1.2 Archaeological context 
1.2.1 Meloria wrecks 
Secche della Meloria, placed in front of Livorno coast, have 
always represented a tough peril for sailing, but also a due 
passage in Northwestern Tyrrenian courses, with a particular 
regard for those around Portus Pisanus. As a consequence, the 
verified quantity of ancient wrecks is a remarkable one, 
constituted both by isolated findings and by the presence of 
charges remains. Mistral, West, South-west and South-east 
winds, very dangerous for ships that followed the courses 
leading to the coast off the Secche, could often cause 
shipwrecks, mainly along the shallow waters western part, 
actually characterized by a depth ranging from 2,5 to 6 meters. 
During Roman age these shallow waters, because of the sea 
lower level, didn't exceed a 4,5 meters depth. 
The surveys led by Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici 
della Toscana (Nucleo Operativo Subacqueo) from 1993 to up- 
to-date, enabled to locate two Roman imperial wrecks (among 
the other findings), conventionally named Meloria B and C, or 
Dolia Wreck and Marbles Wreck. The two archaeological 
underwater sites, very near to each other and both exposed to 
waves action, were visited frequently by thieves. Because of the 
low depth, the ancient shipbuilders may have tried to take 
materials away from the sites using urinatores, fishers who 
dived to limit the losses originated by shipwrecks. 
1.2.2 . Meloria B wreck 
Situated at the center of the Secche, the site shows a 
concentration of dolia walls and lip fragments spread on an 
about 9x6 meters area, part on the sand bottom and part hidden 
by posidonia bushes (Posidonia oceanica) at a 6 meters depth. 
The larger fragments concentration is placed close to the 
posidonia, whose roots reach a 2 meters height, maybe hiding 
part of the cargo load; other dolia large fragments have been 
found under a thin sand layer, close to posidonia. Hull plank 
wooden elements showed up under a lip fragment; they seem to 
be also under the ware concentration. Today four lip fragments 
are evident, part of which covered by sand, all characterized by 
a similar shape (with a flat ring lip, separated from the body). 
Depending on the lip fragments number and measures it's 
possible to calculate a minimum quantity of at least two middle 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Figure 1. Traditional survey [Bargagliotti, 98] 
size dolia (a height ranging from 1,45 to 1,60 meters and an 
about 80 centimetres outside lip diameter have been supposed, 
basing on the comparison with other dolia wrecks specimen 
found in Italy and in France). At present factory stamps haven't 
been recognized, but macroscopic analysis of the clay refer to 
production areas located in ancient Campania and Latium. On 
some fragments swallow-tailed lead clamps are visible, used as 
a rule during the Roman age to strengthen or repair these large 
wine containers. Dressel 2-4 Hispanic amphorae small 
fragments and a Dressel 20 lip come from the site too. Only a 
deep excavation of the site could bring definitive results: from 
preliminary data the wreck seems to be long to the kind of the 
trading ships specialized in carrying wine with very big dolia, 
during the first imperial age. It is not possible to know if the 
cargo was covering North-west course towards the provinces 
(e.g. Ladispoli, Grand Ribaud D, La Garoupe wrecks) or the 
opposite on (e.g. Petit Congloué, Ile Rousse, Diano Marina 
wrecks). We know that cargo wrecks with dolia belong to a 
brief period between the end of the I century B. C. and the 
middle of the I century. The presence of a Dressel 20 fragment, 
if belonging to the wreck, could move the date around the 
middle of the II century. 
1.2.3  Meloria C wreck 
The load of Relitto dei Marmi is composed by eleven blocks of 
various size, and from a part of a column drum rough-hewed 
made of white marble, lying at about 150 meters from the dolia 
wreck, S-W bound on a level bottom of coral reef, at a ca. 4-5 
meters depth. The blocks look placed in the original stowage 
position, along the longitudinal axis of the ship. We can't see 
any parts of the wooden hull; that maybe have been crushed 
under the load; the marbles are covered by a layer of sea 
concretions and they are chipped because unauthorized fishers 
split the stones to pick mollusks. The concretions and chips do 
not allow to make very precise measurements and to read 
inscriptions or abbreviations, if there are any. 
The quality of the marble seems the same for all the foundings 
and preliminary petrographic analyses show that these specimen 
may come from Apuanian Mountains marble caves (bianco 
ordinario). Anyway we cannot determinate the original 
geographical area of the load with absolute certainty. The 
estimated weight of each block range from 9 tons ( block n. 3) 
to 0,6 tons (block n. 7). 
Between the blocks 11 and 12 two very damaged amphorae 
handles have been found (Dressel 2-4, end of I century B. C.- 
beginning of the II century). They are the only clue to date the 
wreck to the Roman period, but they could have been carried 
from other sites nearby (dolia wreck ?). 
Anyway it was probably ship overtaken by Mistral, West, 
South-west and South-east winds while it was sailing along the 
coast. Similar cargoes of the Apuanian Mountains marbles 
sailed almost without interruption from the middle of the I 
century B.C. to the Medieval and Modern age. If it is a Roman 
navis lapidaria, it is not actually a very large ship, because we 
know that in the Imperial age there were loads from 100 to 200 
tons, and more. The course was known and it connected Luni, 
center of ancient working for Apuanian marble, to Rome, where 
marble loads continuously arrived; then they were carried along 
the Tiber river and were destined to satisfy the continuous 
request of raw material for public and private architecture. 
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