In Pliny the Elder natural historyThe Roman scholar described how the Empire used a unique organic mixture to keep ships waterproof. By tracing an outlier from a 2,200-year-old shipwreck, the researchers confirmed that not only is this true, but that Roman shipbuilders probably also continued to renovate their ships during their voyages.
TO Frontiers in materials The study published today describes how to study pollen trapped in the Roman shipwreck, designated Ilovik-Paržine 1revealed the composition and origin of waterproof coating materials. As organic matter degrades easily over time, naval archaeologists found it difficult to fully understand ancient shipbuilding techniques. To overcome these challenges, the team behind the study designed an interdisciplinary analysis that combines archaeology, chemistry and palynology (the study of pollen grains).
The team confirmed not only the use of sophisticated waterproofing techniques by Roman shipbuilders, but also how ships would be constantly renovated with more coating to keep them sailing for a long time.
“This approach allows us to investigate possible variations related to functional or technical differences or even repair phases in the application of waterproofing materials,” co-authors of the study. Armelle Charrie and Quentin Couillebault he told Gizmodo in an email. This was intended to “produce more robust interpretations and broaden the range of hypotheses,” they added.
Inspecting a shipwreck
Ilovik-Paržine 1 was initially discovered in 2016 and has since been studied extensively. However, these investigations mainly focused on the structural design and age of the ship. It was during these projects that researchers noticed a thick layer of organic adhesive on the outside and inside of the helmet, according to the study.
“Organic archaeomaterials are increasingly interesting, as they are rich in essential and unprecedented information,” explained Charrié and Couillebault, bioarchaeologists at the University of Strasbourg and the University of Aix-Marseille in France, respectively. “They provide information on many areas, such as clothing, funeral practices, food, domestic life or manufacturing techniques of the populations studied.”
But these organic materials rarely survive. So the leftover coating presented researchers with a rare and invaluable opportunity to study the ships’ coating, which Charrié had investigated before on other shipwrecks.
pollen and in zop
Speaking to Gizmodo, the researchers highlighted that different disciplines played very specific roles in the study. Palynology, which looks for pollen grains trapped during the coating manufacturing or application process, hinted at when and where the waterproof repairs occurred. Chemical analysis confirmed the molecular fingerprint corresponding to in zopa mixture of pine tar and beeswax described by Pliny the Elder.
As a result, the team discovered a very sophisticated shipbuilding process. For example, in zopThe inclusion of beeswax and tar improved the flexibility of the adhesive. Pollen trapped between in zop The layers date back to a great diversity of environments, from dense forests of oaks, pines, olive trees or hazelnut trees to areas closer to water, including alders and ash trees. This additional information allowed the team to obtain a more complete picture of the different places the ship must have sailed through before its disappearance.
A record of sailors
Most importantly, these findings gave the team clues about broader cultural practices in the region. The samples had four to five coating phases, applied at different times and locations. This allowed researchers to reconstruct a viable shipping route around the Adriatic for the ship and even determine when and where it was repaired and repainted.
Furthermore, the oldest archaeological use of in zop It dates back to the end of the 7th century BC. C., and corresponds to an “archaic Greek tradition,” Charrié and Couillebault told Gizmodo. This indicates a wide “circulation of technical knowledge and technological transfer phenomena throughout the Mediterranean basin,” the researchers explained.
