The Shipwreck of Santa Maria in Padovetere (Comacchio-Ferrara). Archaeology of a riverine barge of Late Roman period and of other recent finds of sewn boats

The 5th century AD barge of Santa Maria in Padovetere was discovered and investigated inside an ancient river, West of Comacchio. The place, which later hosted the parish of Santa Maria in Padovetere, is considered a strategic crossroads of Late Roman waterways. The anoxic conditions have well preserved the bottom and the entire right side. This extraordinary conservation, coupled with in situ digital documentation, has allowed the reconstruction in 3D of the entire shape of the shipwreck. It was a riverine flat bottom barge with a very high stern and a central long rudder according to a shipshape well documented by Central European Roman sculptures. Scientific analysis allowed to reconstruct the environment where it moved and to make hypotheses on the types of goods transported. This is a very rare example of an ancient riverine barge and an important evidence of the technique of construction by sewing. The book also presents other recent finds of this construction technique which, during the Roman period and the Early Middle Age, was used only in the Upper Adriatic.