4.1. Analysis of Nautical Features
As mentioned, the decorative motif on the Ropotamo specimen represents a sailing vessel sailing west. As with all maritime graffiti, here, too, there is the question of what was intended to be depicted and had a meaning—at least in the mind of the artisan—and what were accidental lines, a result of slippage or less-than-careful following of the design. There always is the danger of seeing more than there actually is present in the drawing.
The vessel depicted is a single-masted ship, with the mast close to the middle of the length, which is a reasonable depiction from what we know of lateen-rigged craft from archaeological excavations [
22,
23,
24,
25,
26]. The sternpost is straight, raking aft. Its length is 6 cm, and it is depicted with a thick, deeply incised line. A stern-hung rudder is not illustrated. Neither, however, is there a depiction of a quarter rudder. The stem of the ship is lower, shorter than the sternpost and is curved. It, too, has a visible rake forward. The upper half of it is thickly cut, while a light outline forms its lower part. No structures are depicted either in the bow or stern of the ship that could be interpreted as castles.
A thin, more or less horizontal line with slight curvature seems to be intended as a depiction of the bottom or keel of the ship as it touches the lower end of the stem, but it disappears about 2/5ths aft of the stem, where the imprint of the separator tripod’s leg is. The ship has a strong sheerline that rises and steepens towards the stern. The lowest freeboard is reached about one-third the length of the ship aft of the stem.
A thick, deeply incised line intersects the stem at the lower end of the thick line and the sternpost. It continues forward of the bow for 2.5 cm and about half a centimeter aft of the sternpost. The most reasonable interpretation is that it depicts the surface of the water. Alternatively, but far less convincingly, one could argue that it is intended to represent a whale and a protruding spur as seen on galleys and Mediterranean tartans.
The mast is vertical, without a rake and carries a single lateen sail with a triangular flag at the top. The lines forming the flag intersect each other and continue into two short tails. It is possible that a swallow-tailed pennant was intended to be depicted, but the overall impression of the sgraffito drawing is such as to suggest the flag’s shape is a result of sloppy work rather than design. The yard is carelessly drawn, too. Thin lines left from the outline drawing are clearly visible above the thicker line that ended up forming the yard. The lines depicting the cloths of the sail are badly drawn and though depicting well the curvature of full sail, stretch above the yard and end up only at the light outline above it. The line of the aft edge of the sail intersects the yard and stretches above it almost to the same height as the masthead. Their lower ends overlap the planksheer of the ship. The vessel is sailing on the starboard tack, which may explain the lack of shrouds. On a lateen-rigged ship, the lee shrouds would not be set. A single line stretches from the yard just forward of the mast to the stern. It could have been intended to represent a backstay, though it is hard to see how it would be set with the sail to port. A second line intersects it and also reaches the stern. It does not terminate at the “backstay”, though. This may be a slip of the stylus used to cut the lines rather than an intentional positioning. An alternative and perhaps the most probable identification of the lines would be as tye and halyard tackle for hoisting the yard, which one would expect to see on the weather side. of the sail.
Overall, the impression left by the depiction is of work by a person who had seen similar vessels and appreciated or was interested in them but did not necessarily know that much about their technical aspects. Although there was an underlying sketch prepared before the final drawing was incised, it is clear that the artist did not follow it slavishly and used it only as a general guide. This would explain why the upper part of the mast is visible “through” the sail but does not reach the sheer of the ship. Neither was the artisan precise in cutting the lines: frequently, they overrun and do not end up where logic dictates they ought to have ended. Thus, it is hard to determine how much of what is visible should be taken literally and how much is a product of this lack of precision. The overall characteristics of higher stern than a bow, some overhang to both bow and stern, straight sternpost and curving stem, single-masted lateen rig are convincing. Similar vessels continued to ply the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea until fairly recent times. Thus, absolutely nothing in the illustration offers us clues to the date or origin of the vessel. It is timeless. It could be medieval, but just as easily, it could date to the Ottoman period. At first observation, one of the authors (Batchvarov) was inclined to see an Ottoman post-medieval vessel in the illustration because of the lack of a quarter rudder. The pottery dating, however, indicates that late medieval: late Byzantine or post-Byzantine (early Ottoman) dates are far more probable (Garbov).
4.2. Comparison with Ship Graffiti
Ship graffiti from the Eastern Mediterranean and even the Black Sea are plentiful. Most, of course, are hard to date, and none are an exact parallel for the ship from the Ropotamo plate. There are, however, quite a few images that appear to represent the same type of ship and treat the subject in a similar way. The closest parallel has already been described above.
A
graffito with a similar high-curving bow and straight sternpost is reported from the fortification wall of Pliska, the capital of the First Bulgarian State, during the pagan period (7th–10th c. AD) [
27] (p.60, Figure 1). This would date the
graffito to after the beginning of the 8th century AD, when the stone fortifications were completed. A
terminus ante quem for the
graffito would be sometime in the 10th century most likely, as in its third quarter, the city and fortress were captured by the Byzantine Empire, and its importance dwindled. The depicted vessel has a forward raking mast with a yard and possibly a pennant at the top of the mast, though the line may be a fragment intended to depict the forestay. Lines under the outline of the ship may be interpreted as waves. Two very short lines protrude at an angle from the corner of the sternpost and keel. They are the only two lines that touch the ship’s outline and, thus, with considerable artistic license, might be interpreted as quarter rudders (
Figure 10).
Another
graffito from the First Bulgarian State, potentially from the period of the First Empire (10th–11th c. AD) was found at the medieval site of Basarab or Murfatlar in Northeastern Dobrudja (
Figure 11). The Murfatlar complex of caves has been identified as a Monastic establishment and has the largest collection of Bulgarian Cyrillic inscriptions from the period. It is reasonably closely dated to the end of the 9th and the 10th centuries, though some runic inscriptions in early Bulgar might be earlier. The depicted ship differs considerably from the previously described ones by having heavily curving stem- and sternposts [
27] (p. 60, Figure 2). A mast and yard with furled sail are visible, but as the yard is horizontal, it is unlikely to represent a lateen sail. Interpreting it as a square sail seems more reasonable. Notable is the presence of an undoubted quarter rudder held by a human Figure. As with most
graffiti, dating it is hard. A very tentative suggestion of a date between 968 and 971 AD is offered here. The unusual shape and even more unusual square rig identify the vessel as a completely different type from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea ships seen on
graffiti. Viking ships, however, had exactly these characteristics. The Kiyvan principality, founded by Vikings in the 9th century, invaded Bulgaria in 968 AD. It is entirely possible that the ship
graffito dates to this period when the artist could have seen the Kyivan Knyaz Svyatoslav’s ships. The importance of the
graffito for this paper lies in the clear presence of a quarter rudder.
A ship
graffito from the fortress wall of Preslav, capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, is possibly the most expressive and artistic of the collection [
27] (p. 61, Figure 5). It is certainly the most complex in depiction, with cross-hatching giving volume to the hull. The ship is “sailing” west or even NW. It has a curving, raked bow with a much higher and only slightly curved stern. It appears to be drawn in perspective, which may explain the light curvature to the sternpost. It has a mast and standing rigging, but the upper part of the mast and a yard are not surviving—either were never finished or the stone on which they were drawn is now missing. The ship has a single, confidently drawn quarter rudder that is hidden by the stern and therefore is on the starboard side. Preslav was founded by Tzar Simeon I, who moved the capital there from the pagan Pliska about 893 AD when he ascended the throne [
27] (p. 60). Thus, the
graffito has a
terminus post quem of the late 9th–early 10th century (
Figure 12).
The late medieval sgraffito plate was already discussed. So here, attention will be brought to one feature significant by its absence: there are no quarter rudders illustrated. Their absence is notable as it implies that artists may well miss drawing them.
Three churches from the Bulgarian town of Nessebar, ancient Messembria, have a large collection of ship
graffiti carved into their walls, usually over the frescoes. Of particular interest here is the
graffiti from the church St. Spas, built in 1609, with the original frescoes surviving complete to the present day. This offers a dating for the
graffiti of
terminus post quem 1609 and
ante quem of the mid-19th century as there are no steamships depicted [
28] (p. 10). The majority of the drawings are primitive to the point of being barely recognizable, but a few are executed at least as well and clearly as the one from the Ropotamo ‘vessel.’ Among them, a few show the same overall shape, such as the one from the artefact: high and curving ends, with the stern straighter and higher than the bow and with lateen rigs. Not one of the vessels has anything that can be interpreted as a quarter rudder, which is as it can be expected, taking into account the post-medieval date of the images. The vessels fall into two groups: one that shows clearly the stern-hung rudders and one that has no depiction of steering mechanisms whatsoever. In the first group fall the vessels from Ovcharov’s Images No. 31, 60, 138, 139 and 141 (
Figure 13). No. 31 consists of eight vessels, but only one of them is a lateen-rigged ship, sailing east, with a sail set on the starboard tack. The vessel has a clearly visible, out of proportion, rudder with two sets of gudgeons and pintles. No. 60 is crude, but the characteristics of the Ropotamo ship are visible here, too: the double-ended hull with a higher stern, single mast with lateen sail (with a short luff, but too short to be a settee sail). The vessel has a huge, exaggerated sternpost-mounted rudder that continues under the hull as visible on vessels with curving sternposts. At the top of the mast flies a rectangular flag. Three drawings, No. 138, 139 and 141, are practically identical, with the same composition and elements represented. No. 138 has a low bow, curving and raking forward in comparison with a nearly vertical, high and almost straight sternpost. Standing rigging is depicted; a long, likely lateen, yard with a furled sail is identifiable. Interestingly, the lower end of the yard is towards the stern. At the top mast, there is a small triangular flag. The sternpost has a distinct central rudder. No. 139 is practically identical but is a little less carefully executed. It has the same elements: single mast, brailed sail, leaning towards the stern, triangular flag at the top of the mast, standing rigging (fewer lines than #138), and dominant stern hung rudder. No. 141 lacks the flag but has the standing rigging, the stern rudder, the double-ender shape with a higher stern than the bow, the brailed or furled sail, with the yard touching the stern, with the forward end up in the air. Evidently, all these vessels are sketched at anchor and may well represent craft from the port of Messembria.
The rudderless group consists of Ovcharov’s Images No. 118, 147,148, 149 and 151 (
Figure 14).
Graffito No. 118 shows a ship sailing east, or SE towards the viewer, on the port tack. It has a large lateen sail, curving lines on the sail likely depict the seams between the cloths, but also help with the illusion of a wind-filled sail. A small rectangular flag flies at the mast top. The hull can best be described as banana-shaped, but it is clear the artist intended it to be a double-ended vessel with a slightly higher stern. No rudder of any kind is visible on this or any of the following vessels.
Graffito No. 145 is the most basic: only six lines were used. It is sailing east, too, with a sail that may be intended to represent a lateen with short luff, though the lines for the luff and foot of the sail were never drawn. In this vessel, the bow is higher and more curving than the stern: this, however, may be an optical illusion, as the ship (or boat) is drawn in perspective. The vessel No. 146 is similar to Images No. 138–141 but does not have a rudder. The bow is pointing west, the sail is furled, and the aft end of the yard is down, touching the sternpost. No flag is visible. The sternpost has a curvature to it and is much higher than the raking stem. Only the forestay of the standing rigging is drawn. No. 147 and No. 149 are even less detailed. Both have the same overall shape—raking bows, higher sterns, single masts, long yards crossing them that likely are lateen, but they do not have any sail depicted. With the exception of No. 118, the other drawings in this group are so basic and with so few lines that perhaps this is the explanation why the artist/s missed the rudders.
Ship
graffiti from the Hagia Sophia church in Trebizond (present-day Trabzon, Turkey) have attracted a number of scholars such as Bryer, Meinardus and Werner [
29,
30,
31]. Meinardus listed the types of vessels known to have been used in the 13th–15th centuries in the Trebizond Empire until its fall to the Ottomans. In a way, his work can be seen as an update on Anthony Bryer’s article in the
Mariner’s Mirror. Barkas and karabia are described as single-masted, with high poops (sterns) and no oars [
30] (pp. 30–31). He believes that Black Sea ships were, on the whole, smaller than Mediterranean examples, and among them lists griparia, paraskalmia, xylaria. They are described as small transport vessels with single masts. The ship from the Ropotamo plate matches this description, too, but no differentiating characteristics are offered for the types, which makes any attempt to identify it with any of these vessels a futile exercise. On a depiction of a galley from Trebizond, dated to the 14th–15th centuries, Meinardus identifies quarter-rudders [
30], (p.33). It is one of the rare examples of
graffiti where the quarter rudders are drawn.
Walter Werner, too, wrote about the
graffiti from the Hagia Sophia in Trebizond (present-day Trabzon, Turkey) [
31]. The frescoes and mosaics in the church date to the 13th century, which offers a convenient and secure
terminus post quem for the ship
graffiti scratched on them [
31] (p. 149). The
graffiti themselves are harder to date, of course, but Werner believes them to cover a time span between the 13th and the beginning of the 19th century as there are no steamships depicted. The rigs vary, but the lateen rig is present, though it is sometimes hard to determine which line belongs to which vessel, Werner wrote [
31] (p. 149). By the first half of the 13th century, there already was the presence of Genoese merchants and ships in Trebizond. Therefore, some of the depictions likely represent Mediterranean vessels. On six
graffiti, stern-hung rudders are visible [
31] (p. 154, Figure 4). On the rest of the
graffiti no lines can positively be identified as rudders, but the assumption is for stern-hung ones, as they are less visibly dominant features and therefore are more likely to be ignored in a depiction. Evidently, Werner did not see the lines on the galley as the looms of quarter rudders (
Figure 15).
Earlier work on the same
graffiti was published by Bryer, who used the drawings prepared by June Winefield of the Russel Trust [
29]. He describes the larger lateen-rigged ships with two masts as Genoese in origin and refers to them as
navis bucius. The Black Sea MAP expedition found one such vessel in the 2016 season with masts still standing and the yards fallen on deck but present. Bryer states that the smaller Black Sea merchant ships were rigged with square rather than lateen sails. He offers no reference for this statement and gives no specific examples. The evidence we do have for the western shore appears to be contradicting him [
27,
28,
29]; [
29] (p. 6). While the focus of the article is the identification of the ships from the
graffiti from the Haghia Sophia church in Trebizond with specific types mentioned in the historical sources, he does offer an interpretation of one of the vessel types, which he describes as rare, the galley [
29] (pp. 9–10, Figure 7). He sees her as steered by quarter rudders, whose long looms are seen protruding just at the forward end of the quarterdeck. Considering that the lines—if the redrawing of the
graffiti was performed accurately—appear to originate at the waterline and the endpoints simply hang in the air, interpreting them as quarter rudders seems reasonable.
Babuin and Nakas studied ship
graffiti from the church Prophet Elijah in Thessaloniki. The frescoes date to 1370–1478, but in 1451 the city fell to the Ottomans, so it is most likely that most were painted prior to this date [
32] (p. 8–9). Therefore, the
graffiti must date to the same period, after the completion of the frescoes. The majority of the depictions are of single-masted vessels from which the authors conclude that these must have been small fishing vessels working in the harbor of the port city ([
32] (p. 11). Though the argument may be debatable, the important point is how frequent the image of single-masted ships with lateen rigs are. In
Figure 16, for example, is visible a vessel, broadly similar to the one from the Ropotamo artefact (
Figure 16). It has a high stern, raking stem and a lateen yard that is even longer proportionally than on the Ropotamo example. The yard in the
graffito is bare, with no sail drawn. Some rigging lines are visible. The depiction has neither quarter rudders nor a clearly visible stern-hung rudder [
32] (p. 11, Figure 16).
Lucien Basch described ship
graffiti from the Monastery St. Luca, Delphi, Greece. The monastery dates to 1011 AD, but Basch believed the
graffiti to be representative of Eastern European ships from the 13th c. Two of the published images have a resemblance to the Ropotamo vessel: Figures 13 and 14 [
33] (p. 46, Figures 13 and 14). The vessels possess the recognizable shape of high and raking posts, but unlike most depictions, these seem to have a horizontal protrusion on top of the stem (
Figure 17). It may be an attempt to represent a beakhead. Although no sails are illustrated, it appears that the vessels were lateen-rigged because the long yards are sloping sharply downwards towards the presumed bows. Following the same assumption, the vessels are both “sailing East”. No rigging is visible, and nothing that can be interpreted as quarter-rudders or stern-hung rudder is drawn.
Demesticha et al. published an excellent overview of ship
graffiti from Cyprus [
34].
Graffito CY011_S01_D01 has clearly illustrated and unmistakable quarter rudders, and this makes it remarkable because there are so few images that show them [
34] (p. 358, Figure 8). Unfortunately, none of the published illustrations resembles the Ropotamo depiction (
Figure 17).