On Defining the Identity of Vessels: an Interim Report and Critical Approach to the Deltebre I (1813) Site, Spain

Abstract

Determining a ship’s identity is usually based on a critical and integral analysis of several approaches and lines of evidence. Based on Harpster’s seminal work, an insight into this endeavour is developed here for the Deltebre I site. The archaeological information obtained since 2008 from the remains of the cargo, hull structure, equipment, and personal possessions, combined with documentary data, helped to address the dating, type, function, and provenance of the vessel. More specifically, we discuss its links with the British ordnance ships Southampton and Magnum Bonum, lost in 1813 at the mouth of the Ebro river, Spain.