.13 m long, without its end sections, to which must be added two unconnected fragments, one 24 cm and the other 60 cm long, which do not coincide with the scarfs. The section drawings of these fragments show how the rabbet changes from a bevelled form to a notched form towards the ends, as shown by the unconnected fragments from the northern area, which possibly belong to the stem. The height and width of the keel also change: in the area of the notched rabbet it is 18 cm high and 12 cm wide, becoming more square in section in the central part of the hull (Figure 2).
The angle at which the mortises2 leave the keel relative to the horizontal in the unconnected end sections increases from 35° to 55°, with a spacing between them of 6.8 to 8 cm. These sections, possibly of the stem, are not straight pieces but form a gentle longitudinal angle of 12°. The sections drawn of the keel within the hull show similar values for height and width, 10.5 to 11 cm, and the notched rabbet gives way to a simple bevel. In section no. 4 the mortises leave at an angle of 15° to the horizontal and are spaced every 5–6 cm. The angle varies along the keel, changing from 15° to 40° and to 52° (to the horizontal) towards the southern part of the site, which shows that the end of the ship is close (Figure 2).
Few elements of the internal longitudinal structure of the hull survive. A keelson is preserved at frames nos. 13 and 14 and also at no. 16, 4.8 cm thick and 13 cm wide. It was also observed at frame no. 8, and may be related to a notch in frame no. 2, described below (Figure 1). There are remains of metal nails on the upper faces of the floor timbers. A notch on the south upper face of floor timber no. 2, 14 cm wide, 3 cm high and 2 cm thick, intended to support a mast step that was not recorded, suggests that the mast of this ship was very far forward, about 4 m from the end of the ship, which in turn could be associated with a spritsail rig (vela tarquina).
Figure 2. Section drawings of the keel, showing how the rabbet changes from the stem to the southern end (after Joncheray 1975: 46).
Frames
Twenty frames are preserved (23 including impressions). Because of the central longitudinal fracture of the hull and the separation of the starboard side into two parts, some of them, such as no. 9, appear to show lateral overlapping between floor timbers and futtocks. In fact, the futtocks are placed centred in the spaces between the floor timbers, beginning before the floor timbers end, so that there is a clear overlap of 50–60 cm reinforcing this joint between the framing timbers (Figure 1). In the author’s view, these transverse reinforcing futtocks play the role of half-frames, but are placed between the floor timbers at an excessive distance from the keel, hence the term futtocks. The room-and-space (malla) is wide, about 40–46 cm on average.
The floor timbers have an estimated length of 100–120 cm, based on the plan and assuming approximate symmetry on both sides of the hull. They are about 15 cm moulded over the keel and about 8 cm elsewhere, with a sided dimension of 8 cm, which gives them a rectangular appearance (Figure 3). They have a triangular central limber hole whose base is the width of the keel, so that its lower corners almost coincide with the garboard strakes. The only non-central limber hole recorded in the sections is at the level of the fourth-fifth strake (52 cm from the keel) in frame no. 13; it is rectangular, 4.5 cm wide and 2.3 cm high. The frames are fastened to the hull by wooden treenails of cylindrical section, set perpendicular to the frames about every 10–12 cm. The treenails are 1.4 to 1.6 cm in diameter and up to 18 cm long.
It is striking that there is no alternation of half-frames and floor timbers; apparently, over the keel, they are all centred floor timbers, which gives this framing a light appearance.
Figure 3. Cross-sections of the Chrétienne C (based on Joncheray 1975).
Planking
The planking strakes are between 2.9 and 3.6 cm thick, with a constant and rather narrow width of 9 to 12 cm. The garboard strakes do not seem to have any particular shape, other than being a few millimetres thicker. The 9 scarfs recorded between lengths of plank are all diagonal (pico de flauta) and are placed rhythmically and in a planned way in the hull, with some iron nails to help the joint (Figure 4). This wreck is one of the few examples in which only diagonal scarfs are used to join two lengths of the same strake. The arrangement of the mortises does not always respect a staggered pattern.
The mortises are of truncated-cone shape, wider at their opening on the edge of the plank (3 to 5.5 cm) than inside (2.2 to 4 cm), with a depth of 4 to 8 cm and a thickness of 0.6–0.7 cm (Figure 5). The tenons are therefore shaped like two trapezoids joined at their wider base, 8 to 14 cm long, with a maximum width of 3–5 cm and a minimum of 2–4 cm. They are 0.6–0.7 cm thick, with slightly bevelled ends. The locking pegs are 0.7 to 0.9 cm in diameter and 2.5 to 6 cm long (Figure 4), thus projecting beyond the hull.
Figure 4. Views of planking strakes with mortise-and-tenon joints, showing a diagonal (pico de flauta) scarf (after Joncheray 1975: 49).
Figure 5. Drawing of a truncated-cone tenon with bevelled (sanded or filed?) ends, a peg and a treenail (after Joncheray 1975: 66).
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Some fragments of a side keelson or stringer were preserved (6 cm thick and 12 cm wide). On its side face towards the keel it has a notch for fitting a ceiling of planks perpendicular to the keel (Figure 6), forming a flat hold floor in the central area, as already seen in the Kyrenia wreck. There is no system of fastening between the planks that form it or to the hull, so it would have been easy to remove. There are also stringers parallel to the keel, fastened with iron nails, although there is no evidence of nails on the upper faces of the frames between these pieces (labelled lateral vaigrage in Figure 1) and the stringers next to the keel. The two best preserved, between frames nos. 4 and 8, are on average 15 cm wide. This may have been a light hold floor that was easy to remove.
Figure 6. Idealised section with the central keelson and the stringer supporting a ceiling of transverse planks, forming a stowage floor for the cargo (after Joncheray 1975: 66).
Caulking
The only post-construction protection of the hull is a mixture based on pine resin; there is no evidence of lead sheathing, although some lead sheets were found, perhaps intended for repairs.
Size and scantlings
The ship’s length is estimated at 15.5 m and its beam at 5.5 m, with a cargo of 13 to 15 t. The framing is light, with floor timbers of 8 × 15 cm over the keel and a wide room-and-space of 40–46 cm, and the planking strakes are narrow (9–12 cm) and thin (2.9–3.6 cm).
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Chrétienne C Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel Near the ends | 10.5–11 12 | 10.5–11 18 |
| Keelson | 13 | 4.8 |
| Maststep Notch in floor no. 2 | – 14 | – 3 |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | 8 | 15 (over keel) 8 (elsewhere) |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 40–46 | |
| Planking | 9–12 | 2.9–3.6 |
| Ceiling Side keelson / stringer Stringers | 12 15 (avg.) | 6 – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Many of the excavators’ numerical data were omitted by the author where they did not match the plan and section drawings. Planking and ceiling: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
The analysis carried out within the programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée, directed by Pomey and Guibal, showed the use of hornbeam (Carpinus) for the keel, a species previously unknown in ancient shipbuilding (Pomey 1997: 103).
Bibliography
Joncheray, J.-P. 1975. L’épave « C » de la Chrétienne. Cahiers d’Archéologie Subaquatique, numéro spécial 1. Fréjus.
Pomey, P. 1997. Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée. Bilan scientifique du DRASSM 1996, 102–103. Paris.
Notes
1 In many cases the author has omitted some of the excavators’ numerical data, since they did not match the plan and section drawings.
2 The author understands that the angles given in Joncheray 1975: 41 are measured from the vertical, judging by figure 14 and the archetypal shape of these pieces. The other values, however, are expressed relative to the horizontal, which makes the text confusing.