Rhodes 2, late 15th-early 16th century

Country: Greece

Place: Central Port of Rhodes, at the harbour entrance, west of the Pier of Angels

Coordinates (approximate): 36.4410, 28.2300

Type: Unknown; probably a large ship, judging by the planking

Identified: No

Dated: Second half of the fifteenth or early sixteenth century, by radiocarbon dating; possibly lost in the Ottoman sieges of 1480 or 1522

 

Beam: Unknown.

Keel Length: Unknown.

Length Overall: Unknown.

Number of Masts: Unknown.

 

History of the wreck

Surveys by the Hellenic Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities in 2007-2008 found three wrecks inside the Central Port of Rhodes, a harbour now used mainly by cruise ships and other large vessels (Koutsouflakis and Rieth 2017: 1).

A local diver led the survey team to Rhodes 2 in March 2008, west of the Pier of Angels. Radiocarbon dates place it between the second half of the fifteenth and the early sixteenth century. Charred wood and the wreck’s position at the harbour entrance suggest it was lost during a siege. The Ottomans besieged Rhodes twice in this period: in 1480, under Mesih Pasha, and in 1522, under Sultan Suleiman I (1520-1566), when the Knights Hospitaller surrendered and left the island (Koutsouflakis 2017: 483). The wreck was destroyed by harbour activity after it was first recorded (Koutsouflakis 2017: 482).

See also the fiches of Rhodes 1 (Med276) and Rhodes 4 (Med275).

 

Description of the site

The wreck lay at the entrance to the Central Port, west of the Pier of Angels. Charred wood was found. It was destroyed by harbour activity after its initial recording (Koutsouflakis 2017: 482-483).

 

Cargo

Not reported.

 

Ballast

Not reported.

 

Anchors

Not reported.

 

Guns

Not reported.

 

Iron concretions

Not reported.

 

Hull Remains

The remains were extremely fragmentary, and little of the hull survived (Koutsouflakis 2017: 483).

 

Keel, keelson and mast step

Not reported.

 

Frames

The surviving frames show a long overlap, interpreted as the joint between floor timbers and futtocks of the lower hull (Koutsouflakis 2017: 483).

 

Planking

Several strakes show Z-shaped scarfs, instead of butt joints over the frames. The planks are unusually large for the eastern Mediterranean at this time: an average width of 35 cm and a thickness of 8.5 cm suggest a much larger ship than what survived (Koutsouflakis 2017: 483).

 

Ceiling, thick stuff, and wales

Not reported.

 

Caulking

Not reported.

 

Size and scantlings

Planking: average width 35 cm, thickness 8.5 cm.

 

Wood

Not reported.

 

Bibliography

Koutsouflakis, G. 2017. “Three medieval shipwrecks.” [Full reference to be completed.]

Koutsouflakis, G., and Rieth, E. 2017. [Full reference to be completed.]

Bendig, C. 2021. [Full reference to be completed.]