Image Credit : L. Damelet, CNRS/CCJ
Posted on 04/30/2026 9:11:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A Roman ship that sank about 2,200 years ago off the Adriatic coast... known as Ilovik–Paržine 1, was found in 2016 near the Croatian island of Ilovik. Archaeologists have examined the hull and cargo before, but recent work has focused on the material used to seal the ship's exterior -- substances meant to keep water out and protect the wood from damage...
Most of the coating was made from pine-based pitch, produced by heating resin from conifer trees. In one case, the material included beeswax mixed with pitch. This combination would have made the coating more workable and slightly more flexible when applied.
The chemical makeup alone does not explain much about where or when the coatings were used. The pollen embedded in the material, however, provides more specific clues...
The central section and stern share similar coatings, while the bow contains several distinct layers. Taken together, the evidence points to at least four separate phases of repair.
Earlier studies of the ship's ballast linked it to the region around Brundisium -- modern-day Brindisi -- on Italy's southeastern coast...
Direct evidence for repair work on ancient ships is limited.
(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...
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One might even say it was a really old ship.
We moderns probably wouldn’t cross a creek in one the smaller vessels of that time. The big grain ships, and the Indian Ocean trade vessels, were huge, sturdy, and the late Lionel Casson said that Roman-era travelers in the know would pay for passages on one of those where possible.
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