Jeaume-Garde B (Baie du Langoustier), early 1st century BC
Country: France
Place: Entrance to the bay of Langoustier, Porquerolles (Var), at a depth of 23 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.00, 6.16
Type: Roman Republican merchant ship
Identified: No
Dated: Beginning of the 1st century BC, based on its cargo.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Jeaume-Garde B wreck (also spelled Jeaune-Garde B in the source) was discovered in the 1950s and excavated between 1976 and 1977 under the direction of Carrazé, when a study of its construction was made. In 1993 a new intervention was carried out within the research programme Dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée of Pomey and Guibal. Its cargo dates to the beginning of the 1st century BC.
Description of the site
The wreck lies at the entrance to the bay of Langoustier, near Porquerolles (France), at a depth of 23 m. A little more than 5 m of length and 2.50 m of width of the hull survive (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Plan of the hull remains of the Jeaume-Garde B, in which two methods of fastening the frames coexist: the one common to the ship’s construction, with treenails acting as guides for metal nails whose points are bent over, as in the Sant Jordi 1, and a repair (misinterpreted) with lashings secured by treenails (after Carrazé 1976: 163).
Cargo
Not described; it dates to the beginning of the 1st century BC.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. The frames were fastened with iron nails driven through treenails.
Hull Remains
A little more than 5 m of length and 2.50 m of width of the hull survive (Figure 1).
Keel, keelson and mast step
Not reported.
Frames
The framing was badly damaged (Pinus halepensis, Ulmus campestris) and its sequence could not be determined. During the first excavation, a repair to two frames was noted: these were not fastened to the hull by the technique typical of this wreck, wooden treenails acting as guides for iron nails with their points bent towards the keel (as seen, for example, in the Colonia Sant Jordi or Baie de Briande), but by plant-fibre lashings (as, for example, in the Cavalière). The technique was not correctly interpreted, however: Carrazé (1977) thought that a single continuous cord passed alternately through the holes of the frame, joining it to the hull (Figure 1).
In the 1993 campaign Pomey and Guibal confirmed the existence of this technique and interpreted it as independent lashings locked by wooden treenails. Two completely different methods of fastening the frames to the hull therefore coexist in the Jeaume-Garde B. What could the explanation be? The author suggests that, since this is a repair, it may have been carried out in a shipyard of a different regional tradition from the one in which the ship was originally built.
The locking treenails (1 cm in diameter) are 4 cm apart, joined by a groove 1 cm wide and 1 cm deep in the upper face of the frames. The single treenails between the pairs were 1.2 cm in diameter.
Planking
The thickness of the hull strakes varies between 2.5 and 4.4 cm, which can be compared with the Chrétienne A and Baie de Briande, and their width is between 9.7 and 25.5 cm (Pinus halepensis, Pinus sylvestris). The mortises are wide, 5.2 cm on average, and are spaced 4.3 cm apart. Dell’Amico (2002: 87) states that in the Jeaume-Garde B pitch was used as glue for the tenons, which were then locked with pegs, but this is a confusion: during construction, after the framing had been fitted, the whole inside of the hull was coated with resin (pitch), as observed in the 1993 campaign.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
The ceiling consisted of removable ceiling strakes and stringers fastened to the frames by nails.
Caulking
After the framing had been fitted, the whole inside of the hull was coated with resin (pitch).
Size and scantlings
No estimate of the ship’s dimensions is given. The planking is 2.5–4.4 cm thick and 9.7–25.5 cm wide.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Jeaume-Garde B Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | – | – |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | – | |
| Planking | 9.7–25.5 | 2.5–4.4 |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Planking: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
The wood species used (Pomey 1994: 44) show great homogeneity of choice, pine being dominant (Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinea, Pinus sylvestris). Planking: Pinus halepensis and Pinus sylvestris. Frames: Pinus halepensis and elm (Ulmus campestris).
Bibliography
Carrazé, F. 1976. De Carqueiranne aux Îles d’Hyères. À propos de la première campagne sur l’épave B de la Jeaune-Garde. Cahiers d’Archéologie Subaquatique 5: 161–165.
Carrazé, F. 1977. Mediterranean hull types compared 3. The Jeaune-Garde B wreck at Porquerolles (France). The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 6.4: 299–303.
Dell’Amico, P. 2002. Costruzione navale antica. Proposta per una sistematizzazione. Albenga: Edizioni del Delfino Moro.
Pomey, P. 1994. Var. Au large de Hyères. Prospection thématique: dendrochronologie et dendromorphologie des épaves antiques de Méditerranée. Bilan scientifique du DRASSM 1993, 43–44. Paris.