NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 3.

Comparison with the ship-relief on Naevoleia Tyches tomb provides a possible explanation of the vertical line which runs from near the foot of Isis artemon mast to a point just forward of the angle between stempost and keel; on the tomb relief the mainmast forestay is attached to a cable which runs right round the bow of the ship, passing over the foot of the artemon mast (cf. also Br. Mus. Cat. Sculpture, no. 2160). The ladder-like appearance of Isis mast must represent the banding or wooldings (Casson, s.v.) commonly shown on Roman ship representations. The semicircle near the top of the mast is part of the sheave fitting for the halyard, another feature common in pictures of ships, at all periods. The projecting spike above it may have carried a flag, as in Naevoleia Tyches ship. The raised level running from abreast of the second mastband to the ladder (?) astern may represent the top of a cabin or, perhaps more probably, the top of the raised hatch(es) covering the hold (cf. Naevoleia Tyches ship). Still moving from bow to stern, we come next to a curious contraption which I am tempted to interpret as a gangplank or ladder with (the left-hand part) steps leading down inboard from the top of the bulwarks to deck level. The most likely alternative is that it represents the after end of the extra waling piece which is common on ancient merchant ships (e.g. the Torlonia relief), but a. the representation in that case would be curiously clumsy for a feature so commonly portrayed; b. where there is such a waling piece the steering oars pass behind it, whereas here they are set some way further aft; c. the rounded, raised top would be hard to parallel; d. pictures of ships in harbour tend to include a gangplankalthough the Costanzarelief cited above does not.

Aft of this there is another raised structure which appears to have curves in two of its upright supports. Our artist is sometimes careless, and inclined to represent parts of the ship which would not have been visible (the foot of the mast, for example), but he understood ship construction and his curves should perhaps be taken seriously (note the change of angle at the point where the wales leave the curve of the stern planking for the flat sternpost). Two explanations of this structure in the stern are possible. It may be a light wooden rail surrounding the steering-deck and passing outside the looms of the rudder oars (the curves in the uprights representing the lateral projection which this would require); the rail would have been hung with leather or canvas dodgers in bad weather. Alternatively, it may represent the top of a small after-cabin with a rounded porthole or doorway (cf. Torlonia relief). I am inclined to think Isis was too small to have such a cabin, chiefly because of her lowered mast (perhaps c. 30-40 ft (10-12 m) overall ?). The sketchy remains of the stern suggest a gooses head ornament (cheniscus) with a sternpost rising aft of it, as in e.g. Casson: fig. 149, but certainty is impossible. This design is a hybrid combination of the cheniscus-and-gallery stern (e.g. Sidon sarcophagus), where the cheniscus rises directly from the end of the sternpost, and the axe-blade form of sternpost seen on e.g. Casson: figs 142-3. It is the deadwood which is prolonged to make the cheniscus in Isis. The name, Isis Mirionimus, must be a phonetic transcription in Roman letters of the Greek IZIZ MYPIQNYMOZ, Isis of 10,OOO names. Isis was often called poly6nymos-Many-Named -and myricinymos. Department of History, University College, Guwer Street, London, W.C.1

S. C. Humphreys

A brief note on Baschs remarks on the 7th century Byzantine wreck at Yassi Ada
In a valuable and timely article appearing in the first issue of this journal, Basch makes mention of the 7th century Byzantine ship at Yassi Ada (Basch, 1972: 49). He discusses some salient constructional features exhibited by the ships remains and deduces five basic stages in the hulls construction. Baschs remarks are based on and, for the most part, accurately reflect my own preliminary study of the hulls construction (van Doorninck, 1967: 86-106). However, there are a few points of misunderstanding that need to be cleared up. Basch incorrectly states : only about one floor timber in four is nailed on to the keel. A correct statement would be that only about oneframe in four was bolted to the keel. Moreover, most other

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frames appear to have been nailed to the keel. first active frames employed by Mediterranean Preservation of the framing in this hull was very shipbuilders were frames not erected until after fragmentary (Casson, 1971: Fig. 164) and does the assembly of the outer shell had been begun not permit a close estimate of how many frames and not necessarily fixed to the keel. Yet I had floors and how many did not. I should think should think this a distinct possibility in a it safe to assume that floors were bolted to the tradition of hull construction where both floors keel, but we ought not to assume necessarily and half-frames were not usually fixed to the that all of the frames nailed to the keel were keel and futtocks were not usually fixed to floors. floors, as I wrongly implied in my preliminary I offer this hypothesis as just one of a number of study (van Doorninck, 1967: 94). Half-frames working hypotheses that the excavator of early were fastened to the keel in the contemporaneous Mediterranean shipwrecks might have in mind Pantano Longarini ship (P. & J. Throckmorton, while studying surviving hull remains. 1973: figs 4 & 13). Perhaps the pre-erection of half-frames in the Four pairs of wales, two below and two above construction of the Blackfriars ship owes more to deck level, girdled the sides of the hull. Basch contemporaneous Mediterranean ship construcimplies that only the two wales below deck level tion techniques than even A s c h imagines. We were bolted to frames, but the frames referred to presently have reason to suspect that the builders in his footnote 50, quotation from my study: It of the 4th century ship at Yassi Ada may have would appear more likely than not that only the erected a pair of midship half-frames, designated wales below deck were. . . bolted to these frames, B-7 on the excavation wreck plan (Bass & van are frames that were bolted to the keel. Actually, Doorninck, 1971: fig. 4), after only about eight our evidence indicates that all four wales were outer hull planks were in place. Beyond the eighth bolted to frames. Each wale appears to have been outer hull plank on the port side (the starboard bolted at fairly regular intervals to approximately side of the hull was not preserved) the builders one out of every four frames in the hull. appear to have intentionally avoided placing Basch mentions the presence of guide (score) mortise and tenon joints under and immediately lines on the insides of planks nos 18 and 20, adjacent to where half-frame B-7 was set. Such these being the two wales below deck level. Only avoidance could have been due to a pre-erection two such lines were detected on the lowest wale; of B-7. Joint tenons in the hull were fastened in only one, on the other. Furthermore, I am not at place by dowels. These were driven from inside all convinced that one of the lines on the lowest the hull in all instances where a check has so far wale (between frames 18 and 19) has to do with been made. Pre-erection of B-7 would have made marking the intended position of a frame. it impossible to fasten joint tenons located under However, the other line on the lowest wale the frame with dowels driven from the inside. appears to have marked the position of frame 17; A pre-erection of B-7 also seems to be indicated the line on the other wale, the position of frame by the way in which the forward and after halves 30. Frames 17 and 30 were not bolted to either of outer hull plank 20 on the port side were of the below-deck wales, but it is likely that each scarfed together at midships. Two or three mortise was bolted to one of the above-deck wales. and tenon joints were normally employed in edgePerhaps futtocks to which the above-deck wales joining scarfs in the outer hull planking, but in this were bolted were not fitted until after the below- instance one of the joints apparently was avoided deck wales had been bolted in place. underneath B-7 and replaced by a pair of nails, Baschs suggestion that one 02 more frames one nail on either side of the scarf, driven through may have been pre-erected on the keel is now the planking and into B-7 from the outside. being considered during the h a 1 stages of our A further examination of the hull-remains, study of the hull. Such conclusions as can be planned for this summer (1974), may or may not reached will be included in the final report. For confirm this tentative evidence for an early the moment there is only one general comment I erection of half-frame B-7. Any new evidence or would like to make. Basch does not give any conclusions on this point will immediately be serious consideration to the possibility that the reported.

References
Basch, L., 1972, Ancient wrecks and the archaeology of ships. Znt. J. of Naut. Archaeoi., 1: 1-33. Bass, G . F. &van Doorninck, F. H., Jr., 1971, A4th century shipwreck at Yassi Ada. AmericanJ. of Archaeology, 75: 27-37. Casson, L., 1971, Ships and seamanship in the ancient world. Princeton.

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NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 3.2 van Doorninck, F. H., Jr., 1967, The 7th century Byzantine sh@ at Yassi Ada: some contributions to the history of naval architecture. Ph.D., Univ. of Pennsylvania; University Microfilms No. 68-4619. Throckmorton,P. & J., 1973, The Roman wreck at Pantano Longarini. Znt. J. of Naut. Archaeol., 2.2: 243-266
Frederick H. van Doorninck, Jr. Department of Classics, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, 95616, U.S.A.

The Defense. Search and recovery, 1972-73

The east of Maines Castine peninsula was of particular strategic significance for the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary War. Castine would serve admirably as a base mid-way between New York and Halifax, a fact well-known to their Lordships in Whitehall. It was no surprise to the inhabitants of the Castine area when in July 1779, Commander Henry Mowatt arrived in their harbour from Halifax with three small sloops, several transports loaded with British infantry, and commenced building fortifications. When the news reached Boston, Massachusetts reacted by hastily assembling a military and naval force worth $8 million. Nearly 1500 raw militiamen were collected, and in addition, three continental warships, three Massachusetts state warships, and a number of hired privateers, all under the command of Commander Dudley Saltonstall. Several dozen transports completed the expedition. The entire force arrived off Castine in mid-July, and had it pressed home an attack immediately, the fate of Mowatts fleet and the half-finished fort would have been sealed. The American resolve was weakened by days of delay and dissension, while the British strengthened their defences. While Saltonstall vacillated, a 64-gun ship and several frigates under Sir George Collier arrived from New York and put him to flight. Saltonstalls ships fled up the Penobscot River, where most were destroyed by their crews. The pursuing Collier captured only three of these ships. A number of ships scuttled in 1779 were stripped by locals over the years, and present no opportunities for modern operations. However, the brigantine Defense of 170 tons, owned in Beverly, Mass., by Andrew Cabot, Moses Brown and others, which carried 16 guns and a crew of 100, for 200 years lay quietly where she sank. Since 1963, local residents have been questioned in the hope of pinning down Colliers statement that the Defense, in an attempt to escape round the island of Islesbore, had entered the mouth of a small inlet where she was destroyed by her crew to avoid capture by HMS Camilla, then in search

of her. The location, close to the lee shore of SearsIsland, suggests that Captain John Edmonds sought to obscure his vessel against the island tree line and to escape after dark. However, the arrival of HMS Camilla caused her destruction at 24.00 hrs. Eventually, through the efforts of Cappy Hall, a Stockton Springs lobsterman, the chart coordinates were obtained of a site in the lee of Sears Island in 20 ft (6.09 m) of water, where much of his gear had fouled on some undersea obstruction. In the summer of 1972, two institutions, Maine Maritime Academy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were seeking a suitable summer training project for students of their joint laboratory funded by the National Seagrant Program and the Doherty Foundation. It was decided to attempt discovery of the Defense, employing the writers 10-year-old coordinates. The preliminary search was made using a rented lobster boat. Aboard were two diving instructors, Capt. William Searle (former Chief of Salvage, USN) and Walter Lincoln (MIT teaching assistant) and four student divers. The flat, muddy bottom of Stockton Harbour indicated a sonar search would be necessary. After two mornings using sonar, followed by visual inspection by divers, a switch was made to sidescan, using a second transducer. On the third day sonar targets appeared, divers descended, and a ships knee was brought to the surface. Other students brought up 6-pound shot, stands of grape, miniature balls, decking, a bayonet, pieces of gun carriage, blocks, sheaves and an assortment of bronze ingots and lead scuppers, and a grindstone. Two-foot (0.60m) visibility at the site prevented any plane-table survey of the wreck, but several major objects served as reference points. A mortared brick structure extending to the keel proved to be a cooking stove. Several cannon (some with carriages) also aided in diving orientation. The day after the discovery, a diverphotographer, using a Nikonos equipped with a strobe light, attempted to photograph the stove

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