casaban et al 2013 the finisterre project
TRANSCRIPT
Cape Fini sterre, fro m th e Latin
fi nis te rrae o r "end of the ea rrh ,"
is a fin ing name fo r th e sacred
p lace o n Spain 's northwes t coast in the
Ga li cia regio n . Ea rly pagan soc ieti es
wo rshipped th e sun he re, and C hri stians
have been making th e pilg rimage known
as El Camino de Samiago (The Way of
Sr. James) ro this locatio n since medi eva l
times . ll1e an cients ce lebrated Finisterre
(Fisterm in Ga li c ian) as th e final place o n
ea rth to see th e sun before it sank into the
ocea n depths.
"The cape itself ex tends from th e main
land in to th e North Atlanti c, threatenin g
navigat io n berween the so uth and north
of Europe, alo ng one of rh e most impo r
tant maritime routes in the region. With
its rocky coas tline and reef~, brutal w inter
On the west coast of Galicia, Spain, archaeologists are studying and shedding new light on shipbuilding techniques, ship outfitting, and life onboard these vessels. BY JOSE LUIS CASABAN, MIGUEL SAN CLAUDIO, FILIPE CASTRO AND RAUL GONZALEZ
sto rms, dangerous currenrs, and dense
fogs this dangerous coastline is know n in
Spain as La Costa de lr1 M11erte (Coast of
D eath) and has become th e fina l res tin g
place for many ships, alo ng w ith their
passengers and crew.
One of the wo rst rna rir ime d isasrers to
occur in rhis area took place o n rh e ni ghr
o f October 28, 1 59G, when a storm rook
an armed Spanish fl eer by surprise oW Cape Fin isrerre. W ri rren sources revea l
rhat 25 ships were lost and m o re rha n
2000 men drown ed. -ll1e Heet had de-
paned from Lisbo n u nder rh e co mmand
oF Marri n de Padi ll a, and was co mposed
of about 80 large ships includin g gall eo ns
fro m Ragusa, no rrh ern hul ks, ll rlos, p,alizabra.r, and orher types of vessels. ·1 he Hecr
was head ing ro Ireland to disemb;nk an
ex pediti o nary arm y ro suppo rr the insur
rection of rhe Count of .. l )none aga inst th(
English.
In rhe last dec1des of rh e 20th cenrury
A bronze pedrero found at Punta Restelos.
WWW.NAUTICALARCH.ORG ·
THE FINISTERRE PROJECT
AUTHORS
JOS LUIS CASAR N Ph.D. student, NAPffAMU and INA Research Associate
MIGUEL SAN CLAUDIO Archeonauta S.L.
FILIPE CASTRO Professor, NAPffAMU
.
'~ J .. A ~
RA L GONZ LEZ Archeonauta S.L.
16 INA QUARTERLY ~0 . 1 SPR ING 20 13
rh e remains of whar seem ed ro be one of
th e 15% shipw recks were discovered by
seafood ha rves ters ar Punta Res telos. In
2007, looting o f this shipwreck was de
tecred and communica red ro rhe aurhori
ri es. -l11e Regio nal Governmenr of Ga lic ia
supponed a prel iminary archaeological
survey of rhe Punra Resrelos shipwreck
ro docum em rh e archaeo logica l remains.
' I he survey was conducted by rhe Spanish
archaeo logist Miguel San C laudio and his
C ultural Resource Manage ment (C RM)
f-irm Archeonaura S.L. ·-n1 e initi al archaeo
logica l assessmenr allowed th e ream to
reco rd rh e visibl e remains o F rhe ship
wreck as wel l as recover a rrifacrs in dange r
of disappea ring.
C laudio an d RaLd Go nz;ilez conducted
underwa ter and geophysical surveys of
a large po rtion of the Finisterre area.
Du ring the surveys, six more shipwrecks,
rh oughr robe par t o f th e Hee t o F 159G,
we re located rogerh er w ith shi pwrecks
from larer peri ods. lltese included rh e
h ench co rverre Ba)lonnaise, scurried by its
crew in 1803 to avo id capture by superior
English fo rces, and th e re mains of th e
Brirish steamer 55 Great Lillerpoo!, wh ich
sank in 184G after hirting a reef near C ape
hnisterre en route fro m Alexandria, Egypt
to Brita in.
Cap~ Finiswrre
®
PORTUGAL
• Sevi lle
In 20 I I , Ph . D. stucl enr Jose Lui s C asa
b;in and Associate Pro fesso r Filipe C asrro
of the Nautical Archaeology Prograrn ar
Texas A& M University jo ined Miguel
San C laudi o ro co nducr furth er research
o n the 159G shipwreck remains docu
menred at Pun ta Resrelos and rhe o rh er
I Gth cenrury shipw recks discove red in rhe
Finisterre a rea . -l11 e a rchaeo log ica l project
was offi c ially named Fin iste rre Project
in 201 2 when th e lnstirure o f Naut ical
Archaeo logy, rhe Ship Lab of th e Cenre r
For M aririme Archaeo logy and Co nse rva
rion, and th e Anth ropology D epa rrm en r
at Texas A&M University lem th e ir sup
port. 1 h e offi c ial d i recro rs of the Fin isre rrc
Project are Miguel San C la udi o, Jose Luis
Casab:in , and Filipe C astro.
ll1e o rig inal objecrive of rh e Finisrerre
Project was ro study rh e 1 Grh cenrury
shipw recks loca red in this area . However,
rh e initial project object ives ex panded
wirh th e discovery of exceptionally well
preserved hull remains o f another ship
w reck p rov isio nall y dared ro rhe 1 Grh
ce n tury in th e Ribadeo inlet.
The Puma Res telos shipw reck is o ne of
the most impo rranr a rchaeo log ical sires
included in rh c Fini sterre Project. 1he
shipw reck is locared in rhe Sa rdiA eiro in lcr
near C ape Finiste rre, and rhe archaeo logi-
Bibao FRANCE
cal in ves ti ga tion conducted here since
2007 has yielded material s rhar can be
dared to rhe late I Grh century, suppo rtin g
rhe hypothes is rhar thi s ship was parr of
Padilla's a rm ed f-l eer of 1596.
' l11 e archaeo logical resea rch carried o ur
during 201 2 invo lved srudy of the rnateri
als recovered fro m rh e sire sin ce 2007,
which are displayed a t rh e Museo do Mar
de Galic ia. ' I hese include two carri age
wheels for a siege gun , boa r-shaped lead
ingo ts, medi cal syringes , a bronze mor
tar, and a linstock. Once the preliminary
stud y of the materi als was complete, rhe
ream continued fi eldwo rk research on sire.
A new area of rh e Punta Res telos ship
wreck was surveyed and mapped using
photogrammetry and traditional drawing
techniques as perm itted by rhe underwa
te r visibili ty.
As mentio ned above, during the a rchae
o logica l survey carri ed our in 2007 on the
Punta Res relos shipwreck, two carriage
w heels for a siege gu n were documented
and recovered. Wheel 0 I was exceptio n
all y well prese rved , wh il e wheel 02 on ly
consisted of rh e outer wooden rim. Both
wheels have a di amete r of I .G m . Wheel
0 I was preserved with 12 spokes intact
and it was poss ible to observe the metal
concre tions produced by the iron sn akes
that reinfo rced the rim of the wheel. l11e
wheels documented at Punta Resrelos are
a lmost id emical to those recovered dur
ing the excavat io n of the remains of rh e
Venetian ship La 7/·inidrul Vrdencera, one
of th e ships of the 1588 Spanish Armada.
During the excavation of that shipwreck,
Colin Martin documented rh e remains
of three dismantl ed siege gun ca rri ages
which included fi ve la rge 12-spo ked
wooden wheels with a diameter of 1. 5
m . They we re rransporred in rhe hold of
rh e ship to be used by rh e ex pedition -
ary army afte r landin g in England. ll1e
Top: Illustration of a late 16th century siege gun carriage (Archivo General de Simancas, Spain). Bottom: Roman numeral marks on a boat-shaped ingot.
THE FINISTERRE PROJECT
I
The archaeological research carried out during 2012 involved study of two carriage wheels for a siege gun, boat-shaped lead ingots, medical syringes, a bronze mortar and a linstock.
WWWNAUTICALARCH.ORG 17
THE FINISTERI'lE Pl'lOJECT
prese nce of rh e sarn e type of wheels in the
Pun ta Res rdos shipwreck sugges ts thar the
same co ncept can be appli ed in thi s case
since rh e objective of the 1596 Armada
of Marrin de Pad ill a was to deli ver an
ex ped itio nary ar my ro Ireland. ~!hi s type
of 12-s poked gun carriage wheel ca n be
observed in a comempora ry drawing in
the llrchillo General de Sirnm·JcrH.
Boat~shaped lead ingots have also been
recove red From th e Punta Restelos ship
w reck. ' I hese ingo ts arc similar ro those
documented in th e shipw recks of th e
Spa ni sh Arm ada of 1588 such as Santa Mflrirl de In Rom, U Cmn Crifim, and La G'iro11r1. Seven ingots, weighin g a total of
440 kg, were recovered fro m Punra Res
telos. ll1ese ingo ts were likely used by th e
so ldiers of th e ex peditio nary army to cas t
bu ll ets for their muskets and arqu ebuses.
All th e ingo ts, except one, have a sim il a r
weight betwee n 1- 1.3 quintrdes (47-G 1
kg o r I 03- 134 lbs), wh il e the heaviest
ingo t weighs 2 .3 quintales ( I 09 kg o r 240
lbs). Five ingots have differem marks and
stamps o n th eir Aat su rfaces. The marks
include Roman numerals presumably re~
Ia ted to th e weight of the ingo ts although
th e co rrel ation is st ill under srudy. These
marks have also been documented o n
other ingo ts recove red from th e G ran
Annada shi pwrecks. ll1e stamps have
Seven lead ingots were recovered from the Punta Restelos shipwreck. Ingots were used by the soldiers of the expeditionary army to cast bullets for their muskets and arquebuses.
18 INA QUARTERLY 40. 1 SPR ING 20 13
been interp reted as trademarks of rh e
Weiser Eu11il y, o ne of the most important
European bankers of the 1 Gth century.
The Welsers we re represented by the le tter
W which has also bee n Found o n copper
and lead ingo ts recovered From the earl y
1 Gth century shipw reck Orrmjernund. The
archaeological team intends to conducr
isotop ic ana lysis of the ingots to deter~
rnin e th eir orig in and to co rrelate thi s
information w ith historical data prov ided
by th e study of th e ingots ' weights, marks,
and stamps.
ll1e Punta Res telos shi pwreck has also
provided three examples of two types of
medica l syringes made of brass shows o ne
of the sy ringes before an d after conserva
t ion). l11e la rgest syringes were p robably
used in th e treatment of const ipation
o r Au x while th e small one was used to
irriga te wounds and treat sex ually tran s~
mined diseases such as go no rrh ea. They
we re an impo rtam part of th e med ical
equipment of the ship' s surgeo n and th ey
appea r in the list of medi ca l equipmem
loaded on two hulks of th e 1588 G ran Ar
mada. Si milar syringes have been found in
other shipw recks such as the Orrtnjem11nd shipw reck (ca. 1530), Mary Rose ( 1545),
and Sea Venture ( 1609) . ll1eir smdy can
yield im ponant in formarion about med i
ca l treatments o n board la te 1 Gth century
Spanish ships. The recove red syr inges were
treated by Victoria Folgueira, th e Fin is
terre Project conservatO r, to ensure rhei r
preservarion . In 201 1, two pewrer dishes were doCll
menrcd and recove red to prevent the ir
being loored from th e site. Pew rer is an
all oy of zin c, lead and tin that was used
in the 16rh century to produce dish es ,
jars, tankards, and orher objects such
as syrin ges . Pewrer dishes on ships are
ge nerally associated with offi ce rs since
this mate ri al was used excl usively by the
This page: Weiser family stamp on a boatshaped ingot. Opposite page, clockwise from top left: medical syringe; pewter dish; siege gun carriage wheel 01 .
THE FINISTERRE PROJECT
WWW.NAUTICALARCH.ORG 19
fl I[ FIN IS I EHF11:: PF10JECT
upper class . Sail o rs normall y used wooden d ishes :tnd glasses For rheir meals. Pew-ter di \hes were documcnrcd during the excavation of Srtll lrt Mflrirt de frl Rosrt, anorhcr shipwreck of rh c G r:1n Armada of 1588, and dte ship rcnrari vcly identiFi ed as Nm-srt SI'II !Jolfl tlos Mrtrt ires, lost in I GOG ncar Lisbon. In borh of rhese cases, rhc pcwrer di shes Fc:nurcd marks on rhc rim with the name or initials of their owners; in rhe Srmlrt Mrtrirt de !fl Rosr1, rhe marks ind icated ownership by Captain Ma ru rc, :111 o fli cc r or rhc in Em try troops O il boa rd of rhe ship.
·1 he und crw: trcr survey co ndu cted ar Punta Res telos h:ts :tl lowcd archaeologists ro docunt cnr two cast iron c:u1n o n and a bro nze pt:tln:m. O ne of rhe cast iron c:utnons has been idcmif1cd as an L·: nglish gun dared to the lasr decades of rhc I Grh cenrury ( J>ers. Comm. Ren ~Ho Ridclla). O n the o ther h:tnd , rh c bro mc pedrero is simila r to a Sicilian gun found during the cxcavarion or l.rt }lllirtnrt, an lra li :111 vessel o f" the 1588 1\ rm:tcLt. Pedreros were shorr
20 INA QUARTERLY 40. I SPRING 20 13
ran ge weapons used against enemy crews before boarding. 'I hey shot srone ba ll s th at exploded against the ships' wooden stTu crurcs forming dead ly gra peshot rhat could wipe our everyo ne on the deck of enemy vessels.
A bronze linsrock was also recovered during the 2007 Fi eld se<tso n. lhis b ronze obj ect was placed at rhe ro p of a long pole and held a march used ro f-i re rhe cannon. lr was an unreli ab le and slow f-i ring sys tem that had a negative eA:ecr on rhe accuracy of rh e shor and was used unril th e end of rhe 18th cenrury when ir was replaced by the gunlock.
During the underwater survey conducted at Punta Restelos, va ri ous planks of the ship' s hull were recorded . These plan ks arc 5 em wide and do not show any traces of nail s or oth er metal fasteners. However, several treenail s, or their holes , were recorded. Each has a diameter of 3.5 em but no diw·ibution pattern was observed . O ne of the pl anks was badly damaged by marine microorga nisms and they all have edges tha t arc rounded by erosion.
A large wooden structure was also excavated during the archaeological survey. ·1 he srructure has a length of 4 .25 rn. , a maximum wiclrh of 1.25 m., and a th ickn ess of 28 cnt. Although its shape resembles rhe Fo rm of a rudder, its fun cti on has nor ye t been clearl y dcrerrnincd. It is com posed of four pi eces held rogerher by a meta l strap unrecognizable due ro rhe concreti on that covers it. In rhe same way, rhc visual analysis of the structure has shown two bol ts which faste n the wooden pieces across the whole structure. Finall y, seven treenail s with a di amercr of 3.5 em have been observed in rhe upper parr of rhe structure. We in rend ro conduct furrh cr analysis of rhe structure in order ro determine irs fun cri on and rhe parr of the shi p ro which ir belonged.
In concl usio n, the Punta Res telos shipwreck represents a unique opporwni ry to adva nce scienrif1c knowledge of rhe ships of rh c Spanish armadas in rhe lare I Grh ccnwry. Th e cl ara produced by rhe
archaeological stud y of rhis shipwreck, in cluding rhosc idcm ifi ed as pa rr oF Padilla's 159G armada, can help us ga in a better understanding of shipbuilding techniques, ships' outfittin g, and life on boa rd rhc vessels used by the Spanish crow n during this peri od. Moreover, these data complement the resulrs of excava tio ns carri ed om on shipwrecks of rhe 1588 Armada. Thus, we hope it will be possible ro achieve a more obj ecti ve knowledge about rhese vessels , and to overcome some o f rhe nationali stic views and interpretations rhar are still prevalent in va ri ous ~11 -r icl es and books.
D uring the 201 3 season, the Finistcrre team intends to carry out further archaeologica l survey, arri fact analysis and archiva l research of the Punta Restelos shipwreck. ·1 he objective is to identify the name of the ship rhat sa nk at Punta Resrclos on rhar Farcfu l night in October, 159G .
FoLLow the Finisterre Project blog flt www.llfl uticfllarch. OJglb/ogsljinisterrel.
This page, left to right: Cast iron cannon ; bronze linstock. Opposite: Wooden planks.
Castro, F. V. D., 2005, The pepper wreck a Portuguese India man at the mouth of the Tagus river, College Station.
Chirikure, S., Sinamai, A., Goagoses, E. , Mubusisi, M. and Ndoro,
W. , 2010, Maritime Archaeology
and Trans-Oceanic Trade: A Case
Study of the Oranjemund Ship
wreck Cargo, Namibia. Journal of Maritime Archaeology 5.1 : 37-55.
SUGGESTED READING
Gardiner, J. and Allen, M. J . a. M. A., 2005, Before the mast: Life and death aboard the Mary Rose,
Portsmouth.
Gracia Rivas, M. , 1988, La sanidad en Ia jornada de lnglaterra
(1587-1588), Madrid.
Martin , C., 1975, Full fathom five: Wrecks of the Spanish Armada,
New York.
Martin , C. and Parker, G., 1988, The Spanish Armada, New York.
Martin , C. J. M., 1972, An Armada
wreck on Fair Isle. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 1.1:59-71 .
Martin , C. J. M., 1988, A 16th
century siege train: the battery
ordnance of the 1588 Spanish
Armada. International Journal of
Nautical Archaeology 17. 1: 57-73.
THE FINISTERRE PROJECT
Smi th , R. C. and Burns, J . M.,
1998, The Emanuel Point ship: archaeological investigations,
1997- 1998, Pensacola.
Wingood , A. J., 1982, Sea
Venture. An interim report on an
early 17th century shipwreck lost
in 1609. International Journal
of Nautical Archaeology 11.4:
333-347.
WWW.NAUTIC /\ L/\I~C I I.OR G 21