L'épave du caboteur de Culip VI (Catalogne, Espagne)

Résumé En

The Culip VI wreck, lying at less than 10 m. deep in the creek of Culip located close to the Creus cap (Catatonia, Spain) was excavated in 1990 under Javier Nieto generai responsability. The excavation ofthe remains ofthe hull and their study was our responsability. The Culip VI wreck, of which only 11m of the bottom of the hull is preserved, is dated (ceramics) at the beginning of the XlVh century. This wreck is that of a coaster (restored measurements : 16,35 m long from end to end, 4,11 m wide at the midship frante, 1,94 m of depth of hold; estimated tonnage at around 40 tons) whose structure has the architectural characteristics of Mediterranean skeleton tradition. The analysis of the surmarks and numerals engraved in the wood of the floor-timbers show that these «signs» reveal a controlied modification of the floor-timber moulds by reducing the length of the flat and increasing of the rising of the floor-timbers in relation to the so-called master mould and rising square method. The most ancient wntten sources on this method ο f design enabling a large part of the frames to be predetermined date back to the XVth century and refer only to the aera of Venice and its arsenal. The wreck ofthe Culip VI coaster, probably of Catalan origin, dated at the beginning of the XIVh century, enables a new historical reading ο f this design method of the bottom of ships in the Mediterranean region.