Dramont A, first half of the 1st century BC
Country: France
Place: South-west of the Île d’Or, near Saint-Raphaël (Var), at a depth of 35–39 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.41, 6.84
Type: Roman Republican merchant ship with double planking
Identified: No
Dated: First half of the 1st century BC; a silver denarius of Lucius Marcius Censorinus of 82 BC was found.
Beam: Reconstructed at 7 m maximum.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Reconstructed at 25 m.
Number of Masts: One mast step, 4 m long, is attested.
History of the wreck
The Dramont A wreck was discovered in 1956 by C. Santamaria. It was the subject of several archaeological interventions after its discovery; its underwater excavation began in 1971, after systematic looting of its amphora cargo, and the hull was studied between 1975 and 1979 (Liou and Pomey 1985: 569–572). It was studied again in 1998 within the campaigns of the programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée (Pomey and Guibal 1998), when the basic plan of the site was redrawn to compare how the remains had survived since the campaigns of the 1970s. The authors date the wreck to the first half of the 1st century BC.
Description of the site
The wreck lies south-west of the Île d’Or, near Saint-Raphaël, at a depth of between 35 and 39 m. The study of the hull was carried out in an area of 9 × 5 m in the forward half of the wreck and of 10.5 × 4.5 m in the after part. The hull survived over about 17 m of length and 4 to 8 m of width, corresponding to the port side (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Plan of the Dramont A (after Liou and Pomey 1985: 568).
Figure 2. Plan of the Dramont A wreck at the time of the wood sampling in 1998 (after Pomey and Guibal 2003: 52; drawing by M. Rival, CCJ-CNRS).
Cargo
The excavation of the forward part of the wreck showed that the amphora cargo occupied a large part of the space. About a hundred Dressel 1B amphorae were recovered, many of them with the stamp MOC on the rim, and a single coin was found, a silver denarius of Lucius Marcius Censorinus dated to 82 BC. The presence of two Dressel 2-4 amphorae (Kos? Campania?) and one Pascual 1 (Liou and Pomey 1985: 569), together with common ware, a grey-fabric Campanian cup and a mill, seems to indicate that a small cabin or store was located in this part of the ship.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. Iron nails and bolts were widely used in the construction (see below).
Hull Remains
The ship had a double hull (protected externally by lead sheets), and between the two layers of planking a fabric soaked in a resinous product was placed. On the basis of the remains, the ship was reconstructed as 25 m long with a maximum beam of 7 m (Figures 3 and 4).
The excavation in this area uncovered a fragment of a possible beam (20 × 15 cm in section) with nail marks, and another wooden piece with grooves and mortises that Santamaria related to the blade of a side rudder.
Figure 3. Axonometric view of the central part of the hull of the Dramont A. The double hull can be seen, but with only one inner garboard strake, housed in a keel with a large notched rabbet. The outer hull, nailed to the inner one, is sheathed externally with lead sheets. The tenons are staggered in relation to the edges of the planking strakes. The alternation of floor timbers and half-frames can be seen, fastened to the hull by staggered wooden treenails and by blind nails. The floor timbers have a central limber hole of triangular profile. In the most central floor timbers the notch for the mast step can be seen. Finally, two wide ceiling strakes and a stringer can be seen, all nailed to the framing (after Santamaria 1975: 193).
Figure 4. Axonometric view of the stern area of the Dramont A, showing the section of the keel with notched rabbets, the double hull and the alternation of floor timbers and half-frames (after Santamaria 1975: 195).
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel, for which no measurements have been published, has a notched rabbet for the joint with the garboard strakes. These are of polygonal section and sculpted, changing along their length from bow to stern and creating angular, pinched hull lines, as found in other wrecks of the period such as the Madrague de Giens. The garboard strake of the second hull is not housed in a rabbet in the keel but is nailed directly to it, a system that partly recalls the Fos 1 wreck (Figure 5).
The removal of a portion of the keel and the sternpost allowed the structure of the trait de Jupiter (rayo de Júpiter) scarf, secured by a peg or locking key, to be observed; it is similar to that of the Madrague de Giens wreck. Externally, this joint is reinforced by a skeg (false post, alerón de deriva) joined to the keel by a bevel and fastened to the underside of the keel with iron nails. It is joined to the sternpost by iron bolts. A small, irregular trapezoidal wooden chock covers the joint between the keel and the sternpost on the inside, but the absence of vertical fastenings indicates that its main role was not to reinforce this scarf; it was rather related to the fastening of the ends of the strakes, as suggested by the many nails in this piece (Figure 6).
In the north-west area four consecutive floor timbers were found with notches and wear marks on their upper faces. Their dimensions matched those of the mast step, 4 m long, which was notched directly over the floor timbers (Figure 7).
Figure 5. Cross-section of the keel and the centre of the hull, near the north-west end. 1: keel; 2: outer planking, in which the garboard strake is nailed to the keel, and inner garboard strake; 3: garboard strake joined to the keel with a notched rabbet, by tenons and nails; 4: half-frames. Behind: 5: floor timber; 6: central triangular limber hole (after Liou 1973: 599).
Figure 6. Side view of the beginning of the sternpost and the trait de Jupiter scarf joining it to the keel, with the skeg attached to them (after Liou and Pomey 1985: 569).
Figure 7. Section of the Dramont A wreck at the mast step, and view of its underside. The keel has a section that does not match the earlier drawings (no reference given).
Frames
The framing consists of an alternation of floor timbers (8 to 13.4 cm sided) and half-frames (10 to 18 cm sided) (Liou 1973: 594), except in the most central part of the hull, where there is a group of at least eight consecutive floor timbers. The frames were studied in detail, showing that they are systematically fastened to the hull by iron nails at the level of the first two planks (garboard strake and the next), and further out by treenails and the occasional nail. A particular feature of this wreck was considered to be the presence of nails fastening the first planks to the keel, which confirms the use of iron nailing from the first half of the 1st century BC (Liou and Pomey 1985: 572). Shell-first construction with double planking requires several stages to fasten the framing to the structure (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Plan and section of a fragment of the hull of the Dramont A wreck, showing the double hull and the sequence of fastening the frames with treenails of somewhat conical profile at their bases, where they meet the planking, to counteract the upward vertical tension of the frame. Original, coloured by the author (after Gianfrotta and Pomey 1982: 238).
Planking
The hull has double planking: the outer layer is nailed to the inner one and sheathed with lead sheets, with a fabric soaked in a resinous product between the two layers. The tenons are staggered in relation to the edges of the strakes (Figure 3).
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Two wide ceiling strakes and a stringer, all nailed to the framing, are shown in the reconstruction (Figure 3).
Caulking
A fabric soaked in a resinous product was placed between the two layers of planking, and the outer layer was sheathed with lead sheets.
Size and scantlings
On the basis of the remains, the ship was reconstructed as 25 m long, with a maximum beam of 7 m. The hull has angular, pinched lines, with sculpted polygonal garboard strakes and a keel with a large notched rabbet.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Dramont A Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | 8–13.4 | – |
| Half-frames | 10–18 | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | – | |
| Planking | – | – |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Beam (fragment) | 20 | 15 |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
No measurements of the keel have been published. The mast step was 4 m long.
Wood
The species recorded in the construction are elm for the frames, Scots pine for the planking, holm oak for the pegs and pine for the tenons (Santamaria 1975: 194). This is the only case with tenons of resinous wood.
Bibliography
Gianfrotta, P. A. and Pomey, P. 1982. [Full reference to be completed.]
Liou, B. 1973. Recherches archéologiques sous-marines. Gallia 31.2: 571–608.
Liou, B. and Pomey, P. 1985. Recherches archéologiques sous-marines. Gallia 43.2: 547–576.
Pomey, P. and Guibal, F. 1998. Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée. Bilan scientifique du DRASSM 1998, 52–53. Paris (published 2003).
Pomey, P. and Guibal, F. 2003. Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée. Bilan scientifique du DRASSM 1998, 52–53. Paris.
Santamaria, C. 1975. L’épave « H » de la Chrétienne à Saint-Raphaël (Var). Revue archéologique de Narbonnaise 8: 185–198.