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The Saint-Malo shipwrecks

The Saint-Malo shipwrecks

Home
- The bay of Saint-Malo
- An underwater graveyard
- - Saint-Malo circa 1700
  - Homes of the wealthy
- The Natière site
- - The Dauphine and the Aimable Grenot
  - The Dauphine, a royal 300-tonne frigate
  - The Aimable Grenot, a 400-tonne frigate from Granville
- Shipbuilding
- - The structure of the Dauphine
  - Hull shape
  - Tonnage and deadweight tonnage
  - Keel and keelson
  - Framework
  - Inner planking
  - Cannon ports
  - Rowing ports
  - The shot-locker and pump-well
  - Ballast
  - The forecastle
- - The structure of the Aimable Grenot
  - The wood of the Aimable
  - Deck beams
  - Lower deck ports
  - The figurehead of the Aimable Grenot
  - Ballast
- - Rigging for the two ships
  - A forest of ropes
  - Shrouds
  - Blocks
  - Smaller rigging elements
- The shipwright
- Theory and practice
- Life aboard ship
- - "The devil to pay, and no pitch hot!"
  - The crew
    
    Tight quarters
  - Light and heat aboard ship
- - The roar of the cannons
  - The gunner's scale from the Dauphine
  - Serving the cannons
  - Small arms aboard the two ships
- - The ship's tools
  - Smaller on-board tasks
  - François Roger's implements?
- - Navigation and time
  - The ship's bell
  - Calculating latitude
- - Rest and leisures
  - Pipes and tobacco
- Faith and religion
- - Illness and death
  - Treating the sick
  - Mortar and clyster
  - Apothecary jars
- Trade and navigation
- The Atlantic coast
- - Trade circuits
  - People and ships
  - Textiles and sails
  - The port's ability to adapt
- - Commerce raiding
  - Commerce raiding: a timeline
  - Famous ship-owners and captains
  - Commerce raiding as a substitute activity
  - Commerce raiding and social climbing
- - Michel Dubocage, captain of the Dauphine
  - The voyage of the Découverte
- - Hugon des Prey, captain of the Aimable Grenot
  - The confrontation of 9 April 1748
  - The crew
- - Long-haul navigation
  - Two maritime routes
  - The logbook of the Découverte
  - Dubocage's social success
- Archaeological research
- A source of fascination
- - Excavation methods and techniques
  - Gridding the site
  - Excavation techniques
  - Removal techniques
  - Initial preservation techniques aboard ship
- - Land-based processes
  - Inventory of the objects
  - Photographing and drawing objects
  - Additional studies
  - X-ray examination and casts
- - Conservation and restoration
  - The on-site conservation lab
  - Treatment in specialised laboratories
  - In situ conservation of vestiges
  - Other vestiges
- - Identifying the shipwrecks
  - A long journey into the archives
- - The wrecks and the general public
  - The future of the Natière archaeological collection
  - The future of the site
- Archaeologist team and partners
- The return of the DRASSM to France's western coastline
- - The excavation's partners
  - Financial partners
  - External support
  - Mapping the site
  - Sweeping the site with side-scan sonar
Medias

The Saint-Malo shipwrecks

In 1995, the wrecks of two corsairs were discovered near Saint-Malo, sunken at the base of the Natière reef. Ten years of underwater archaeological exploration have raised the curtain on a forgotten chapter of commerce raiding. La Dauphine had been built at the royal shipyards at Le Havre in 1703. The second frégate, l'Aimable Grenot, was built at Granville by a private shipowner, Léonor Couraye du Parc.

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Underwater

Weaponry

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Drawings and surveys

Manuscripts and prints

Maps and plans

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Zoom

A cross-section view of the wreck
Two cooper's compasses
Clay pipe and its sculpted wooden holder
"LONDON" stamped on a tin plate
Private life
Rear end of the hold planking
Malouinière de La Balue (Ille-et-Vilaine)
Blocks, trucks, a glass bottle
Geotextile covering
Sifting the contents
The underwater notepad
Reassembly of a wooden bidon

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The bay of Saint-Malo

An underwater graveyard
Saint-Malo circa 1700
The Natière site
The Dauphine and the Aimable Grenot

Shipbuilding

The structure of the Dauphine
The structure of the Aimable Grenot
Rigging for the two ships
The shipwright
Theory and practice

Life aboard ship

The crew
Light and heat aboard ship
The roar of the cannons
The ship's tools
Navigation and time
Meals
Rest and leisures
Faith and religion
Illness and death

Trade and navigation

The Atlantic coast
Trade circuits
Commerce raiding
Michel Dubocage, captain of the Dauphine
Hugon des Prey, captain of the Aimable Grenot
Long-haul navigation

Archaeological research

A source of fascination
Excavation methods and techniques
Land-based processes
Conservation and restoration
Identifying the shipwrecks
The wrecks and the general public

Archaeologists team and partners

The return of the DRASSM to France's western coastline
Adramar
The excavation's partners

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