Metals from the British shipwreck Deltebre I (1813), Catalonia, Spain: A Brief Report

CIARLO, NICOLÁS C.

The Society for Archaeological Sciences Bulletin

Society for Archaeological Sciences

Año: 2014 vol. 37 p. 1 - 3

In June 1813, after an unsuccessful expedition to liberate the city of Tarragona from the domain of Napoleonic forces, eighteen ships (the historical sources disagree about this number) of a fleet supervised by Lt. General John Murray, were surprised by strong gales and ran aground in the Ebro delta (Catalonia coast, Spain). Almost 200 years later, one of these ships was found by local settlers. The research conducted so far at the site (Deltebre I) has included the survey and recording of the ship?s structure, and the excavation of the cargo located in the area between the stern and the midship section of the vessel. The main goal of the research on the metal artifacts from the site is to contribute to the knowledge of British metallurgy in the early 19th century, especially regarding maritime craft. The initial results of the analyses performed on some of the artifacts recovered are summarized in this brief note.