L’espace de navigation du chaland et la question de son armement

Abstract

The zone of transport geography of the barge and the question of its outfitting. While the form of the Arles-Rhône 3 barge seems to fit perfectly the demands of navigation in a strong current, as is found upstream from Arles, its limited load capacity tends to set it within a local economic circuit, in keeping with what we know of its final voyage. Sailing on the lower section of the Rhône, one can imagine the barge being involved in a regular turnaround of goods transport : construction material or any other heavy stuff when heading downstream, and a lighter load, such as livestock (goats and/ or sheeps), grain, salt or bales of wool, when returning upstream from the Camargue. The questions of the outfitting of the barge and of the organisation of its navigation on the river are, however, still unanswered. Likewise, it is impossible to answer the questions about chartering agreements and one can imagine the possibility of a public contractor, with the barge involved in “ public sector work”, or of private contractor, perhaps a (land) owner from Arles. Despite the challenges raised by the Arles-Rhône 3 barge and the various theories that can be put forward, the study of this barge in the end asks the more general question about the economy of water transport on the Rhône in the Roman era. Thus, regarding the transport of materials and other goods on the river, one can imagine a fleet of boats, especially barges, moving up and down stream on more or less short reaches of the river as a function of economic interests and the architectural nature of the boats, and according to the rhythm of the river. There would appear much to be written about the subject.