Rondinara

Country: France

Place: Rondinara Bay, southeastern coast of Corsica, roughly halfway between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio, in 4-7 m of water

Type: Merchantman, likely lateen-rigged

Identified: Not identified by name

Dated: Late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, based on the ceramic assemblage

Number of Masts: Not described

History of the shipwreck

Rondinara Bay, on the southeastern coast of Corsica (roughly halfway between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio), contains the remains of a shipwreck sunk in 4-7 m of water. It is a popular destination for sports divers over the last several decades, with significant looting carried out by souvenir hunters. Archaeologists worked on the wreck in 1982, attempting to collect information on the exposed remains before they were permanently lost (Villié 1988, 137).

Three segments were uncovered, the greatest distance between two sections being approximately 20 m. The bottom half of the hull was exposed and recorded, while the remainder lay buried under ballast, seagrass, and sand. The other two sections are much closer together and appear to be upper sections of the hull that broke away and sank further afield. The ballast stones were a metamorphic rock not known along Corsican coastlines (Villié 1988, 149). Other ceramic sherds recovered from the general area during the excavations suggest Rondinara was used as a port in Antiquity, between the second century BC and the fourth century AD.

Description of the site

The wreck lies in Rondinara Bay, on the southeastern coast of Corsica, in 4-7 m of water. Three segments of the hull are scattered across the site, with as much as 20 m separating them; the unrecorded portions remain buried under ballast, seagrass, and sand (Villié 1988, 137, 149).

Cargo

The main cargo of the vessel was ceramics, with over 800 individual fragments; they date to the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century and originated from Italy, particularly along the Ligurian coast. Ceramic typologies include plates and bowls of different sizes, composed of an orange paste with different polychrome slips (Villié 1988, 150-7). Only three items of the ship's hardware were recovered — two toggles and a belaying pin — which suggest a lateen sail was used (Villié 1988, 146).

Hull Remains

Keel

An exposed section of the forward keel indicates this timber is relatively square and has a rabbet along its length. No scarf is present at the forward end; this piece simply butted the surviving lower half of the stem. The lower stem piece continues the same dimensions as the keel, with the rabbet, but as it rises upward the dimensions become rectangular, with an increased molded scantling and rounded forward face. Only two bolt holes are noted, one close to where the lower half butts to the keel and another at the beginning of the curved rake. The remainder of the axial timbers, such as the aft part of the keel and the sternpost, are still buried and were not recorded (Villié 1988, 138, 143).

Frames

Many of the framing elements from the surviving hull sections are eroded or missing, but investigators determined that the ship is assembled with floor timbers overlapping with futtocks. Floor timbers are square, and not enough information survives to know whether a scarf or horizontal fasteners were used. The spaces between frame stations are equal to or twice the width of the floor timbers. Examination of a V-timber toward the bow indicates this frame was nailed to the keel, while the bolts mentioned earlier suggest the missing keelson was bolted through the floor timbers (Villié 1988, 138, 144, 145).

Ceiling, thick stuff and wales

Upper sections of the hull include four wales (a possible fifth wale may be present near the waterline, represented by a slightly thicker plank) that are separated by a strake of normal planking between each. None of the wales have the same dimensions or are rebated over the frames, and it appears there were no chamfered edges on the outside corners (Villié 1988, 140, 144-5).

Planking

Planking is thin (3 cm) and fastened with two iron nails per frame station. Except for the bolts, all the other fasteners are square (Villié 1988, 140, 144-5).

Caulking

No mention of caulking or pitch (Villié 1988, 140, 144-5).

Ballast

The ballast stones were a metamorphic rock not known along Corsican coastlines (Villié 1988, 149).

Size and scantlings

Frame stations spaced one to two times the width of the floor timbers. Planking 3 cm thick, fastened with two iron nails per frame station.

References

Villié, [initial not given], 1988. “La Rodinara”