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Ísafold, 1881, Ísafold, 4. Reykjavík.

Jones, E. T., 2000, England’s Icelandic fishery in the early modern period in D. J. Starkey J. Ramster and C. Reid, (eds)
England’s Sea Fisheries: The Commercial Sea Fisheries of England and Wales since 1300, 105–10. London.
Kahn, S., 2006, Jean-Baptiste Charcot, heimskautafari, landkönnuður og læknir, Reykjavík.
Lloyd’s, 1861, Lloyd’s Registry of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register of ships 1861–1881. London.
Lúðvíksson, S. J., 1969, Þrautgóðir á raunastund, björgurnar- og sjóslysasaga Íslands. Reykjavík.
Lög um menningarminjar 80/2012. http://www.althingi.is/altext/140/s/pdf/1610.pdf
Martin, C. J., 2005, The Adelaar: A Dutch East Indiaman wrecked in 1728 off Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. IJNA 34.2,
179–210.
Ný félagsrit, 1858, Ný félagsrit, gefin út af nokkrum íslendingum, 18. 189–191. Copenhagen.
Ritchie, L. A., 1992, The Shipbuilding Industry: A Guide to Historical Records, Manchester.
Robertson, P., 2004, A Shipwreck near Kinlochbervie, Sutherland, Scotland, UK. IJNA 33.1, 14–28.
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Þorleifsson, H., 2004, Póstsaga Íslands 1873–1935. Sögufélagið, Reykjavík.
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Discovery and Survey and of a 17th–18th Century Shipwreck

near Drumbeg, NW Scotland: an initial report

I
n December 2011 a possible wreck-site was
reported to Historic Scotland at a location on the
sea-bed c.500 m from Drumbeg, a small village on
the southern shore of Eddrachillis Bay on the west coast
of Sutherland (Fig. 1). The wreck had been discovered
in 1994 by one of the authors (EM). Subsequent survey
by Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Historic
Scotland. The site consists of two anchors, and three
cannon in close proximity overlying a well-preserved
section of hull, in mobile sediments at a depth of
9–12 m. The Scottish government designated the site in
2013 as Scotland’s first Historic Marine Protected Area
under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Further research
by the discoverers of the site and Wessex Archaeology
has been funded by Historic Scotland and is currently
underway.
Discovery
In 1994, Ewen Mackay found a large anchor on the
sea-bed while diving for scallops near his home. The
main part of the wreck-site was later discovered nearby
by Michael Errington, a friend of Mackay and both
divers visited the site together in 1999.
Initially Mackay and Errington wished to identify
the wreck before making the discovery public. Between
1999 and 2011 they undertook sporadic investigations
of the site, including searches of the wider area, metal
detection around the cannon and small-scale excava-
tion and recovery of a small number of artefacts,
including round shot and a deadeye. The divers were
unable to discover much more about the wreck, partly
because the level of mobile sediment often increased.
An anchor found lying a short distance to the NW of
two of the cannon was moved during this period to a
location on the sea-bed at c.200 m distance in order to
facilitate the metal-detecting survey.
In December 2011 the divers decided they could not
progress the investigations further without professional
assistance. Mackay made contact through a local histo-
rian with Historic Scotland, the executive agency of the
Scottish Government charged with safeguarding Scot-
land’s historic environment. Historic Scotland then
commissioned Wessex Archaeology to survey the site.
The Wessex team were to undertake a visual inspection
and photographic survey of the wreckage in order to
enable Historic Scotland to assess the significance of the
site, in liaison with the divers who had discovered and
reported it. This was carried out in September 2012
from the local dive charter vessel Nimrod. Further tasks
were carried out including shallow test pitting and
recovery of a small number of diagnostic artefacts. A
technical report (McCarthy, 2012) describing the initial
results of the survey is available online, and is summa-
rized and updated here. In addition to carrying out a
measured survey, the excellent levels of visibility expe-
rienced facilitated experimental use of multi-image pho-
togrammetric techniques. The resulting 3D-survey data
was used to generate plans of the site as well as fly-
through videos and digital reconstructions (McCarthy
and Benjamin, 2014).
The Drumbeg wreck-site
The Drumbeg wreck-site lies on a gradually sloping
sandy sea-bed on the northern side of a narrow channel
‘Dornaidh an Fheoir’ between the shore of the main-
land parish of Assynt and a cluster of small unoccupied

202 © 2015 Historic Scotland. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2015 The Nautical Archaeology Society
NOTES
Figure 1. Location of the Drumbeg shipwreck and HMPA boundary. (Illustration by J. McCarthy)
Figure 2. View of the Drumbeg wreck-site from the main-
land, looking north. (Photograph by J. McCarthy, Crown
Copyright: Historic Scotland 2014)
islands, Eilean Dubh Dhroimbaig and Cul Eilean, each
having a diameter of less than 200 m (Fig. 2). This
channel is c.60 m at its narrowest and widens out to
c.200 m by the wreck-site where it merges into Eddra-
chillis Bay. The location of the wreck is very sheltered
from almost all sea conditions and is minimally
affected by tidal currents.
© 2015 Historic Scotland. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2015 The Nautical Archaeology Society
Cannon
The cannon were surveyed in detail and labelled from
west to east, Cannon 1, Cannon 2 and Cannon 3
(Fig. 3). They are heavily concreted but the general
shape of each, as well as features such as trunnions and
cascabels were discernible on both of Cannon 1 and
Cannon 2. No evidence of loops or handles was noted.
They lay adjacent to each other, with muzzles orien-
tated to the south, and appeared to be similar in all
respects, with overall lengths of 2.23 m and 2.26 m
respectively (Fig. 4). It is likely that this slight differ-
ence is a result of varying thickness of concretion.
Cannon 3 lay at a distance of c.4.5 m to the east, and
had a total length of 1.9 m from muzzle to breech. Its
cascabel had broken off.
To the immediate north of Cannon 1, a highly con-
creted ferrous object protruded from the sea-bed above
the hull. This concretion is of uncertain interpretation.
It widens, spatula-like, to approximately 0.40 m and
rises approximately 20 cm from the sea-bed. It may be
a knee or part of a cradle for the cannon.
Visible hull remains
In 2012, sediment cover was lower than previously
experienced by the local divers and investigation
through light hand fanning determined that a large
203
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 44.1

Figure 3. The main concentration of features on the wreck-site. (Illustration by Karen Nichols, Crown Copyright: Historic
Scotland 2012)

Figure 4. Diver inspecting cannon 1 and 2. (Photograph by
J. Benjamin, Crown Copyright: Historic Scotland 2012)
section of hull lay adjacent to and below the cannon,
extending a minimum 10.65 m in length (Fig. 5). There
appears to be a single intact section lying horizontally
with no discernible lateral curvature. Most of the
uppermost surface of the hull remains is covered by
thin contiguous planking.
Figure 5. Recording of the hull: probable ceiling is visible to
the left of the diver’s hand, and framing timbers above it, the
iron object is left of the cannon cascabel. (Photograph by J.
Benjamin, Crown Copyright: Historic Scotland 2012)
The northern, southern and western extent of hull
was not established during the survey, but the eastern
limit was uncovered and appeared to show a broken
edge, revealing the hull construction in cross section.
The exposed ends of a line of at least eight regularly

204 © 2015 Historic Scotland. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2015 The Nautical Archaeology Society
NOTES

Figure 6. Anchor 2, a photogrammetric orthographic plan

view. (Image by J. McCarthy)

spaced framing timbers were noted running

perpendicular to the line of the break. Each of these Figure 7. A fragment of Delft tile probably depicting a
three-masted ship. (Crown Copyright: Historic Scotland
measured approximately 0.16 m (6.2 inches) sided and 2014)
0.12 m (4.7 inches) moulded. Beneath these a third
layer was observed although it was not sufficiently
exposed to establish any further details. The hull was
fastened using a dense pattern of treenails. From the
available information it appears that the upper surface
of the hull section is ceiling. The close spacing of the
framing timbers suggest that this section may be from
the lower part of the ship’s hull.
Although the site has been spared damage through
human intervention, some evidence of ongoing
natural damage was noted. The uppermost parts of
the hull surface showed signs of degradation and
abrasion as well as damage by shipworm. A heavily
gribbled fragment of wood, believed to be a short
section of futtock, was found subsequently on the
sea-bed near the hull.
Figure 8. A deadeye found on the wreck-site. (Crown
Anchors Copyright: Historic Scotland 2012)
Two anchors were reported at the site, numbered
Anchor 1 and Anchor 2. A single dive was carried out
at the location of Anchor 1 (Fig. 6). This anchor was size and design to Anchor 1. One of its flukes is reported
originally found a short distance to the NW of the to be embedded in the sea-bed with its shank angled
cannon but had been moved to a nearby sheltered upwards and orientated towards the main wreck.
location on the sea-bed by the local divers in order to
facilitate a metal-detecting survey. The anchor now lies Finds
flat on the sea-bed. It has a shank 3.08 m long and A small number of artefacts were recorded on the sea-
approximately 0.14 m in diameter, widening to 0.20 m bed around the cannon during the 2012 dive survey.
at the junction with the arms. The crown of the anchor Most of these were found lying on the surface in mobile
is rounded, having a total width of 1.65 m. One sand deposits. Two round shot were recorded and left
somewhat degraded paddle-shaped fluke is present in situ but a small number of other artefacts were
while its partner has been lost through damage or recovered. These included a number of orange and
decay. The flukes appear to have been 0.40 m long on yellow hand-made un-frogged bricks, and one frag-
0.85 m arms, measured from the crown. No signs of a ment of Dutch Delft tile depicting a contemporary
stock were found, although the shaft appears to change three-masted ship flying the Dutch flag (Fig. 7). Other
from a cylindrical to a square cross section near the artefacts previously recovered had been stored in fresh
terminal and has its ring still in place. water and included a well-preserved round shot and a
Anchor 2 was not surveyed as part of the 2012 WA deadeye (Fig. 8). These finds have been reported to the
survey, but its location is reportedly c.150 m further UK Receiver of Wreck and have undergone
north along the channel. It is thought to be similar in conservation by AOC Archaeology.

© 2015 Historic Scotland. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2015 The Nautical Archaeology Society 205
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 44.1
Analysis
Typological dating of the hull remains, cannon, and
associated artefacts place them within the same
approximate period. In particular the Delft tile offers
useful dating evidence. A local researcher in Drumbeg,
Mairi Mackay, and other pottery specialists found
parallels for the tile suggesting a date between
approximately 1650 and 1750. WA Coastal & Marine
pottery specialists and Ian Betts of MoLAS uncovered
numerous close parallels for the tile, all of which date
to the second half of the 17th century. These include
Van Dam (1991, 80, no.s 89 and 90), Van Sabben and
Hollem (1987, 54, no. 162), Schaap et al. (1984, 145,
no. 177), and Pluis (1997, 385, A.03.07.10). However,
this is not definitive dating evidence because of the
typological longevity of Delft tiles and possible reuse
of older material as ballast. As well as the Dutch origin
of the tile, the triple-layered design of the hull also
suggests a tentative origin in Northern Europe and a
date of the late 17th–18th century.
In the context of the known maritime archaeological
resource in Scotland, the wreck near Drumbeg appears
to belong to an important group of Northern Euro-
pean wrecks in Scotland dating to between the 16th
and 18th centuries, most or all of which sank while
navigating the ‘North About’ route around Scotland
which linked mainland Europe with the Atlantic and
the world (Martin 1998: 84). This group includes the
Wrangels Palais (Bound and Sharpe, 1995), Lastdrager
(Sténuit, 1974), Kennemerland (Forster and Higgs,
1973; Price and Muckelroy, 1974; Price, 1975, Price
and Muckelroy, 1977a; 1977b; 1979; Price et al., 1980;
Dobbs and Price, 1991), Adelaar (Martin, 1992; 1998;
2005), De Liefde (Bax and Martin, 1974) and the
Fuday wreck (Prescott et al., 2008). Within this group
the wreck near Drumbeg is notable as it lay undis-
turbed during the period of intensive salvage or intru-
sive archaeological excavation and recovery which
took place in the 1970s and 1980s, and includes signifi-
cant parts of its hull.
On the available evidence, the small number of
cannon at the Drumbeg wreck-site may suggest a
smaller vessel than most of the recorded wrecks of
similar date in Scottish waters, although it is also pos-
sible that there is a greater extent of buried material
than is currently known.
Possible identifications
Historical research aimed at identifying the wreck
based upon the available evidence is ongoing. Malcolm
Bangor-Jones (Historic Scotland) has found 17th and
18th-century references in primary documents relating
to shipwrecks in Eddrachillis Bay (pers. comm. 3rd
April 2013). The earliest of these dates to 16 June 1691,
and is a petition by Tier Jelles, skipper of the ship
Crowned Raven of Amsterdam, for the return of a
206 © 2015 Historic Scotland. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2015 The Nautical Archaeology Society
cargo of ‘masts, knappell, hemp and lint’ lost in a
wrecking event among the islands of Assynt.
Being loaded with severall sorts of limber, such as masts,
knappell, hemp and lint, from the port of Rigow and from
thence to goe to Portugall with the said fraught and being
cast in upon the north coast of Scotland among the islands
thereof (to witt Assint) and there being ane laick struck in
the said ship before ever she came to land wes overflowed
with water, yet by the providence of Almighty God the
ship and men with the fraught [won] to shoar, but
thereafter the countrie people came down and broke all
the said ship to pieces, where the poor petitioner lost both
his pass and bills of loadneing. (Register of the Privy
Council 3rd series, Vol XVI pp.341–342).
Later papers held in the National Library of Scotland
contain a reference to a second wrecking event in this
area in December of 1753. The Earls of Sutherland had
rights to the salvage of wrecks in Sutherland during the
18th century. John Mackenzie of Delvine acted as law
agent for the estate and a manuscript in the Delvine
Papers records the following incident from 1753:
. . . about beginning of month Vessell of about 30 or 40
Tuns Burden was cast away on the Coast twixt Edrachillis
and Assint load with Dales Brandy & Wines . . . Assint
people took the Wreck at Sea and dispersed the Cargo
amongst them & that there was none of the Crew nor any
living Creature found aboard. (NLS Mackenzie of
Delvine Papers, MS1483 f.68 27)
A second reference to the same event appears in the
Devine papers, dated to February 1754:
Wreck ‘Brandy White Wine Claret and Dales’. No
acquaintances there on whom could rely to get note of
those involved and it is questioned whether after this Scru-
tiny is made if any of the Goods remain on hand, or if they
can be recovered without process. (NLS MS1483 f.71 7)
Either of these recorded events could match the
remains, as they appear to relate to relatively small
trading vessels and on current evidence neither can be
ruled out.
Significance and designation
On the basis of its national importance (Historic
Scotland 2012a; 2012b), the Drumbeg wreck was des-
ignated by Scottish Ministers as Scotland’s first His-
toric Marine Protected Area (HMPA) on 18 March
2013 using the provisions for urgent designation con-
ferred by section 77 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
These provisions were employed because the Scottish
government considered that there was an urgent need
to protect the site, which was considered to be vulner-
able to disturbance. Following subsequent consulta-
tion (Historic Scotland, 2013a), the designation was
made permanent on 1 November 2013 (Historic
Scotland, 2013b). Under the HMPA designation, dam-
aging activities such as construction, excavation and
removal of objects from the sea-bed without permis-
sion, trawling and anchoring constitute an offence.
NOTES

Following an assessment of the threats to the site,
it was decided that there was no need to restrict
responsible access to the Drumbeg wreck, including
recreational diving and scallop diving which is
encouraged on a ‘look but don’t touch’ basis. By
adopting this approach, Historic Scotland hopes to
encourage a culture of responsible access and enjoy-
ment to Scotland’s most important marine heritage
sites. To promote this approach, Historic Scotland
has produced a guidance booklet for marine environ-
ment users including divers (Historic Scotland,
2012c).
Conclusions and future work
Initial investigations of the Drumbeg wreck have helped
to answer many important questions about the site in a
short period with minimal disturbance of the archaeo-
logical remains. The excellent preservation of the site
results largely from the low energy environment of the
channel. Its condition has been maintained through the
responsible actions of the site discoverers and a prompt
response from the government to give legal protection
to the site. It has been a model project in terms of
demonstrating the value of a collaborative approach
between avocational divers, professional archaeolo-
gists, curators and the local community. The success of
Drumbeg was one of the inspirations for Wessex
Archaeology’s ongoing three-year community mari-
time archaeological project SAMPHIRE (McCarthy
and Benjamin 2013; http://blogs.wessexarch.co.uk/
samphire/). Members of the survey team returned to
Drumbeg in the summer of 2013 to give a detailed talk
on the wreck-site at the local village hall and to maxi-
mize the involvement of the entire community. This is
further facilitated by the HMPA status of the site which
permits responsible recreational diving and it is hoped
that this will encourage dive tourism and result in ben-
efits to the local economy.
Investigation of the Drumbeg shipwreck remains
very much in its early stages. There are numerous
important site-specific questions to answer including
the date, age, nationality and identity of the vessel, as
well as the extent of surviving remains beneath the
sea-bed. A programme of non-intrusive survey relying
on remote sensing has been funded by Historic Scot-
land for late 2014 and was being undertaken by Wessex
Archaeology in partnership with Innomar, a German
hydrographic survey company, and the University of
Bangor. It is hoped to present results of this work in
2015.
John McCarthy
Wessex Archaeology, 7–9 North St David Street,
Edinburgh, EH2 1AW, UK
Philip Robertson
Historic Scotland, Longmore House, Salisbury Place,
Edinburgh, EH9 1SH, UK
Ewen Mackay
Glac Na Criche, Drumbeg, Sutherland,
IV27 4NW, UK

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following people and organizations (alphabetical order): Malcolm Bangor-Jones (Historic
Scotland); Ian Betts (MoLAS); Henk Bussink (www.dutchdelfttiles.com); Michael Errington (local diver and co-discoverer of
the wreck); Frank L. Fox (independent researcher); Pieta Greaves (conservator for AOC Archaeology); Mairi Mackay (local
researcher); Jimmy McIntosh (skipper of the MV Nimrod) and Charles Trollope (independent cannon specialist). The Wessex
Archaeology dive team for the initial 2012 wreck survey comprised John McCarthy, Jonathan Benjamin, Dan Pascoe and Kevin
Stratford.

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Education Non-Technical Report (2013). http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/reports/88900/samphire-annual-report-2013
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Marble Disc Ophthalmoi from Two Shipwrecks off the

Israeli Coast

P
revious studies have suggested that ships’ eye
decorations (ophthalmoi) were thought to
provide divine guidance and protection, or were
apotropaic, warding off harmful forces such as envy or
the ‘evil eye’ (Carlson, 2003: 594–6, 2009, 359; Nowak,
2006, 2–3). Such bow decorations are still widely used
on watercraft by traditional fishermen in many loca-
tions around the Mediterranean. Evidence for the use
of ophthalmoi in antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean
includes both ship iconography and finds from
archaeological excavations. Six marble ophthalmoi
depicting a whole human eye—pupil, iris, cornea,
sclera, eyelid and caruncula—were discovered in the
19th-century excavations of Zea harbour, and a further
three from excavations from the Agora in Athens,
while one is displayed in the Berlin Staatliche Museum
(Carlson, 2009). Four marble discs representing the
cornea, pupil and iris only have been recovered in ship-
wreck assemblages (Nowak, 2006: 28–36). All four
were intended to be attached to the hull, using a single
metal nail or spike. Two of the discs were recovered
from a 5th-century BC shipwreck in the Aegean, off
Tektaş Burnu in south Turkey (Carlson, 2003, 2009:
354–6; Van Duivenwoorde, 2014: 11). Two additional
discs, the focus of this article, have been discovered
separately, at two different shipwreck sites along the
Israeli coast; Megadim, on the northern Carmel coast,
and Yavneh-Yam natural anchorage (Fig. 1). The two
find-sites, like most shipwreck sites in the region, are
near shore, in the shallow-water breaker zone (at a
depth of 2–4 m), and no physical remains of the ships
that carried the ophthalmoi have been found.
This report describes and discusses the two artefacts,
the sites where they were found and their archaeologi-
cal contexts, and compares them with the Tektaş
Burnu finds.
The Megadim shipwreck site
The shipwreck site of Megadim, some 6 km south of
Haifa (32° 56′ 42.7″ E; 32° 43′ 39.3″ N) is about
50–120 m off the Megadim coast which is straight and
sandy with no shelter or anchorages. Assemblages of
shipwreck-related artefacts from several periods have
been discovered in this area at 2–4 m depth (Fig. 2).
One of these is a well-defined Hellenistic assemblage
which yielded dozens of silver and bronze coins,
numerous fragments of life-size bronze statues, a basalt
mortarium, bronze figurines and a re-used wine
amphora containing hundreds of whole and broken
bronze artefacts (Misch-Brandel, et al., 1985; Raban
and Galili, 1985; Syon, et al., 2013). Artefacts related

208 © 2015 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2015 The Nautical Archaeology Society