Contarina II

Country: Italy

Place: Near Contarina, Po river valley, Adriatic coast

Type: Double-ended, lateen-rigged riverine/lagoon vessel

Identified: Not identified by name

Dated: Second half of the fifteenth or early sixteenth century (Beltrame 2009), consistent with the original 1901 report by Occioni-Bonaffons

History of the shipwreck

Flooding of the Po river valley on Italy's Adriatic coast in 1882 emphasized the inadequacies of the canal network meant to channel overflow away from cultivated areas. As a result, a consortium was formed for new reclamation works in the Polesano territory and to build new canals as part of this project, with a main canal planned between the Fossa Polesella, the Canalbianco, and the Po di Levante. The consortium hired the Trezza Company to carry out the canal excavations (Occioni-Bonaffons 1901, 12-13).

During construction of the canal in 1898, laborers working near Contarina, Italy, uncovered the remains of two ships. Contarina II consisted of a section from the side of the vessel and part of a deck and was in surprisingly good condition; the companion wreck, Contarina I, consisted of the hull below the waterline. The significance of the finds prompted officials to document the wrecks as part of the maritime history of the area (Occioni-Bonaffons 1901, 14).

Both ships were photographed in situ, disassembled, and transported to Venice for further study. It is unclear what happened to the original timbers, but accurate scale models of the hull structures were made and are now housed at the Naval Museum of Venice (Occioni-Bonaffons 1901, 20-2).

Marco Bonino reviewed this information in 1978, suggesting the coastline had undergone significant silting of the Po river delta over the centuries. Based on the few finds associated with the two wrecks, as well as their construction features, he dated Contarina II to the middle of the sixteenth century. This date was accepted in nautical archaeological circles for several decades, owing to the dearth of comparative archaeological material (Bonino 1978, 8, 13).

In 2009, Carlo Beltrame (with advice from Mauro Bondioli) revisited the same data reviewed by Bonino, agreeing that the siltation of the Po river delta was extensive but concluding it did not accumulate as quickly as Bonino had claimed. Ceramic sherds, a fork, shears, and a hook-chainplate for a lateen rig associated with Contarina II were reexamined and dated to the second half of the fifteenth or the early sixteenth century (Beltrame 2009, 412), a range consistent with the original 1901 report by Occioni-Bonaffons (Occioni-Bonaffons 1901, 44-5). Contarina II was discovered closer to the Adriatic than Contarina I, with 290 m separating the two sites (Beltrame 2009, 415).

Description of the site

Contarina II was found during canal construction near Contarina, in the Po river valley. It lies closer to the Adriatic coast, 290 m from its companion wreck, Contarina I, which was found further inland (Beltrame 2009, 415).

Cargo

Finds associated with the wreck included ceramic sherds, a fork, shears, and a hook-chainplate for a lateen rig (Beltrame 2009, 412).

Hull Remains

For most ships in this catalog, the archaeological evidence consists of the lower hull structure; Contarina II is a rare example from the upper section. Surviving elements from floor timbers and futtocks suggest a non-scarfed overlap fastened together with two round iron fasteners (Occioni-Bonaffons 1901, 35-6). The framing is square and slightly lighter than that of Contarina I; spacing between the upper futtocks is twice the sided dimension (10 cm) of each timber. Several stringers are present, one below the shelf clamp and four above, with several vertical hook scarfs connecting adjacent stringer elements. Planking thickness is mixed, with thicker strakes (5 cm) below the waterline and slightly thinner examples (4 cm) above (Bonino 1978, 18, fig. 7).

At least two wale strakes were identified, positioned outboard of the internal stringers. The surviving deck included a thin (4 cm) shelf clamp, fastened with two nails per frame station and bolted to an outside wale. Between every third futtock was a beam that fit into a rebate on the shelf clamp and dovetailed into the outside wale, fastened with iron nails from above. Ledges are rebated into the shelf clamp but butted against the outside wale, with their opposite internal end dovetailed into the carlings; like the beams, the ledges are fastened vertically to the shelf clamp and nailed horizontally from the outside. A waterway fits above the shelf clamp, and there does not appear to be a sill or filler pieces inserted between the futtocks. The ends of the lower futtocks appear to extend beyond the deck and are exposed, without bulwark planking covering this area. Deck planking is a similar thickness to the shelf clamp and the upper strakes comprising the outside of the hull (Bonino 1978, 20; Occioni-Bonaffons 1901, 36-7). Based on the surviving images, Contarina II presumably had a flat floor and round bilge.

Size and scantlings

Framing square and slightly lighter than Contarina I; futtock spacing twice the sided dimension (10 cm); planking 5 cm below the waterline and 4 cm above; shelf clamp 4 cm thick.

References

Occioni-Bonaffons, G., 1901.

Bonino, M., 1978. "Lateen-rigged medieval ships"

Beltrame, C., 2009.