Yassiada 16th Century

Country: Turkey

Place: Reef system of Yassıada island, Chuka Channel, near Bodrum

Type: Preliminary reconstruction suggests a saique, a naval support vessel used by the Ottoman Empire

Identified: Not identified by name

Dated: A four reale coin minted by Philip II of Spain (1566-89) provided a terminus post quem; dendrochronology of the keel suggests a timber felled after 1572

History of the shipwreck

In 1958, Peter Throckmorton discovered the remains of several shipwrecks lost along the extended reef system of the small, uninhabited island of Yassıada, off the southeastern shoreline of Turkey. Yassıada is part of an archipelago along the Chuka Channel near Bodrum. Subsequent fieldwork by archaeologist George Bass and the University of Pennsylvania initially focused on the remains of a seventh-century shipwreck composed of an amphora mound (Bass and Gifford 1982, 3-4). Several meters from this mound, another shipwreck was cataloged by Throckmorton, and efforts to excavate this second wreck began in 1967 (Bass and van Doorninck 1971, 27). Analysis of the amphora morphology and associated artifacts suggested this ship sank toward the end of the fourth century.

During the initial field season on the site, excavators encountered wood elements and artifacts that could not be associated with the same wreck. It slowly became evident that another vessel sank on top of the first, a shipwreck which was originally dated to the thirteenth century (Pulak 1984a, 138). Few objects were recovered from the first season on the newest discovery, mainly concreted fasteners and ballast stones. When archaeologists returned to the site for further work with the fourth-century shipwreck, the team also allocated time to collect stereoscopic photos of the exposed hull remains from the supposed medieval wreck (Labbe 2010, 7). Uncovering the hull remains again for photography revealed a four reale coin minted by Philip II of Spain (1566-89), which eventually provided the terminus post quem for the later site (Pulak 1984b, 471).

No further work took place on the sixteenth-century Yassıada wreck until Bass and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology were approached by the Council of Europe about running a field school from Bodrum. The site was chosen for the field school in 1982, with plans to excavate, map, and retrieve the surviving hull remains (Pulak 2005, 139). When the early modern-era Yassıada wreck was first identified, archaeologists found a well-preserved portside that suggested a similar level of intact structure on starboard. This belief was quickly dispelled in 1982, when it became evident that a significant debris field of broken hull elements was scattered across the starboard side of the hull (Labbe 2010, 11).

Archaeologists returned the following year to map and retrieve the remainder of the hull still buried. Due to time constraints, the portside planking was left in situ. The subsequent loss of a Lebanese ship in 1993 atop the same area as the Yassıada shipwrecks makes it unclear whether any of the hull left in situ survives (Pulak 2005, 138).

Description of the site

The wreck lies along the extended reef system of Yassıada, a small, uninhabited island in the Chuka Channel near Bodrum, southeastern Turkey, several meters from the mound of an earlier seventh-century shipwreck (Bass and Gifford 1982, 3-4).

Cargo

That few artifacts were found in the wreck suggests that its crew were able to remove their possessions. Several fragments of wood not associated with the hull hint that the ship was possibly carrying a cargo of timber and other materials that were salvaged after the wreck (Labbe 2010, 12).

Hull Remains

Preliminary reconstruction of the hull suggests the ship was a saique, a naval support vessel used by the Ottoman Empire. Although fragmentary, the surviving remains from the sixteenth-century Yassıada shipwreck still provide solid clues about eastern Mediterranean shipbuilding.

Keel

Yassıada's keel is square, without rabbets, and dendrochronology has indicated that this member was composed of three timbers (Liphschitz 2014b, 205-6; Cemal Pulak, pers. comm.). Missing keel sections include the scarf connections to the endposts and each other, although the after face of the first keel section suggests a butt joint. No element of the stem survived, but a small lower section of a trapezoidal apron was recovered. The shorter face of the apron rested against the keel to provide room for the garboard; it was held in place with nails, along with the bolts and treenails used to secure the keelson to the keel (Labbe 2010, 44-50).

Sternpost

Only a short section of the sternpost and associated inner sternpost survived, both pieces connected with four bolts. Based on the shape of the apron and sternpost, the ship is believed to be double-ended. The lower assembly of a stern-mounted rudder was found nearby, its shape suggesting it followed the curve of the sternpost (Labbe 2010, 50-4).

Frames

Floor timbers are believed to cross the centerline of the ship and were hook scarfed to overlapping futtocks. These two elements are fastened together with three iron nails clenched on opposite sides. Dual master frames were positioned slightly forward of the center of the ship. All framing had similar square dimensions, with the space between frame stations roughly the same width as an average floor timber; this space is increased between futtocks. Each floor timber was initially connected to the keel with a single iron nail (Labbe 2010, 56-60).

Keelson

No physical remains of the keelson survived, but its molded dimension (19.5 cm) could be deduced based on the surviving through bolts. Every third floor timber was bolted from the keelson to the keel, while treenails are inserted between frame stations. The straight direction of the treenails through the keelson and keel suggests this fastener was installed first, and the bolts were later driven in at an angle from the outside (Labbe 2010, 55-6).

Ceiling, thick stuff and wales

Evidence of a bilge stringer was seen in excavation photographs from the 1967 field season, along with the presence of nail holes over the hook scarf connection between floor timbers and futtocks (Labbe 2010, 62-3). Preliminary analysis of the hull remains makes no mention of any ceiling, although the size and shape (flat floor and round bilge) of the ship would suggest the presence of longitudinal planks between the keelson and stringer.

Fragments from a wale also survived, a piece double the thickness of the planking; its outside face had mushroom-headed bolts that acted as a guard when the ship was docked (Labbe 2010, 67-70).

Planking

Planking is slightly thick for the size of the ship (5-6 cm), while its reported width (20 cm) also indicates direct access to a plentiful lumber supply. Each strake is fastened to the frames with two or three iron nails. Treenail use was seemingly limited to the construction sequence of the keelson (Labbe 2010, 63-5).

Caulking

No caulking is identified, but pitch was used to cover both the inside and outside of the hull (Labbe 2010, 67-70).

Ballast

Two stone cannonballs and a piece of iron could either be interpreted as part of an armament or associated with the minimal ballast (Pulak 1984b, 473-4).

Size and scantlings

Keelson molded dimension: 19.5 cm (deduced from surviving through bolts). Planking: 5-6 cm thick, 20 cm wide, fastened with two or three iron nails per frame station. Wale: double the thickness of the planking.

Wood

Dendrochronology of the keel suggests the tree for one of its timbers was felled after 1572 and closely fits with similar chronologies for forests around the Black Sea (Pulak 2005, 140-1).

References

Bass, G. F., and J. A. Gifford, ‘The Site’, in George F. Bass and Frederick H. van Doorninck Jr. (eds), Yassi Ada: A Seventh-Century Byzantine Shipwreck (College Station, 1982), 3-7;

Bass, G. F., and F. H. van Doorninck Jr., ‘A Fourth-Century Shipwreck at Yassi Ada’, American Journal of Archaeology 75 (1971), 27-37;

Pulak, C., ‘16th-Century Ottoman Wreck: One of the Three Ships Trapped by Perilous Yassi Ada Coast’, Institute of Nautical Archaeology Newsletter 11:4 (1984a), 10-11, 15;

Pulak, C., ‘1983 Yassıada Sualtı Kazısı - 1983 Sezonu’, in Kazı Sonuçlari Toplantısı, vol. 6 (İzmir, 1984b), 469-91;

Pulak, C., ‘A Rare Ottoman Wreck: Yassıada, Turkey’, in George F. Bass (ed.), Beneath the Seven Seas: Adventures with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (New York, 2005), 138-41;

Labbe, M., ‘A Preliminary Reconstruction of the Yassıada Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Wreck’, unpublished MA thesis (Texas A&M University, 2010);

Liphschitz, N., ‘Three Yassı Ada shipwrecks: A comparative dendroarchaeological investigation’, Skyllis 14:2 (2014b), 203-7.