L’épave Fort-Royal 1 (Cannes) – Conférence

Located off the coast of Cannes, not far from Sainte-Marguerite Island, the Fort-Royal 1 wreck takes its name from the main fortification built on that island in the 17th century; it is the wreck of a merchant ship dating from the Hellenistic period.
Discovered in 2017, it first made headlines due to its looting, which was halted by teams from DRASSM and the Camille-Jullian Center when the 2022 excavation campaign began. Since then, the wreck has been the subject of a multi-year planned excavation project (2023–2025) under the joint direction of Franca Cibecchini and Pierre Poveda.
The ship’s cargo appears to consist exclusively of Greco-Italic amphorae used for transporting wine, stacked in at least two layers, though it is difficult to estimate the exact number. The amphorae in the cargo and the fine ceramics point to a date for the shipwreck in the early decades of the 2nd century B.C., likely around 180 B.C.
The wreck exhibits the typical characteristics of Hellenistic-period merchant ships in the western Mediterranean. Based on the remains, it can already be deduced that the ship’s beam must have been at least 6 meters. This suggests a length of around 20 meters, which roughly corresponds to the intact Greco-Italic cargoes observed at great depths in Corsica.
The wreck’s archaeological potential remains considerable, and it is still possible to conduct a comprehensive study of the cargo and hull of a major Hellenistic-period merchant ship in the intact areas. A multi-year excavation plan is therefore underway and should make it possible to protect all of the wreck’s artifacts from potential looting and damage; will hopefully soon join the collections of one of the museums in the city of Cannes for public display.
By Franca Cibecchini and Pierre Poveda, excavation directors
A lecture in the “Jeudis d’Arelate” series