Badania archeologiczne XVII -wiecznego wraka F53.15 Rudowiec z Zatoki Gdańskiej i jego identyfikacja

• Authors: Bednarz Tomasz

Title variants

EN

Archaeological research of the 17th-century F53.15 wreck Rudowiec (Ore ship) from the Gdańsk Bay and its identification

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The F53.15 wreck Rudowiec (Ore ship) was discovered in 2009 by employees of the Maritime Office in Gdynia. The object is located 370 meters north-east of Westerplatte, at a depth of 5 metres. Initial reconnaissance research of the object was carried out by archaeologists from NMM in 2010 and 2011. In June 2019, a detailed inventory of the site was carried out using photogrammetric 3D documentation. Structural elements of the ship made of oak wood, mainly in the form of the stern and starboard parts, were identified. The plating of the ship is made using the caravel planking method – butt joint staves. The entire archaeologically recognised site F53.15 covers an area of over 110 m2, 17 metres long and 7 metres wide. The longitudinal axis of the vessel (keel) runs along the north-west-south-east direction. On the wreck structure tilted to the port side, there are bundles of forged, iron rods (long bars) rectangular in cross sections, about 2.4 - 2.9 metres long, constituting the raw material for further blacksmith processing. On the bundles of iron rods and in front of them, on the stern and bow sides, there are 78 pine barrels with a diameter of 45 – 47 cm and a length of 77 - 80 cm, containing lumps of melted iron, the so-called Osmund iron. The third component of the cargo discovered on the wreck were brass bowls and cauldrons with two characteristic triangular sheet metal protrusions for the purpose of making handles for bows. Brass artefacts are located in the bow part of the wreck, inserted one in the other, forming longitudinal columns, each over 90 cm long, placed in a partially preserved barrel. In addition to the aforementioned items constituting the ship's cargo, also movable artefacts were obtained from the wreck, which were or could have been the ship's equipment. The largest group of them constituted fragments of pottery obtained mainly from the stern part of the wreck. The aforementioned fragments of pottery products were dated mainly to the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century. They varied in the type of clay, firing, and function. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the wood for the construction of the vessel was felled after 1575. It was also determined that the oak wood used for the construction of the vessel comes from the region of Gdańsk Pomerania. The above results show that in the case of the wreck in question, we can talk about the remains of a vessel intended for deep-sea navigation, most likely built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Theoretical calculations regarding the capacity (load capacity) of the vessel, the remains of which are the F53.15 wreck, indicate that it was about 60 – 70 lasts (120 - 140 tons). The cargo on the wreck is estimated to weigh around 25 tons (10 - 12 lasts of cargo). As a result of the archival query, in the book of the presiding mayor of Gdańsk, covering the cases from 1623 and 1624, information about an event in the area of the entrance to the Gdańsk port was found, which may be associated with the F53.15 wreck. The event recorded in the book took place on December 17, 1623. The Gdańsk ship, commanded by skipper Michel Kitzerow, was pushed ashore due to strong winds and crashed in the area of the entrance to the Gdańsk port in front of the Wisłoujście Fortress. Immediately after the catastrophe, 24 lasts of barrels containing mainly iron ore, the so-called osmund iron were extracted from the wreck. The goods belonged to a shipping company established by Gdańsk merchants.

Keywords

PL

archeologia podwodna, fotogrametria, model 3D, wrak, Gdańsk

EN

underwater archaeology, photogrammetry, 3D model, wreck, Gdańsk

• Publisher: Muzeum Archeologiczne w Gdańsku
• Journal: Pomorania Antiqua
• Year: 2021
• Volume: Tom XXX
• Pages: s. 133-160

Contributors

author

Bednarz Tomasz

• Narodowe Muzeum Morskie w Gdańsku