Palamós, 100–50 BC
Country: Spain
Place: North-west of the lighthouse of the Formigues islands, Palamós (Girona), at a depth of 30–40 m
Coordinates (approximate): 41.86, 3.19
Type: Roman Republican coastal trading vessel
Identified: No
Dated: 100–50 BC.
Beam: Estimated at 4.40 m, from the bilge-pump pipes.
Keel Length: Unknown; 10.70 m preserved.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Palamós wreck, with a small cargo of Laietanian ovoid amphorae, of which about thirty were recovered, lies north-west of the lighthouse of the Formigues islands (Girona). It was discovered in 1958 by coral divers and, after some preliminary work, excavation began in 1981, focused on the study of its construction, on the suspicion that its similarities to the Cavalière wreck might indicate the same shipyard of origin, despite a difference in date (Foerster et al. 1987: 15). The Palamós wreck is dated between 100 and 50 BC.
Description of the site
The wreck lies at a depth of between 30 and 40 m (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Complete section of the wreck, showing how the half-frames touch the keel directly, with a gap similar to the width of the limber hole of the floor timber. The pegs locking the tenons of the garboard strake are reinforced by bronze nails (after Foerster et al. 1987: 15).
Cargo
A small cargo of Laietanian ovoid amphorae, of which about thirty were recovered.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. At the stern the frames seem to be reinforced with iron nails.
Hull Remains
The keel, the beginning of the sternpost, frames, planking and the drainage pipes of the bilge pump were preserved. Remains of lead sheets were interpreted as part of a tank in the central part of the hull, related to the bilge pump, of which the drainage pipes, 2 m long, survive. The dimensions of these pipes led to the conclusion that the ship’s beam would have been about 4.40 m.
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keels of both ships (Palamós and Cavalière) are characterised by a simple bevelled rabbet giving an angle of 45° (Figure 1) between the underside of the garboard strake and the side face of the keel.1 A section of the keel 10.70 × 0.16 × 0.12 m has been preserved, up to the beginning of what should be the sternpost, joined by a trait de Jupiter (rayo de Júpiter) scarf. Only the beginning of the sternpost survives.2 On both sides of the upper face of the keel there is a rabbet inclined at 45°, in which the mortises for the joint with the garboard strake are cut, measuring 5.2 × 0.6 × 8 cm and spaced, judging from the published drawings, about 5–7 cm apart (Foerster et al. 1987: 30), arranged on both sides of the keel in a rhythmic, alternating pattern (Figure 2). The joint with the garboard strake is reinforced by copper nails placed every 40 cm on the outside of the hull.
Figure 2. Section of the keel with its joint to a section followed by the sternpost. Note the rhythm in the position of the pegs and nails for the joint with the garboard strakes (after Foerster et al. 1987: 30).
Figure 3. As can be deduced from the text, the timber on the right of the figure would be the section joined to the keel (Figure 2) by a trait de Jupiter scarf, after which, by means of straight timbers joined by tenons, the curve of the sternpost would begin, with a reinforcement below (a skeg?) (after Foerster et al. 1987: 33).
Frames
Floor timbers, half-frames3 and futtocks are recorded which, according to the excavator, were worked with great care, since no edge has a rounded shape and all the pieces were precisely sawn (Foerster et al. 1987: 33). They are fastened to the hull by cylindrical wooden treenails of 24–28 mm, except at the stern, where there seem to be reinforcements of iron nails. Although the frames are in direct contact with the keel, they are not physically fastened to it. The author notes the arrangement of the treenails in pairs (Figure 4) seen in the drawings, which recalls the method of lashings for fastening the frames documented in the architectural signature to which ships such as the Roche Fouras belong.
A frame that had a gap with the planking in one section received a filling of fabric and pitch to ensure good contact between the timbers. The floor timbers have a square central limber hole for the passage of water in the bilge and sit perfectly on the keel. The alternation of floor timbers and half-frames runs at a room-and-space (malla) of about 23–25 cm (Figure 5).
Figure 4. Drawing of a half-frame. On the right of the figure is the area of contact with the keel. Note how the fastening treenails seem to follow a pattern in which on three occasions they are in pairs, alternating with single treenails, a pattern clearly related to the technique of internal lashings for fastening the frames to the hull (after Foerster et al. 1987: 33).
Figure 5. Drawing of one of the surviving floor timbers nearest the bow. Note that the two pegs fastening it to the garboard strakes do not pass right through it. This raises the question of whether they emerge through the side faces, as in the Roche Fouras or the Madrague de Giens, or simply do not (after Foerster et al. 1987: 34).
Planking
The garboard strake has a very rounded inner-upper face, perhaps sculpted in the author’s opinion. Its thickness is 3 cm at the contact with the second plank, levelling out at 2 cm for the rest of the hull strakes. The planking strakes, 2 cm thick, have mortises for tenons of 6.5 × 0.6 × 12 cm locked by pegs of 10–12 mm, arranged in a staggered pattern (Foerster et al. 1987: 37), so that where the strake is narrower than the tenon, the tenon passes into the next strake. The strakes are 10 to 18 cm wide.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Not reported.
Caulking
The inner face of the hull had a layer, several millimetres thick, of resin with grease,4 plant fibres and animal hair, which according to analysis does not correspond to pitch.5 A frame with a gap against the planking was filled with fabric and pitch.
Size and scantlings
The beam is estimated at 4.40 m. The keel measures 16 × 12 cm, the room-and-space is 23–25 cm, and the planking is 2 cm thick (garboard 3 cm).
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Palamós Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | 16 | 12 |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Floor timbers | – | – |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 23–25 | |
| Planking Garboard | 10–18 – | 2 3 |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
The keel is preserved over 10.70 m (10.70 × 0.16 × 0.12 m). Planking: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
Not reported.
Bibliography
Foerster, F., Pascual, R. and Barberà, J. 1987. El pecio romano de Palamós. Barcelona.
Notes
1 Although the classification of hull bottom sections by the angle described (Foerster et al. 1987: 17) has been superseded in recent decades by more descriptive and general terms such as rounded, flat or pinched bottoms, in which the cross-sectional shape of the garboard strake is very important.
2 Judging by Figure 2. According to the excavator, an external reinforcement or heel would follow (Figure 3) (Foerster et al. 1987: 30–31).
3 “Intermediate frames” for Foerster.
4 Captain Cesáreo Fernández Duro (Zamora, 1830–1908), perpetual secretary of the Real Academia de la Historia, published the manuscript of Juan Antonio Rico of 1689 on caulking and careening ships, which states that ships are pitched to protect the oakum or hemp from rotting with damp, and that grease, lard or tallow is added to the pitch because pitch dries out and, with grease, it sticks to the planking and the oakum and does not crack off and softens.
5 Pitch: a resinous, solid, glossy, brittle substance of yellowish-brown colour.