The Mortella III Wreck: a Spotlight on Mediterranean Shipbuilding of the 16th Century

During the Renaissance period, Mediterranean shipbuilding-particularly Italian-was renowned for its quality. But it is largely unappreciated today due to the scarcity of written sources and the lack of archaeological documentation. The discovery of the Mortella wrecks in Saint-Florent, Corsica, in 2005-2006, and the 2010-2019 excavation of the 16th century Mortella III, helps to fill these gaps. The main objective of this archaeological study is to identify ‘technical fingerprints’ and ‘architectural traits’ that could contribute to the formulation of an Italo-Mediterranean shipbuilding model from the early modern period. The analysis is based on comparisons with archaeological data from other wrecks of the period as well as written sources. Finally, literature research allows us to link the Mortella wrecks to their history, that of Genoese ‘navis’ sunk during the Italian wars of 1527, complementing the archaeological study with historical research.