Material Culture from the Al Hallaniyah Island Early 16th‐Century Portuguese Indiaman Wreck‐site

Abstract

Excavation of an underwater site on Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman, conducted from 2013 to 2015, confirmed the presence of at least one early 16th-century shipwreck. The location is believed to be where Vincente and Brás de Sodré's Esmeralda and the São Pedro, both part of Vasco de Gama's second voyage to India, were wrecked in 1503. This article describes the ceramic and other domestic material assemblage. It is a study of the objects used by sailors on board in their daily lives. The non-European ceramics also give indications of supplies, cargoes, and plunder acquired during the voyage. These aspects of the assemblage provide two different perspectives on the new era of maritime global trade.

The “San Giacomo di Galizia” Warship Galleon (1597)—Building Narratives through an Archaeological and Historical Reading of the Ribadeo I Shipwreck

“…The most curious thing about the ceramics used on board ships is the fact that why would someone take on board things that would have a high probability of breakage? Although many ships have plates and bowls made of pewter and wood, certain types of ceramics, such as drinking cups, are always on board [6,7]. Although a movable site, people on board a ship take with them many of the habits they have on land.…”

“…All of these storage and cooking pots would be covered by pottery lids, which are represented in this collection with seven objects with a trunco-conical shape, flat base, and central knob. These objects are some of the most frequent in medieval and post-medieval archaeological contexts, especially due to their frequent use and found frequently in underwater sites, such as on board the Great Armada ships [29] and several other wrecks [6]. All of these storage and cooking pots would be covered by pottery lids, which are represented in this collection with seven objects with a trunco-conical shape, flat base, and central knob.…”

“…When an Iberian shipwreck or a ship with Iberian cargo is discovered, its artefacts are never ignored, but rarely published in a monographic way. In fact, except for Nossa Senhora dos Má rtires (1606) that wrecked in the Tagus River Mouth which, through several publications and theses, has a large part of its assemblage published [4,5], the wreck of Esmeralda (1503) off the coast of Oman [6] and the Studland Bay wreck with its cargo of Seville pottery [7], most ceramic assemblages from such wreck sites are only referred to in outline. This seems to have happened with several wrecks when the objects recovered on board are presented but never fully quantified since the most important aspects tend Our purpose is to recreate the itinerary of San Giacomo and understand how the archaeological record reflects that path and maybe add to the existing information that could never be obtained solely by history, archaeology, and archaeometry but is only possible with the combination of these three disciplines.…”

An Early Portuguese Mariner's Astrolabe from the Sodré Wreck‐site, Al Hallaniyah, Oman

“…A small selection of the artefacts, including the Sodré astrolabe, are currently on display in the National Museum in Muscat. Two articles have been published previously in this journal: an interim report, which provides a fuller description of the site, the survey results, excavation methodology and general artefact assemblage (Mearns et al ., ); and a more specific study of the ceramic and other domestic material as it relates to the daily life of the sailors and non‐European goods acquired during the voyage (Casimiro, ).…”

Life on Board Portuguese Ships in the 16th–18th Centuries: Theorizing Households through History and Archaeology

“…Although many other wrecks exist that can be considered Portuguese, we have decided to use evidence only from those whose origin and affiliation we are sure of. These include the Esmeralda (1503), a wreck off the coast of Oman [3]; the Bom Jesus (1533), a wreck off the coast of Namibia [4,5]; the Spanish Armada wrecks (1588), some of them originating from Lisbon [6]; the San Giacomo di Galicia, wrecked in Ribadeo Bay (1597) [7]; the Nossa Senhora dos Mártires (1606), wrecked in the River Tagus [8][9][10]; the Nossa Senhora do Rosário (1619), wrecked in the Azores [11]; the Sacramento (1668) [12], wrecked off the coast of Bahia in Brazil; and the Santo António de Tanná (1696) [13,14], wrecked in modern Kenya in front of Fort Jesus. There are many more Portuguese wrecks around the world (some which have been investigated archaeologically) whose names we do not know, such as the Nogmeni wreck in Kenya [15] or the Seychelles wreck [16], among others.…”