Madhia, second quarter of the 1st century BC
Country: Tunisia
Place: About 3 miles off Mahdia, at a depth of 39 m
Coordinates (approximate): 35.55, 11.10
Type: Large Roman Republican merchant ship with double planking, carrying Hellenistic works of art
Identified: No
Dated: Second quarter of the 1st century BC, based on the associated pottery.
Beam: Estimated by Dumas at 13.8 m.
Keel Length: About 26 m preserved.
Length Overall: Estimated by Dumas at 40.6 m.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Mahdia wreck lies off Tunisia, about 3 miles from the town that gives it its name. The site was discovered in 1907 by Greek sponge fishermen, who began to plunder it to sell the antiquities. The excavation and recovery of works of art began immediately and ended in 1913. A large number of works of art were recovered through the interventions of A. Merlin (Directeur des Antiquités de Tunisie) and later of a French navy team (Ph. Tailliez, J. Cousteau, F. Dumas). G. de Frondeville later continued the excavations, and finally the German association for underwater archaeology DEGUWA together with the Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisien.
Its dating was somewhat complex, since the ship carried Hellenistic works of art spanning more than half a century. The study of the associated pottery allowed the wreck to be dated to the second quarter of the 1st century BC. The wreck would be related to plunder or to a commercial operation from the port of Piraeus, between 90 and 80 BC, perhaps an operation connected with the capture of Athens by Sulla’s troops after the defeat of the alliance of the Greek cities with the king of Pontus.
Description of the site
The wreck lies at a depth of 39 m. Little is really known of its construction; about 26 m of its keel survived.
Cargo
A cargo of Hellenistic works of art, many of which were recovered between 1907 and 1913 and in later campaigns.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. The lead sheathing was fastened with copper nails.
Hull Remains
Little is really known of the ship’s construction. It was built with double planking and sheathed externally with lead sheets. Elements of the bilge pump were found.
Keel, keelson and mast step
About 26 m of the keel survived, made of elm (Figures 1 and 3).
Figure 1. Section of the keel of the Mahdia wreck, at lower left of the figure (by the author, after Dubois 1976: 166).
Frames
Of the framing, it is known that the frames were of square section, 15 cm a side (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Idealised section at the maximum beam of the Mahdia ship (after Hellenkemper et al. 1994: 59).
Planking
The hull had double planking, sheathed externally with lead sheets fastened by copper nails; both the inner and outer planking had garboard strakes (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Axonometric view of the keel of the Mahdia wreck, showing the outer lead sheathing fastened with copper nails and the garboard strakes of the inner and outer planking (after Hellenkemper et al. 1994: 61).
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Not reported.
Caulking
The hull was sheathed externally with lead sheets.
Size and scantlings
The surviving 26 m of elm keel led Dumas to estimate the ship’s length at 40.6 m and its beam at 13.8 m, and Merlin (1911: 540) estimated its burden at between 300 and 400 t, which would make this ship one of the largest known for its period, together with the Madrague de Giens and Albenga.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Mahdia Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Frames | 15 | 15 |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | – | |
| Planking | – | – |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
About 26 m of the keel survived.
Wood
Keel: elm.
Bibliography
Dubois, C. 1976. Remarques sur les quilles des navires romains. Revue archéologique de Narbonnaise 9: 155–175.
Hellenkemper Salies, G. et al. (eds) 1994. Das Wrack: Der antike Schiffsfund von Mahdia. Cologne: Rheinland-Verlag. [To be checked.]
Merlin, A. 1911. Les recherches sous-marines de Mahdia (Tunisie). Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 55: 556–565.