Port-Vendres 3, mid-2nd century AD
Country: France
Place: Roadstead of Port-Vendres (Pyrénées-Orientales)
Coordinates (approximate): 42.52, 3.11
Type: Roman coastal merchant ship
Identified: No
Dated: Mid-2nd century AD (Colls and Deschamps 1985: 71).
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: Unknown.
Length Overall: Unknown.
Number of Masts: Unknown.
History of the wreck
The Port-Vendres 3 wreck lies in the roadstead that gives it its name and was excavated by Colls in 1989 (Figure 1), with a date in the mid-2nd century (Colls and Deschamps 1985: 71). It carried wine in Gauloise 4 amphorae towards the Hispanic provinces. It was a ship with a local sphere of navigation along the western Mediterranean coast. The wreck was relocated and excavated by Jézégou in 2005 (Jézégou 2007: 41).
Description of the site
Five of the eight frames recorded in the original excavation, and seven of the nine planking strakes, survive today (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Port-Vendres 3 wreck: plan of the hull made by Colls in 1989 (after Jézégou 2001: 41).
Cargo
Wine in Gauloise 4 amphorae.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. Square-section metal nails completed the fastening of the frames.
Hull Remains
Five frames and seven planking strakes survive.
Keel, keelson and mast step
Not reported.
Frames
The frames are 8 to 13 cm moulded and 7.5 to 11 cm sided, with a wide room-and-space (malla) of 15 to 19 cm. As for the system of fastening the frames, Colls did not recognise the lashing technique present in this ship, despite his work on the Cap Béar 3; he only mentioned that a pair of treenails and a single treenail alternate rhythmically to hold the frames, which allowed Jézégou to propose that this was a ship with lashed frames. A frame 28.2 cm long was removed, revealing the plant traces of a single looped cord secured by a pair of treenails driven from inside outwards, alternating with single treenails. To protect the lashings, a channel or groove 0.8 cm deep and 5.8 cm wide joins the two holes on the upper and lower faces of the frames for the passage of the cord, which was then sealed with resin. Square-section metal nails, 0.4 cm a side, driven from the outside inwards, completed the fastening of the framing.
Planking
The width of the planking strakes varies from 17 to 25 cm and their thickness is between 3 and 4 cm. They are joined by tenons 12 cm long, 5.2 cm wide and 0.6 to 0.8 cm thick. The mortises are cut facing each other on the edges of the strakes and are 6.5 to 7.7 cm deep, 5.8 to 7.4 cm wide and 1 to 1.3 cm thick. The truncated-cone pegs are 0.9 cm in diameter at the base and 1 cm at the upper face, and were driven from the inside of the hull outwards. The tenons are spaced between 8 and 15 cm apart.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Not reported.
Caulking
The grooves for the frame lashings were sealed with resin.
Size and scantlings
No estimate of the ship’s dimensions is given. The frames measure 7.5–11 × 8–13 cm at a room-and-space of 15–19 cm, and the planking is 3–4 cm thick.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Port-Vendres 3 Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | – | – |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Mortise | – – | – – |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Frames | 7.5–11 | 8–13 |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 15–19 | |
| Planking | 17–25 | 3–4 |
| Ceiling | – | – |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
Planking: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
Not reported.
Bibliography
Colls, D. and Deschamps, C. 1985. L’épave Port-Vendres 3. In Archéologie sous-marine sur les côtes de France. Vingt ans de recherche, 71–72. Exhibition catalogue. Nantes.
Jézégou, M.-P. 2001. [Full reference to be completed.]
Jézégou, M.-P. 2007. [Full reference to be completed.]