16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

110 16 th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology Eric Rieth 1 , Marine Sadania 2 & Hervé Alfonsi 3 1 Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), France 2 Département des recherches archéologiques subaquatiques et sous-marines (DRASSM), France 3 L’Association pour les Recherches Sous-Marines (ARASM), France The Sanguinaires C wreck, Corsica: an early XVI th century clinker ship of Atlantic or Northern origin Discovered in 2005, the Sanguinaires C wreck is located at a depth of 19 m, near the Sanguinaires Islands in the Gulf of Ajaccio (Corsica). After two test excavations carried out by Hervé Alfonsi (ARASM), the results led to the development of a multiannual excavation led by H. Alfonsi and Marine Sadania (DRASSM) in col- laboration with Éric Rieth (CNRS), whose initial data is the subject of this poster. The wreck is characterized by a stone mound (dolomitic limestone) 17.40 m long, 12.40 m wide and 2.80 m high covering the architectural remains of the hull. Two millstones and two iron anchors are associated with the wreck. A secondary cargo of Pisan and Ligurian ceramics dating from the early 16 th century has been unearthed. Excavation of the architectural remains, limited to the forward and aft ends of the keel, has brought to light several main features. The most important one, in the Mediterranean context, concerns the clinker structure of the planking assembled by means of iron rivets driven in from the outside of the hull and riv- eted to quadrangular iron roves. The watertightness between the clinker planking is achieved by luting made of horsehair and/or sheep’s wool. This clinker planking is combined with a strong transverse framework. The frames (floor timbers and futtocks) are arranged on the keel with a small room and space. Several crotches are fixed to the keel by means of iron pins driven in with a lost point from the underside of the keel. The ceiling is covered by a movable protective flooring on which the stones cargo rests. The clinker architecture of this large transport ship, whose Atlantic or Northern origin remains unknown at the present stage of excavation, represents an archaeological unicum in the Mediterranean and an archaeological site of first importance for the knowledge of the history of 16 th century naval architecture.