Grand Ribaud F, 515–470 BC
Country: France
Place: Near the Giens peninsula (Var), at a depth of 58–61 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.00, 6.15
Type: Archaic merchant ship of Greek construction tradition, carrying Etruscan amphorae
Identified: No
Dated: 515–470 BC, based on the Greek tableware, bronze bowls and shipboard material.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Estimated at about 25 m.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The ship carried an apparently homogeneous cargo of Etruscan amphorae. Several campaigns were carried out between 2000 and 2002 using technical equipment of the Comex company, such as the Blaster, a kind of thruster-fan mounted on an ROV, which allowed test trenches to be dug on the site down to the remains of the hull and some samples to be raised (Figure 2). The cargo is estimated at between 800 and 1,000 Etruscan amphorae from Caere (Pomey 2002a: 427), which gives an approximate burden of about 40 t for a ship about 25 m long, making it the merchant ship of greatest capacity known for its period.
The construction of this ship presents no novelties compared with what is known for its period; what is notable is its formal similarity to the Jules Verne 7, since they not only belong to the same architectural family but share the same architectural signature. This has allowed Pomey to place its construction in Massaliote shipyards or, alternatively, in emporic settlements on the Italian coast that reproduced in the Grand Ribaud F the knowledge, practices and procedures of Greek shipbuilding (Pomey and Rival 2002: 118).
Description of the site
The wreck lies near the Giens peninsula (France), at a depth of between 58 and 61 m. The test trench dug in the upper third of the site documented a fragment of hull, two frames (floor timbers) and a keelson with a stanchion; from the end of the site a very angular floor timber and a section of the sternpost were recovered (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Axonometric reconstruction of the structure of the Grand Ribaud F (drawing: M. Rival, CCJ-CNRS).
Cargo
The cargo is estimated at between 800 and 1,000 Etruscan amphorae from Caere (Pomey 2002a: 427). Besides the amphorae, a group of Greek tableware, bronze bowls and varied shipboard material (Greek and Etruscan) were recorded, which allowed the site to be dated to 515–470 BC.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. The framing was fastened with iron nails.
Hull Remains
A fragment of hull, two floor timbers, a keelson with a stanchion, a very angular floor timber and a section of the sternpost were recorded or recovered; the keel is preserved but could not be observed because of the keelson. As an exceptional discovery, a fragment of a rudder was found, the earliest known archaeological evidence of one.
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keelson (Quercus sp.) had a rectangular section (12 cm high and 14 cm wide) and was fitted over the floor timbers by rounded recesses cut in its underside, perpendicular to the centreline. In its upper face there was a 9 × 9 cm mortise to house a stanchion of the same section (Quercus sp.), slightly inclined, which would have supported a beam not in the same transverse plane as the floor timber (Figure 2). The keelson presumably continued or joined the mast step towards the central part of the hull.
As in the Jules Verne 7, the sternpost ends with rabbets on its sides, with tetrahedral holes clearly associated with a sewing technique, so the ends of the planking strakes at the stem and the sternpost must have been fastened not with mortises and tenons but by sewing and lashing1 (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Oblique view of the keelson with the stanchion of the Grand Ribaud F, and detail of the mortise, tenon and peg of a hull strake (photo: Durand, CCJ-CNRS).
Figure 3. Comparative drawings of the after end of the keel of the Jules Verne 7, with pegs passing through the keel from side to side, and the curved sternpost of the Grand Ribaud F, where the pegs are placed in the same way. The different burden of each ship determines the size of the pieces (drawing: M. Rival, CCJ-CNRS).
Frames
The floor timbers (Quercus sp.), spaced 82 cm apart, have a narrow base, 5 cm wide, with numerous rectangular notches. Their upper face is rounded, and they are 26 cm moulded and 19–20 cm sided. The ends of the floor timbers have a scarf for fitting and joining the futtocks, which are fastened to them by a treenail (Figure 4). The framing is fastened by iron nails driven from the outside of the hull, and the points passing through the floor timbers are hammered to bend and clench them over the timbers.
Figure 4. Comparative drawings of the central and end floor timbers of the Jules Verne 7 and the Grand Ribaud F (drawing: M. Rival, CCJ-CNRS).
Planking
The hull strakes are joined by mortises and tenons locked by pegs; they are 3.5 cm thick and of silver fir (Abies alba). The tenons are very long and narrow (12 × 4.5 cm) and are spaced every 20 cm on average (Figure 2). The ends of the strakes at the stem and sternpost were probably sewn (see above).
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Not reported.
Caulking
Not reported.
Size and scantlings
With a cargo of 800 to 1,000 amphorae, the burden is estimated at about 40 t, for a ship about 25 m long. The floor timbers are massive (19–20 × 26 cm) but widely spaced (82 cm).
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Grand Ribaud F Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson Stanchion | 14 9 | 12 9 |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | 19–20 | 26 |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 82 | |
| Planking | – | 3.5 |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
The floor timbers have a narrow base 5 cm wide. Planking: moulded = thickness.
Wood
Planking: silver fir (Abies alba). Floor timbers, keelson and stanchion: oak (Quercus sp.).
Bibliography
Pomey, P. 2002a. Les navires étrusques: mythe ou réalité? In Gli Etruschi da Genova ad Ampurias. Atti del XXIV Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici, 423–434. Pisa/Rome.
Pomey, P. and Rival, M. 2002. Épave Grand Ribaud F. In L. Long, P. Pomey and J.-C. Sourisseau (eds), Les Étrusques en mer. Épaves d’Antibes à Marseille, 117–119. Aix-en-Provence: Édisud.
Notes
1 It is thought that in this wreck, as in the Jules Verne 7, the convergence of the planking strakes with the stem and the sternpost was achieved by joining these parts with a sewing technique, as were the repairs made to the hull.