San Marco in Bocca Lama

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San Marco in Bocca Lama (Venice Lagoon)
San Marco in Bocca Lama
San Marco in Bocca Lama
San Marco in Bocca Lama in the Venice lagoon
San Marco in Bocca Lama on a map by Cristoforo Sabbadino (1546)
north is on the right

San Marco in Bocca Lama was an island in the central lagoon of Venice not far from the Motte di Volpego and the Canale Campanella. Until the 16th century it was recorded on maps, after that only as a "destroyed" or "lost" island. In the 19th century it was no longer recorded. Since the 1960s it has been an important archaeological site for the lagoon's late medieval history. Above all, a 38 m long and 5 m wide galley from around 1300 was found.

history

A church dedicated to St. Mary could have existed on the island as early as 960. There was also a monastery of regular canons of the Augustinians and a cemetery. In 1013 the church of S. Marco de Lama or de Bocca Lama was built .

The current of the Brenta river, which flows into the lagoon, threatened the island before 1320, but when this river was diverted and the water flowed into the lagoon in 1327 opposite the Motte di Volpego , i.e. no longer directly opposite San Marco in Bocca Lama, the island dived back on for some time. The abbot thereupon had a new guest house and other buildings built on the basis of a permit given by the Great Council on July 28, 1328. However, the monks had to leave the island as early as 1347; it was opened as a cemetery for victims of the plague in 1348 . Although the monks returned by the beginning of the 1380s at the latest, they had to finally give up the island at the beginning of the 15th century.

In 1442 the Pope had the monastery pensions transferred to another church; the priesthood could only be awarded as a sinecure , because there was no longer a congregation. At that time the church was already falling into disrepair. The sinecure was last awarded in 1485.

Marcantonio Sabellico reported ruins on the island as early as the 15th century, but in the 16th century it was difficult to remember where they were. Cristoforo Sabbadino (1489–1560), however, still knew her exact position.

Excavation of the church and the monastery

1966 to 1969 an archaeological excavation campaign was carried out under the direction of the honorary inspector of the Soprintendenza Archeologica del Veneto Ernesto Canal . The excavation site was located about 700 m northwest of the island of Campana (ex Batteria Podo), 2500 m south of the island of Sant'Angelo della Polvere and about 1300 m east of the Motte di Volpego . The area investigated covered an area of ​​around 1000 by 200 m. Numerous bone finds were attributed to the plague deaths of 1348.

The construction of the building labeled "A" were bricks with the format used 17 × 8.5 × 4.5, for building "B" 21 × 10.5 × 4.5. The latter building had a length of 30 and a width of 20 m. Building “A” was erected without mud- and water-proof piles, so one must assume that the subsoil was still solid at the time it was built. The subsurface of the second building was already softer, so fuses had to be installed here. In connection with the softening of the subsoil, one spoke of impaludamento , meaning swamping. The area was converted into a protective dam in 1452, but was destroyed by the waves a few years later. Apparently there was one last attempt to build a dam in the second half of the 16th century.

Find a galley and a transport ship

Galley type with one man per oar

From 1996 to 1997 archaeological investigations were carried out again on the occasion of the construction of canals and efforts to protect the local barns . Two ships from around 1300 that had been used as casings in the late Middle Ages were discovered. This was related to rescue attempts that had been carried out at that time - ultimately unsuccessful. While one of the ships was a flat-bottomed ship , the other was a galley . This was the first time a galley was excavated from this early phase.

The area is, however, by the strong currents of the widened and deepened channel between Malamocco and Marghera of erosion threat. In addition, there was an acute danger from the aggressive fishing methods used by the mussel fishermen. Therefore the Magistrato alle Acque - Consorzio Venezia Nuova secured the area provisionally. Two ministries and a research institute were involved in the excavation project, namely that of cultural goods and activities, infrastructure and transport, and the University of Venice . Then there was the company IDRA snc.

The actual excavation took place from June to October 2001. On 42 days, work was carried out for six hours at depths between 1.30 and 2.50 m below sea level, depending on the tide height . For this purpose, some of the water was pumped out, and it was necessary to hurry so as not to expose the wood unprotected to the air for too long. With visibility depths of a maximum of 60 cm, it was difficult even to take photos, so the decision was made to gradually drain the places where the two ships were found. This was an area of ​​around one hectare . Shortly before the work was completed, a sketch of a galley was discovered in the galley. The incised sketch shows a type of ship that was modern for the conditions at the time, with three rowers sitting on each bench, each with their own oar. The type of rudder at the stern was also unusual. Until then, it had been assumed that it was later adopted from Northern Europe, where it had been in use since around 1200. The older rudder still shows the plan of Venice by Jacopo de 'Barbari from 1500, probably because it was intended to express a certain conservatism.

The ship could be dated between the late 13th and the middle of the 14th century. Its dimensions were 38 m long and up to 5 m wide. The second ship that was lifted, a Rascona , a common type of ship for the transport of bulk goods, was 23.6 m long and 6 m wide. The side walls have been preserved up to a height of around 80 cm.

literature

Remarks

  1. Valentina Bassan: Geomorfologia della provincia di Venezia. Note illustrative della carta geomorfologica della provincia di Venezia , Esedra 2004, p. 320.
  2. This is reported by Fabio Mutinelli , for example : Annali urbani di Venezia dall'anno 810 al 12 maggio 1797 , Venice 1841, p. 160.
  3. ^ A first report was published in 1998: Marco D'Agostino: Relitti di età post-classica nell'Alto Adriatico italiano. Relazione preliminare , in: Archeologia Medievale 25 (1998) 91-102.
  4. These were the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (Soprintendenza Archeologica - NAUSICAA) , the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (Magistrato alle Acque - Consorzio Venezia Nuova) and the Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Scientifica (Università C .à Ricerca Scientifica ) Venezia - Consorzio Venezia Ricerche) .

Coordinates: 45 ° 23 '  N , 12 ° 17'  E