A brand new research of a 2,200-year-old Roman shipwreck reveals that historical sailors used refined natural coatings to waterproof their vessels.
Since the earliest seafaring journeys, folks have wanted ships that might resist saltwater, keep watertight, and endure harm from marine organisms akin to worms. Despite this lengthy historical past, analysis into non-wood supplies utilized in ship building obtained little consideration till the mid-Twentieth century, and waterproofing supplies stay poorly studied at this time.
A brand new research revealed in Frontiers in Materials focuses on the protecting coating of the Roman Republic shipwreck Ilovik–Paržine 1, which sank about 2,200 years in the past off the coast of present-day Croatia. Researchers from France and Croatia analyzed the ship’s floor layers to higher perceive historical waterproofing strategies.
“In archaeology little attention is paid to organic waterproofing materials. Yet they are essential for navigation at sea or on rivers and are true witnesses of past naval technologies,” stated first writer Dr. Armelle Charrié, an archaeometrist on the Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry of Interactions and Systems in Strasbourg. “Studying the coatings, we found two different kinds on this vessel: one made of pine tar, also called pitch, and the other of a mixture of pine tar and beeswax. Analysis of pollen in the coating made it possible to identify the plant taxa present in the immediate environment during the construction or repairs of the ship.”
Resin and wax
Discovered in 2016, the wreck and its cargo have been examined a number of instances. This research is the primary to mix pollen information with molecular evaluation to establish each the composition of the coating and the encircling vegetation on the time it was produced and utilized. The analysis was carried out via a collaboration between the Croatian Conservation Institute’s Department for Underwater Archaeology and the ADRIBOATS program at Aix-Marseille University in France.
“Some regions throughout the Adriatic have particular characteristics that led local populations to develop a specific shipbuilding style,” stated Charrié. “Only studies like ours offer an overview of these traditions, which bear witness to genuine know-how and diverse traditions.”
The crew used structural, molecular, and pollen-based methods, together with mass spectrometry, to establish and measure the elements of the natural mixtures.
Analysis of 10 coating samples revealed their organic origins. The molecular “fingerprint” pointed to compounds typical of pine, exhibiting that heated conifer resin or tar, referred to as pitch, was the first ingredient. One pattern differed, containing a mix of beeswax and tar. This combination – recognized to Greek shipbuilders as zopissa – is extra versatile and simpler to use when heated.
Trapped in pitch
Because pitch is sticky, it might seize and protect pollen from close by crops. By finding out these microscopic grains and their abundance, researchers may estimate the place the supplies have been produced and later reapplied throughout repairs.
The pollen information confirmed a variety of environments. These included Mediterranean and Adriatic coastal areas and inland valleys, with holly oak and pine forests, in addition to matorral – a kind of Mediterranean shrubland – the place olive and hazel timber develop. Alder and ash indicated vegetation close to rivers and shorelines, whereas smaller quantities of fir and beech pointed to mountainous areas typical of the northeastern Adriatic, together with areas close to Istria and Dalmatia.
The findings additionally counsel the ship obtained 4 to 5 separate coating purposes over time. The stern and central sections shared the identical materials, whereas three distinct layers have been recognized on the bow. This sample signifies repeated repairs utilizing assets gathered from totally different elements of the Mediterranean.
Earlier research of the ship’s ballast linked its building to Brundisium, now Brindisi, on Italy’s southeastern coast. The pollen proof helps this, suggesting some coatings have been utilized in that area. Other layers, nevertheless, seem to have been added alongside the northeastern Adriatic coast, the place the wreck was ultimately discovered.
“While it seems obvious that ships sailing long distances need repairs, it’s simply not easy to demonstrate this,” concluded Charrié. “Pollen has been very useful in identifying different coatings where the molecular profiles were identical.”
Reference: “Adhesive coatings in naval archaeology: molecular and palynological investigations on materials from the Roman Republican wreck Ilovik–Paržine 1 (Croatia)” by Armelle Charrie-Duhaut, Quentin Couillebault, Igor Miholjek and Giulia Boetto, 2 March 2026, Frontiers in Materials.
DOI: 10.3389/fmats.2026.1758862
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