Rabiou, turn of the era
Country: France
Place: Southern entrance to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, near the Rabiou beacon (Var), at a depth of 30 m
Coordinates (approximate): 43.25, 6.69
Type: Roman coastal trading vessel
Identified: No
Dated: Construction around the turn of the era, based on the amphorae and Arretine ware.
Beam: Unknown.
Keel Length: 11.30 m.
Length Overall: About 15 m (Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 95).
Number of Masts: One mast step is preserved.
History of the wreck
The Rabiou wreck lies at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, near the beacon that gives it its name, at a point where Cap de Saint-Tropez separates two weather zones. This makes navigation very difficult and caused numerous wrecks in antiquity. Its discovery was reported to the authorities in 1989; excavation began with a test trench in 2001, followed by planned campaigns between 2004 and 2006 by Anne and Jean-Pierre Joncheray (2009).
It was a coastal vessel about 15 m long, with a burden of 10 to 20 t (Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 95). The cross-sections drawn show somewhat flat hull lines, although the excavators state that it is a construction à retour de galbord (Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 96), so it could be one of the last examples of this conception of the backbone.
Description of the site
The wreck lies at a depth of 30 m. The keel was excavated along its whole length, and 9.9 m of hull were excavated (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Plan of the excavated remains of the Rabiou wreck (drawing: Brandon, after Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 68–69).
Cargo
The main and homogeneous cargo consisted of Dressel 2-4 amphorae, together with some Dressel 9 and Dressel 28 examples. These finds, together with a few fragments of Arretine ware, place the construction of the hull around the turn of the era.
Ballast
Not reported.
Anchors
Not reported.
Guns
Not applicable.
Iron concretions
Not reported. Square-section iron nails reinforce the keel–garboard joint, and the stringers are fastened with iron nails.
Hull Remains
Between bow and stern, the keel is completely invisible, since the whole hull is covered with a thick layer of resin; the framing and the mast step also made it difficult to observe. Forward of the mast step, completely dismantled, there seems to have been a small box made of several planks, stanchions and angles, which does not appear to be related to the bilge pump, which in any case (except in the case of Pointe de Luque) is found towards the stern. No interpretation has been found for the function of this box located just forward of the mast. As for the pump, the lead drainage pipes were found towards the bow and the pump pistons (Pinus pinea) at the stern.
Keel, keelson and mast step
The keel (Pinus pinea), excavated along its whole length, was 11.30 m long (Figure 1), and its continuation into the stem could be observed, where the garboard strakes leave the keel at an angle of 30° to the horizontal. The joint between the keel and these strakes has square-section iron nails reinforcing the classic tenons (Quercus ilex) locked by pegs (Quercus ilex), tenon and nail alternating. At the bow the keel has a notched rabbet in this section to give the garboard strakes the necessary rise (Figure 2). The keel is 18.6 cm high, 11.4 cm wide at its upper face and 10 cm at its lower face (giving a somewhat trapezoidal section). Remains of nails were observed on the side face, perhaps related to fastening the ceiling (sic), and on the side face of the keel with no apparent mechanical function1 (Figure 2).
In the after part of the hull, between frames 35 and 38, the trait de Jupiter (rayo de Júpiter) scarf joining the keel to the sternpost was observed (Figure 3). The joints with the garboard strakes are reinforced, as at the stem, by nails, surely of iron. There is also a notched rabbet, and in this section the height of the keel and sternpost is somewhat greater than that of the keel in the central part of the hull.
The mast step (Pinus pinea), also serving as a keelson, was in a good state of preservation (Figure 6). It has two different widths, according to the role of the piece: wider in the area of the mast foot, and narrower as a reinforcement of the longitudinal structure. It is 4.20 m long, 30 cm wide for the first 2.5 m, and towards the stern it is 16 to 18 cm wide over 1.60 m, with a 10 cm transition from one section to the other. Its height likewise decreases from the bow, at the mast foot (16 cm), to the stern (14 cm). The mast step is notched directly over the floor timbers, with a series of grooves 5 cm high in its underside, without any reinforcing elements observed at the joint. The absence of mortises for stanchions in the whole piece suggests that the opening of the hold was at least longer than the mast step (Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 76). As for the mortises for the foot of the mast and its fastening, the main cavity measures 9 × 14.2 cm, with a maximum depth of 9.5 cm, rising towards the bow with a slightly curved profile. The mortises for the boards securing the mast are: the front one 14 cm long and 5 cm wide, bevelled, and the lateral ones 20 cm (starboard) and 23.5 cm (port) long and 5 cm wide, also of bevelled cross-section (Figure 6).
Figure 2. Schematic cross-section of the keel at the stem (after Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 70).
Figure 3. The trait de Jupiter scarf joining the keel and the sternpost. The arrow indicates the transition from the height of the sternpost to that of the keel. The keel is shown here with a protective shoe (drawing: Brandon, after Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 70).
Frames
The framing (Pinus pinea and Pinus leucodermis) is described as robust (Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 74). Forty-one frames are preserved in the 9.9 m of hull excavated, mainly on the port side, which was better protected by the cargo. They are 9.5 to 11.5 cm sided and 11 to 12 cm moulded, with spacing of 24 to 28 cm, the room-and-space (malla) being tighter towards the bow than in the centre of the hull. There seems to be an alternation of floor timbers and half-frames, the latter about 10 cm apart (Figure 4). There are futtocks with no fastening to the floor timbers, which end in a vertical or slightly inclined saw cut. The frames seem to be fastened to the hull only by wooden treenails. In the floor timbers with a sharper angle the limber holes are triangular and placed on either side of the central heel (Figure 5). One limber hole recorded in a futtock has a semicircular profile.
Figure 4. Some cross-sections of the frames, showing flattened hull lines and the absence of a pinched bottom, despite the garboard strakes à retour de galbord (after Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 73).
Figure 5. Floor timber from one end of the hull, showing the triangular limber holes and the holes of the fastening treenails (after Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 73).
Figure 6. Mast step, with detail of the mortises for the foot of the mast and the securing boards (after Joncheray and Joncheray 2009: 75).
Planking
Because the hull was profusely coated with resin, it was difficult to study, and it is only reported that the planking strakes (plank no. 4: Pinus pinea) are 3.2 cm thick.
Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales
Remains of the stringers (Abies alba and Pinus halepensis) survive, consisting of planks fastened to the frames by iron nails. They are 15 to 31 cm wide and between 3.2 and 5 cm thick. A bevelled scarf joins two lengths of the same plank. There is evidence of removable ceiling strakes placed between them.
Caulking
The whole hull is covered with a thick layer of resin.
Size and scantlings
A coastal vessel about 15 m long, with a burden of 10 to 20 t. The keel measures 10–11.4 × 18.6 cm, the frames 9.5–11.5 × 11–12 cm at a room-and-space of 24–28 cm, and the planking is 3.2 cm thick.
Table 1. Scantling of the timber remains of the Rabiou Shipwreck
| Timber | Sided [cm] | Molded [cm] |
| Keel | 10–11.4 | 18.6 |
| Keelson | – | – |
| Maststep Main mortise | 16–30 9 × 14.2 | 14–16 9.5 (depth) |
| Buttresses | – | – |
| Frames | 9.5–11.5 | 11–12 |
| Futtocks | – | – |
| Room-and-space At central frames | 24–28 | |
| Planking | – | 3.2 |
| Ceiling (stringers) | 15–31 | 3.2–5 |
| Main mast Ø Chock | – – | – – |
The mast step is 4.20 m long: 30 cm wide over the first 2.5 m and 16–18 cm over the after 1.60 m. Planking and ceiling: sided = width, moulded = thickness.
Wood
The species used in the hull were analysed by F. Guibal (Institut Méditerranéen d’Écologie et de Paléoécologie). Keel, mast step, pump pistons and planking: stone pine (Pinus pinea). Frames: stone pine (Pinus pinea) and Bosnian pine (Pinus leucodermis). Stringers: silver fir (Abies alba) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis). Tenons and pegs: holm oak (Quercus ilex). Notably, Bosnian pine (Pinus leucodermis) is the only species allowing a precise geographical attribution, to the coast of Campania, Calabria or Illyria (Guibal and Pomey 2002: 100; Guibal and Pomey 2003: 38), as in the case of the Cavalière wreck.
Bibliography
Guibal, F. and Pomey, P. 2002. Essences et qualité des bois utilisés dans la construction navale antique. L’apport de l’étude anatomique et dendrochronologique. Forêt méditerranéenne 23.2.
Guibal, F. and Pomey, P. 2003. Timber supply and ancient naval architecture. In C. Beltrame (ed.), Boats, Ships and Shipyards. Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology, Venice 2000, 35–41. Oxford: Oxbow.
Joncheray, A. and Joncheray, J.-P. 2009. L’épave romaine de la Rabiou, Saint-Tropez (Var). Cahiers d’Archéologie Subaquatique 17: 63–102.
Notes
1 The author suggests that it could be related to the marking-out of the keel during construction, as in the Giraglia 2 wreck.