Dramont C, second quarter–mid-1st century BC
Country: France
Place: About 150 m off the coast of Cap Dramont, near Saint-Raphaël (Var), at a depth of 42 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.41, 6.85
Type: Small Roman Republican coastal trading vessel
Identified: No
Dated: Second quarter or perhaps the middle of the 1st century BC.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Unknown; a short vessel.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Dramont C wreck was discovered in 1958. A first test excavation was carried out in 1989, and its excavation began in 1990 under the direction of Joncheray (1994). Later, in 1998, within the campaigns of the programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée (Pomey and Guibal 1998: 52–53), the plan of the site was redrawn (Figure 2) and the system of fastening the frames to the hull by locked lashings was interpreted, at a rhythm of one lashing (two treenails) and one single treenail.
It is a short coastal vessel with very flat hull lines, somewhat rounded at the ends. The morphology of the keel and the flat lines of the hull, together with its short length and therefore small burden, suggest that the Dramont C was a vessel adapted to coastal navigation in river mouths and lagoons, and to sea voyages only without going too far from the coast. It was not fully laden, since a ballast of 500 kg of grey limestone was recorded in the bow area.
Description of the site
The wreck lies at a depth of 42 m and about 150 m from the coast of Cap Dramont, near Saint-Raphaël (France). At the time of excavation the wreck survived over 6 m of length and 1.60 m of width (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Plan of the Dramont C wreck (after Joncheray 1994).
Figure 2. Plan of the Dramont C wreck at the time of the wood sampling in 1998 (after Pomey and Guibal 2003: 53; drawing by M. Rival, CCJ-CNRS).
Cargo
The cargo consisted of about 120 wine amphorae, iron ingots and mills (4 catilli and 3 metae). The amphorae are Dressel 1B and have symmetrical stamps at the bases of the handles (AL, MK and CNM or ONM or DNM). There are also some Lamboglia 2 amphorae. The complementary cargo and the crew’s material consist of olpai, jugs, ollae and pelves, as well as numerous small copper objects. The ship also carried a large quantity of iron bars (500 kg), placed in the hold, which was protected by vine shoots. It also carried pine resin, several hundred litres, found in the after part of the ship, which must have been contained in sacks that have disappeared.
Ballast
A ballast of 500 kg of grey limestone was recorded in the bow area; the ship was not fully laden.
Anchors
Four anchors, one of them of iron.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. The cargo included 500 kg of iron bars.
Hull Remains
The keel, seven planking strakes of the starboard side and 28 frames (including the impressions of those that have disappeared) were preserved; neither end of the backbone, stem or sternpost, survives (Figure 1). The hull is preserved over 1 m on the starboard side and 60 cm on the port side.
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel (Quercus ilex) has a rectangular section (Figure 3), with no change in shape along its length; 9 cm high and 11 cm wide, it is a keel wider than it is high in its central part (Wicha 2010: 84). It has a simple bevelled rabbet to receive the garboard strakes, clearly visible at the ends but gradually disappearing until it is imperceptible in the central part (Joncheray 1994: 24).
Figure 3. Drawing of two sections of the keel in top view and section. The keel is wider than it is high (drawing by M. Rival, CCJ-CNRS, after Wicha 2010: 84).
Frames
The framing (Quercus ilex and Quercus sp.) consists of 28 frames, counting the impressions of those lost, with no perceptible rhythm in their arrangement. They are fastened to the hull by lashings locked by wooden treenails. The framing is not very robust, with moulded dimensions varying between 6.5 and 7.3 cm and sided dimensions between 5.5 and 6.6 cm. The room-and-space (malla) is also very open, 21 cm on average, closing to 16 cm in the southern part of the hull. Between frames 109 and 114, three half-frames (109, 111, 113) and two floor timbers (112 and 114) could be identified, so this may well have been the arrangement throughout the ship. There are limber holes of circular shape or profile. In the fastenings to the hull, the lashings are locked by treenails driven from the inside (Wicha 2010: 79–80), 3.5 cm apart and 10 cm from the single treenail. In the floor timbers, single treenails are used, reinforced by nails in blind holes (a punta perdida), that is, not passing through from the lower to the upper face.
Planking
The strakes are 2.8 to 3.3 cm thick and 10.5 to 11.5 cm wide. The tenons (Quercus ilex) are 5 to 6.5 cm wide and 0.5 to 0.7 cm thick. Joncheray observed that the mortises are roughly made and badly cut, and the tenons likewise poorly finished. The garboard strake has a rectangular/polygonal section, and its tenons are 4.4 cm wide, 6.4 cm deep and 0.6 cm thick; the locking pegs are driven from the inside outwards, spaced 14 cm apart, with an inner diameter of 1 cm and an outer diameter of 0.8 cm. This plank forms a transition to the second strake: its side face in contact with the keel is 3.2 to 3.7 cm thick, decreasing to 2.6 cm at the side face in contact with the second strake. The second strake in turn loses thickness (2.4 cm) at the face in contact with the third plank (Pinus halepensis).
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
There is an internal longitudinal structure of stringers that are very robust compared with the frames, 16 cm wide and 3.3 to 4.7 cm thick. The hold was protected by vine shoots.
Caulking
Not reported.
Size and scantlings
A short coastal vessel with very flat hull lines, a keel wider than it is high (11 × 9 cm), light frames (5.5–6.6 × 6.5–7.3 cm) at an open room-and-space of 21 cm, and planking 2.8–3.3 cm thick.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Dramont C Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | 11 | 9 |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Frames | 5.5–6.6 | 6.5–7.3 |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 21 (avg.) | |
| Planking Garboard | 10.5–11.5 – | 2.8–3.3 3.2–3.7 to 2.6 |
| Ceiling (stringers) | 16 | 3.3–4.7 |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Frame dimensions are ranges for all frames. The room-and-space closes to 16 cm in the southern part of the hull. Planking and ceiling: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
Keel and tenons: holm oak (Quercus ilex). Frames: holm oak (Quercus ilex) and oak (Quercus sp.). Third strake: Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis).
Bibliography
Joncheray, J.-P. 1994. L’épave Dramont C. Cahiers d’Archéologie Subaquatique 12: 5–52.
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.
Wicha, S. 2010. Caractérisation d’un groupe d’épaves antiques de Méditerranée présentant un assemblage des membrures par ligatures végétales: approche architecturale et paléobotanique. Saarbrücken (doctoral thesis, Université de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 2005).