The first Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean

In recent research, the only five Neolithic canoes discovered to date in the Mediterranean have been analyzed and dated, which were found in the ancient settlement of La Marmotta (Italy).

The study has been carried out by a team led by the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Museum of Civilizations in Rome and the University of Pisa, the first institution from Spain and the other two from Italy.

According to carbon 14 dating, carried out at the National Accelerator Center (CNA) in Seville (Spain), the canoes are between 7,000 and 7,500 years old.

Juan Gibaja, CSIC researcher at the Milà i Fontanals Institution in Barcelona, ​​explains: “This is an exceptional site because it is located under the waters of Lake Bracciano, in anaerobic conditions that have allowed the preservation of numerous instruments, objects and structural elements of the houses”.

The site, excavated between 1992 and 2006, is submerged about 300 meters from the current shore and about 11 meters deep. Specialists in underwater archeology participated in its excavation.

The work, which also has the participation of the Spanish School of History and Archeology in Rome (EEHAR) of the CSIC, describes and dates five canoes that are among the most outstanding elements of this excavation. They are exceptional for their size (the largest is about 11 meters), for their conservation and for being unique in their period in the entire Mediterranean. “We are talking about the first groups of farmers and shepherds who occupied the center of the Italian peninsula, between approximately 5620 and 5300 BC,” says the scientist.

“The data not only confirms that they coincide with the time of occupation of the settlement,” says Mario Mineo, from the Museum of Civilizations, “but they are also the oldest Neolithic canoes in all of Europe.” Although there are older canoes, from 9,000 years ago belonging to the last hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic, “the La Marmotta ones are surprising not only for their size, but also for the technical complexity with which both the hull of the boat, as certain elements associated with it. Without a doubt, we are looking at the work of true naval engineers,” Mineo clarifies.

Neolithic canoe exhibited in the Museum of Civilizations in Rome. (Photo: Museo delle Civiltà)

Advanced nautical technology

The five canoes and the nautical objects linked to them show the capacity of Neolithic societies for navigation and their high technological level. This nautical technology was an essential part of the success of their expansion, taking into account that in a few millennia they occupied the entire Mediterranean, from Cyprus to the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

The Marmotta 1 canoe is made from an oak trunk and is 10.43 meters long, 1.15 meters wide at the stern and 0.85 meters wide at the bow, and a height of 65 to 44 centimeters, depending on the part of the canoe. The base of the canoe has four transverse reinforcements, trapezoidal in shape, and made from the same trunk. These reinforcements would have increased the durability of the hull, protecting it and improving its maneuverability.

In addition to its large size, this canoe, currently on display at the Museum of Civilizations, is of special interest because of three objects associated with its starboard side. They are “T” shaped, with an ogival top, and 2, 3 and 4 holes respectively. They were found inserted into the wall of the canoe at similar distances and heights. The visible holes were on the outside of the canoe wall.

“The characteristics and position of these objects suggest that they could have been used to hold ropes tied to a possible sail or to attach other elements, such as a stabilizer or even another boat, to create a double hull in the shape of a catamaran. These strategies would have provided greater security and stability, as well as greater capacity for the transportation of people, animals and goods,” the researchers point out.

The Marmotta 2 canoe is made of alder wood. Archaeologists found it secured to the ground with two poles in the center of the starboard and port sides. It is 5.4 meters long, 0.4 meters wide at the stern and 0.36 meters wide at the bow. It is believed that it could have been a fishing boat or used to collect plant resources and transport people and small animals in the lake, or even in the sea.

Next to this canoe, a piece of wood with a single hole, about 2.8 centimeters in diameter, was found. Shaped like a mushroom, it is 13.4 centimeters long and between 9 and 8 centimeters wide. “Its similarity to the modern bollards of our ports suggests that its function could have been precisely that, to secure the canoe when the water level rose in the lake,” explains Niccolò Mazzucco, from the University of Pisa.

The Marmotta 3 canoe, made from an alder log, is 8.35 meters long, 58 centimeters wide at the stern and 50 centimeters wide at the bow. It has three transverse reinforcements at the base, at a similar distance and with a trapezoidal shape as in the case of the Marmotta 1 canoe.

The Marmotta 4 canoe is made from a poplar (Populus sp.) trunk. It is very deteriorated and a large part of the hull is missing. For this reason, researchers believe that this canoe could have had considerable dimensions, since its remains occupied the three deep levels of the site and its maximum width is 65 cm. During the final stages of the excavation, a large wooden plank that may have formed part of the canoe was found on its port side.

Finally, the Marmotta 5 canoe was made from a beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk. In its current state it has a length of 9.5 meters and a maximum width of 60 centimeters in the stern area, although its dimensions were probably larger, because it is fragmented. You can see two transverse reinforcements made in the trunk itself at the base of the canoe.

“We believe that there could be a greater number of boats still preserved under the waters of Lake Bracciano and it is possible that they could be extracted in the future,” the researchers point out. Although it is difficult to estimate the total area of ​​the La Marmotta settlement, “based on the results of the archaeological excavation, we are confident that a large part of the site remains unexcavated,” they note.

An exceptional site

In most archaeological sites, natural degradation due to the environment and general preservation conditions cause many materials to degrade and disappear. The consequence is that a biased and limited image of the remains left by prehistoric communities is obtained.

This changes drastically in sites that preserve many of the biotic remains, as is the case of La Marmotta, which preserves objects made of wood, textiles, basketry and cordage. La Marmotta is one of those cases in which the exceptional conservation of archaeological artifacts confirms that some Neolithic societies handled numerous materials, worked them with great skill and reached a high technical level.

The study is titled “The First Neolithic Boats in the Mediterranean: the settlement of La Marmotta (Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio, Italy)”. And it has been published in the academic journal Plos One. (Source: Mercè Fernández / CSIC)