Chemical Characterisation of Wood of Roman Ships Brought to Light in the Recently Discovered Ancient Harbour of Pisa (Tuscany, Italy)

Abstract

Chemical analyses of wood samples from two ships of\nthe ancient harbour of Pisa have shown that they are\ndrastically degraded by the environment where they\nhave lain. Holocellulose contents are reduced to very\nlow values (between 4.9 and 27.3%) in comparison with\nreference species (55.9–68.1%). Accordingly, the lignin\ncontents are enhanced, following the trend shown by\naged wood in moist environments. The effect of time on\nthe ships is evident since the older one, ship L, is more\ndegraded than the younger one, ship C.The dehydroabietic acid\nfound in ancient oak samples is evidence of the ancient\ncaulking of hull. The high degradation of Pisa woods is\nalso shown by basal density values ranging between 0.13\nand 0.23.

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