Miladou, late 2nd–first half of the 1st century BC
Country: France
Place: Island of Port-Cros, near Hyères (Var), at a depth of 42 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.00, 6.39
Type: Small Roman Republican coastal trading vessel
Identified: No
Dated: Between the end of the 2nd century BC and the first half of the 1st century BC, based on the amphorae.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: 9.18 m.
Length Overall: Estimated at 15 m.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Miladou wreck was discovered in 1983 and was the subject of three underwater excavation campaigns between 1987 and 1989 by Joncheray. It is a small coastal vessel with an estimated length of 15 m. The authors assign the Miladou a clear origin in a port of the Italian peninsula, with a date between the end of the 2nd century BC and the first half of the 1st century BC.
The remains of the hull are certainly scarce, but they are of interest because they do not show the characteristic features of the Republican architectural family, as do, for example, the Chrétienne A, Dramont A, Madrague de Giens, Grand Congloué, Cap Gros or Caveaux I, among others. This suggests that, although the ship took part in the export of Italian wine to Gaul, two working hypotheses can be formulated, to which Jarre 4 and Cap Bénat 2 should be added: first, that when a ship is short and its nautical space is coastal (cabotage), its lines do not need a prominent keel for the ship to be fast and its lateral plane optimal for speed and steering; second, that the shipyard where the Miladou, Jarre 4 and Cap Bénat 2 were built may have been in another geographical area, where the construction techniques of wrecks such as the Dramont A or the Madrague de Giens were not customary.
Description of the site
The wreck lies off the island of Port-Cros, near Hyères (France), at a depth of 42 m. The cargo occupied an area of 35 m². Under the amphora cargo, very poorly preserved remains of the hull survived, about 10 m long and only 1.50 m wide. Four planking strakes and some frames, together with the lead drainage pipes of the bilge pump, were all that survived (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Plan of the hull remains of the Miladou wreck (after Dumontier and Joncheray 1991: 133).
Cargo
The ship carried about 250 amphorae stowed in a single layer. The cargo consisted of Dressel 1A–Dressel 1B amphorae which, notably, the authors could not assign clearly to either type, since they had characteristics of both (Dumontier and Joncheray 1991: 151). 5% of the cargo consisted of Dressel 1C amphorae, and there was one Punic amphora of Mañá C type and some unusual derived forms. Although very homogeneous, the cargo forms a group without parallels in the literature.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported.
Hull Remains
About 10 × 1.50 m of hull survive, with four strakes, some frames, part of the keel and sternpost, and the lead drainage pipes of the bilge pump (Figure 1).
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel measured 9.18 m and has a rectangular section, higher than it is wide, 11 cm high and 9 cm wide, with slight bevelled rabbets in the upper part of its side faces, giving the garboard strake a rise of 15° to the horizontal in the central part of the hull and of 35° at 1.5 m from the ends. The mortises joining the keel to the garboard strakes measure 4.5 to 6.5 cm wide, 5 to 6 cm deep and 0.7 cm thick, and are cut in the keel at intervals of 10 to 13.5 cm. The tenons, slightly smaller, are locked by slightly truncated-cone pegs 0.6 to 0.75 cm in diameter, driven through the upper face of the keel 1–1.2 cm from the edge, to a depth of 4 to 5 cm (Figure 2).
One portion of the keel was well enough preserved to be recorded. It is probably the sternpost of the ship and, over its 1.30 m length, it shows some particular features. It is curved, with a section that changes along its length. Eight cross-sections were drawn, the width decreasing from 10.2–10.5 cm to 8.3 cm. The simple bevelled rabbet between sections G and H (Figure 2) gradually becomes a notched rabbet in sections A and B, the hull shape thus passing from a closed angle to an almost obtuse angle at H, which denotes an almost flat or rounded hull bottom (Figure 3), the orientation of the mortises in the keel helping the garboard strake to achieve the necessary rise.
As for the locking pegs, in the part of the sternpost with a notched rabbet they were not fitted between sections A and D. The sharp angle at which the tenon enters may have meant that the locking peg entered through the side face of the sternpost, as seen in wrecks with notched rabbets and pinched hull lines such as the Dramont A, although such pegs were not observed on the Miladou.
Figure 2. Drawings of the garboard strake, a frame, a portion of the keel and a section of the sternpost (after Dumontier and Joncheray 1991: 131).
Figure 3. Reconstruction of the cross-section of the hull from the remains recorded in plan (after Dumontier and Joncheray 1991: 134).
Frames
The framing is very poorly preserved, with 31 frames identified; it was impossible to establish whether there was a rhythmic alternation of floor timbers and half-frames. The framing is fastened to the hull by wooden treenails driven horizontally, a method very similar to that of the Chrétienne C. The room-and-space (malla) is 25 cm on average. One floor timber has a triangular central limber hole (an inverted V according to the authors), while another recorded, 11 cm moulded and 7.1 cm sided, has a rectangular central limber hole with a rounded top (an inverted U according to the authors), 5.6 cm high. One well-preserved floor timber is notable for being made of two pieces fitted together by a bevelled cut near the keel, without any fastening between them; at its centre, 13 cm moulded and 8.2 cm sided, it has a triangular limber hole 5 cm high. Two surviving fragments that seem to be half-frames were 7.6 cm moulded and 8.5 cm sided. The framing is fastened to the hull by wooden treenails 1.2 to 1.4 cm in diameter (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Floor timbers 3 and 5, with the cross-sections of half-frame 8 (after Dumontier and Joncheray 1991: 135).
Planking
The garboard strake is 12.2 cm wide and 4.3 cm thick at the side face in contact with the keel, at frame M6, decreasing to 3 cm in the centre of the hull. The side face in contact with the second strake is 2.4 to 2.5 cm thick, a value that is constant for all the planking strakes recorded (average 2.5 cm). The second strake is 17–18 cm wide. The mortises recorded in the hull strakes are 6 to 7 cm wide, 6.5 to 8 cm deep and 0.6–0.7 cm thick, with spacing between mortises varying from 8.8 to 13 cm. The pegs are between 0.6 and 0.8 cm in diameter.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Not reported.
Caulking
Not reported.
Size and scantlings
A small coastal vessel with an estimated length of 15 m, with a light keel (9 × 11 cm), light frames (7–8.5 × 7.6–13 cm) at a room-and-space of 25 cm, and planking 2.5 cm thick.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Miladou Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | 9 | 11 |
| Sternpost | 8.3–10.5 | – |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | 7.1–8.2 | 11–13 |
| Half-frames | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 25 (avg.) | |
| Planking Garboard Second strake | – 12.2 17–18 | 2.5 (avg.) 4.3 to 2.4 2.5 |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Planking: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
The species identified for the framing demonstrate its secondary role in the design principle and building process, since they are very heterogeneous, including fig (Ficus carica), a weak wood rarely used for frames,1 as well as alder (Alnus sp.), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), poplar (Populus sp.) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior). The keel and strakes are of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis). The treenails holding the frames are of silver fir (Abies pectinata) or cork oak (Quercus suber). The tenons are of holm oak (Quercus ilex), and their locking pegs of Quercus ilex or Quercus suber.
Bibliography
Dumontier, M. and Joncheray, J.-P. 1991. L’épave romaine du Miladou. Cahiers d’Archéologie Subaquatique 10: 109–174.
Notes
1 Documented only in the Mazarrón wrecks.