1 0:00:03,520 --> 0:00:09,520 Good morning, dear colleagues. Today I would like to present the rigging material 2 0:00:09,520 --> 0:00:15,360 from the Roman ship that was recently excavated by the European Institute of 3 0:00:15,360 --> 0:00:23,000 Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), directed by Franck Goddio, in the Portus Magnus of Alexandria. 4 0:00:26,080 --> 0:00:33,760 Ship baptized J2 was found in the harbor of the Antirhodos Island in a course of 5 0:00:33,760 --> 0:00:43,680 a survey with a parametric sub-bottom profiler. It was discovered only 17 m from shipwreck I1, 6 0:00:43,680 --> 0:00:52,160 which was a Roman freighter dated to the first century or the early years of the 2nd century AD, 7 0:00:52,160 --> 0:01:00,320 excavated by the IEASM in 1998. It appears that the construction of both ships 8 0:01:00,320 --> 0:01:09,840 is very similar. The hull of the ship J2 was preserved for 19 m in length and 9 m 9 0:01:09,840 --> 0:01:16,640 in width. The ship's bow position could not be determined due to the missing hull ends. 10 0:01:17,280 --> 0:01:24,800 The central part of the ship was in a satisfactory state of conservation. It included the keel, 11 0:01:24,800 --> 0:01:33,120 20 strakes of the northern board, 14 strakes of the southern board, eight stringers, ceiling planks, 12 0:01:33,120 --> 0:01:43,280 63 frames, both floors with futtocks and half frames, and the fragments of one beam. The ship was built 13 0:01:43,280 --> 0:01:50,880 with a wide variety of wood species from the northern Mediterranean. The framing was made 14 0:01:50,880 --> 0:01:59,040 of pine, larch, oak, elm, and walnut. And the planking was made of various species of pine 15 0:01:59,040 --> 0:02:08,560 and other conifers. For the moment, no radiocarbon date for ship J2 is available. The majority of the 16 0:02:08,560 --> 0:02:17,360 pottery found in, above and around the shipwreck J2 can be dated to between the 2nd and the 3rd 17 0:02:17,360 --> 0:02:26,400 century AD. Together with the coins, this seems to indicate the terminus ante quem or the wreckage 18 0:02:26,400 --> 0:02:33,840 in the 3rd century AD. However, the construction of the ship and her deposition in the same 19 0:02:33,840 --> 0:02:44,080 layer as ship I1 nearby point to an older date that is probably in the first 2nd century AD. The 20 0:02:44,080 --> 0:02:51,120 study of the ship's construction is ongoing, but even the preliminary analysis allows suggesting 21 0:02:51,120 --> 0:02:58,000 that the ship belongs to a Roman imperial type of construction. The reconstructed length of the 22 0:02:58,000 --> 0:03:05,360 ship may be estimated at about 36-40 m. This figure is close to the estimated length of 23 0:03:05,360 --> 0:03:16,960 the shipwreck I1 which was slightly smaller (30-31 m) and other larger Roman freighters. 24 0:03:16,960 --> 0:03:23,200 The spars were not preserved on the wreck. So we don't have the mast or yards and even 25 0:03:23,200 --> 0:03:30,080 the mast step was missing possibly removed in antiquity. However, the position of the mast step 26 0:03:30,080 --> 0:03:35,920 may be established thanks to the notches cut approximately in the middle of two perfectly 27 0:03:35,920 --> 0:03:43,600 preserved side stringers. In contrast, the elements of the rigging were quite numerous at 28 0:03:43,600 --> 0:03:52,080 the site. Most of them were found in the spacing between the frames. This space was about 30 cm 29 0:03:52,080 --> 0:03:59,920 deep on average. So the elements of the rigging were stuck inside and covered with sediment. The 30 0:03:59,920 --> 0:04:07,920 assemblage of rigging elements includes 14 deadeyes, four blocks with numerous separate sheaves, 31 0:04:07,920 --> 0:04:17,360 six toggles, and three seamen's tools. Of particular interest is the powerful four-fold sheave block that 32 0:04:17,360 --> 0:04:24,080 to my knowledge has no exact parallels in the comparative material. The total number of the 33 0:04:24,080 --> 0:04:32,960 elements of the rigging amounts to 35 artefacts. Currently the laboratory of the Maritime Museum 34 0:04:32,960 --> 0:04:39,680 of Alexandria has no facilities for PEG treatment of water locked wood. 35 0:04:39,680 --> 0:04:46,320 Thus the majority of the finds were taken aboard for documentation and then they were reburied in situ. 36 0:04:46,320 --> 0:04:54,480 Some of the finds were however recovered and subject to other methods of wood conservation like 37 0:04:54,480 --> 0:05:03,760 sucrose or acetone rosin treatment applied by the conservator of the mission, Olivier Berger. The wood 38 0:05:03,760 --> 0:05:12,160 species of the rigging elements were determined by the method of thin section microscopy. 39 0:05:12,160 --> 0:05:18,720 The most numerous elements of the rigging found on shipwreck J2 were deadeyes. 40 0:05:18,720 --> 0:05:24,720 14 deadeyes belonging to two distinct types were found inside the hull of the ship. 41 0:05:24,720 --> 0:05:32,640 Deadeye is a hard wooden block pierced with holes and without sheaves which is fitted in lower 42 0:05:32,640 --> 0:05:41,920 ends of shrouds, ropes of the standing rigging that support the mast from the side. Shrouds 43 0:05:41,920 --> 0:05:48,160 are set taught by lanyards passing between a pair of dead eyes. They are still used on the 44 0:05:48,160 --> 0:05:57,040 historical tall ships and it is remarkable how little they changed since antiquity. 45 0:05:57,040 --> 0:06:05,760 The dead eyes from ship J2 show a different position and number of shroud holes and seizing 46 0:06:05,760 --> 0:06:14,480 holes which allow distinguishing five types of these blocks. The length varies from 10 to 19 47 0:06:14,480 --> 0:06:23,040 cm and width from 11 to 14 cm. The dead eyes were grooved to take the loop splices from 48 0:06:23,040 --> 0:06:35,280 approximately 25 to 35 cm thick rope and in one case we have a double grooved deadeye. 49 0:06:35,280 --> 0:06:42,400 The deadeyes demonstrate the choice of several hardwood species. Among 14 deadeyes, 50 0:06:42,400 --> 0:06:52,800 eight were fabricated from the wood of ash which is a strong and resilient wood. Three blocks were 51 0:06:52,800 --> 0:07:01,840 made of evergreen oak and two more were made of boxwood, which is a very strong wood too. 52 0:07:02,480 --> 0:07:09,120 The amazing discovery is this deadeye which proved to be fabricated from pine which is not a 53 0:07:09,120 --> 0:07:15,920 suitable material for the purpose because being a soft wood it is not sufficiently strong. It may be 54 0:07:15,920 --> 0:07:25,280 suggested that this deadeye was fabricated as a replacement piece possibly during the navigation. 55 0:07:25,280 --> 0:07:33,920 The extremities of the vessel were not preserved and even if ship J2 had a bow mast (artemon), probably 56 0:07:33,920 --> 0:07:40,960 nothing remains of its rigging. The considerable size of deadeyes indicates that they come from 57 0:07:40,960 --> 0:07:47,840 the shrouds of the main mast. The important point is that the deadeyes were caught in the space 58 0:07:47,840 --> 0:07:54,480 between the frames and so their distribution may contain additional information on the ship. 59 0:07:55,120 --> 0:08:02,560 Thus, it seems that the deadeyes were found along two distinct lines, probably from the 60 0:08:02,560 --> 0:08:12,320 shrouds of the two boards. The southern line almost coincides with the line of the keel. So, 61 0:08:12,320 --> 0:08:19,840 it may be suggested that during the sinking event, the mast fell in the northern direction. 62 0:08:21,520 --> 0:08:31,920 The next group of objects is represented by the sheath blocks. They were from 14 to 25 cm long, 63 0:08:31,920 --> 0:08:42,480 8-12 cm wide, and 3-7 cm thick. Among three blocks, two had their sheaves still installed. 64 0:08:42,480 --> 0:08:48,800 These blocks are paralleled by the contemporary material from the northern Mediterranean. 65 0:08:50,720 --> 0:08:59,840 Much rarer is this block with two sets of four sheaves each, measuring 55 cm in length. This 66 0:08:59,840 --> 0:09:07,040 block probably belong to a halyard system. The study of this block is on-going and the results 67 0:09:07,040 --> 0:09:12,640 will be published soon. The pulley blocks were fabricated from the same wood as the 68 0:09:12,640 --> 0:09:23,360 deadeyes, that is ash, oak and boxwood. Apart from the shells of blocks or complete blocks, 69 0:09:23,360 --> 0:09:30,320 a considerable number of separate sheaths were found inside the hull of J2. The sheaths were 70 0:09:30,320 --> 0:09:35,600 of two major types: Spoolled shaped rollers, which you see on the left, 71 0:09:35,600 --> 0:09:42,960 and thin sheaths. They measured from 6 to 9 cm in diameter for the first type while 72 0:09:42,960 --> 0:09:50,400 those of the second had a quite uniform diameter of about 10 cm. All 17 sheaths 73 0:09:50,400 --> 0:09:57,280 found were fabricated of evergreen oak. It is noteworthy that 12 of them were found 74 0:09:57,280 --> 0:10:05,440 together close to the shell of the multi-sheave block which didn't have any sheaths installed. 75 0:10:07,840 --> 0:10:14,720 The next group of objects belonging to the rigging is presented by toggles. These wooden 76 0:10:14,720 --> 0:10:20,800 objects were very useful in the rigging as they provided a convenient method of securing 77 0:10:20,800 --> 0:10:29,200 and quickly releasing the ropes and sail. Six toggles of conventional form were found on J2. 78 0:10:29,200 --> 0:10:38,320 Their length varied from 23 to 43 cm and the maximum diameter was about 5-6 cm. 79 0:10:38,320 --> 0:10:45,840 They were fabricated of the same wood species that is oak, ash and boxwood. 80 0:10:45,840 --> 0:10:52,080 In addition to the conventional toggles, three wooden tools were found inside the hull. 81 0:10:52,080 --> 0:11:00,400 They have a length from 18 to 33 cm and are tapering towards one of the extremities. 82 0:11:00,400 --> 0:11:07,840 These tools are Marlin Spikes which served as multifunctional tools for sailors. It is 83 0:11:07,840 --> 0:11:14,000 possible that they were used as belaying pins or spill toggles 84 0:11:14,000 --> 0:11:22,960 to ensure a provisional fastening. They were fabricated of oak and boxwood. Modern Marlin 85 0:11:22,960 --> 0:11:32,960 Spikes are made of metal, but they remain an indispensable sailor's tool on the tall ships. 86 0:11:32,960 --> 0:11:40,240 This interesting object made of boxwood measures 74 mm in diameter and has a complex 87 0:11:40,240 --> 0:11:48,400 shape. It is probably an eye or a cringle that was inserted in the cloth of the sail. 88 0:11:50,400 --> 0:11:56,400 What the discovered rigging fittings may tell us about the ship herself? The date of the ship 89 0:11:56,400 --> 0:12:02,480 strongly indicates the square sail rig for the ship and this conclusion is confirmed 90 0:12:02,480 --> 0:12:09,520 by a large number of discovered deadeyes which were of little use in the case of the Lateen rig. 91 0:12:09,520 --> 0:12:16,880 The reconstructed length of the ship would be around 36-40 m and at least two masts carrying 92 0:12:16,880 --> 0:12:24,240 two square sails seem a very probable sail plan. The one sheave blocks discovered inside the 93 0:12:24,240 --> 0:12:29,840 hull are rather modest in size and they could come from the parts of the rigging that did 94 0:12:29,840 --> 0:12:37,680 not require a lot of effort. The multiple sheath block may be associated with the halyard of the 0:12:37.680,0:12:44.720 artemon, the foremast of the ship. The ship of this size could sail with the Annona fleet although 95 0:12:44,720 --> 0:12:52,960 the complete absence of cargo at the moment of sinking doesn't allow proving this. To conclude, 96 0:12:52,960 --> 0:12:59,360 ship J2 brings precious information on the types and dimensions of rigging fittings from 97 0:12:59,360 --> 0:13:11,680 Roman times and on the materials they were made from. Thank you very much for your attention.