New Insights to the Early 19th-Century Naval Technology: Metallurgical Examination of the Cargo of a British Transport Lost Off Catalonia Coast, Spain

CIARLO, NICOLÁS C.

Los Angeles

Congreso; 40th International Symposium on Archaeometry; 2014

Getty Conservation Institute, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California

In June 1813, after an unsuccessful expedition to liberate the city of Tarragona of the domain of Napoleonic forces, eighteen ships of the combined fleet of British, Sicilian and Spanish forces supervised by the Lt. Gral. John Murray, were surprised by strong gales and ran aground in the Ebro delta (Catalonia coast, western Mediterranean). Almost 200 years later, one of the ships that could not go ahead was found by local settlers, and has been subject of archaeological study since 2008 by the staff of the Centre for Underwater Archaeology of Catalonia (Centre d'Arqueologia Subaquàtica de Catalunya). So far, the research conducted in the Deltebre I site has included the survey and recording of the ship's structure, and the excavation of the cargo located from the stern to the midship section of the vessel. The main goal of the present work was contribute to the knowledge of British metallurgy at the beginnings of 19th century, especially regarding maritime craft. This was specifically accomplished by: first, typological and physico-chemical characterization of a sample of cargo artifacts from the site, the latter mainly by means of light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXRS); second, analysis of some technical features of these objects, such as design, alloys, and manufacturing methods; and third, examination of evidence related to novel technologies. It is worth noting the precise temporal definition of the site under consideration, as well as the fact that the ship brought on board large quantities of objects that had never been taken out from their original containers. The analysis of these artifacts shed light upon some technological aspects of the early stage of British industrialization, particularly the characteristics of the mass production of artifacts. In this regard, the application of multivariate analysis allowed making a fine-grain examination of the manufacture processes and quality standards. The information obtained was also used to evaluate the technical skills and knowledge of the artisans, and to discuss some aspects for which there are scarce historical written records.