The wreck of the steamer Prophet at Cape Lardier (Var)

The wreck of the steamer Prophet at Cape Lardier (Var) by Jean Pierre Joncheray

Summary:

The wreck of the Prophet was identified in 1986, more than twenty years after its discovery. Built in 1852 at the Charles Reynaud et Cie shipyard in Sète, the ship rests in 33 meters of water off Cape Lardier, at La Croix-Valmer. A metal ship with two decks, 42 meters long and 7.5 meters wide, it sank on March 28, 1860 in the strong Mistral wind. Coming from Algeria, it was heading for Marseille. 23 passengers and crew members managed to reach land.

The Prophet was one of the first steam ships with mixed propulsion. The analysis of its machinery revealed that it may be a unique model in the world. The cargo was made up of salvaged goods: bales of rags and leather, broken glass and animal bones, especially sheep. The latter were used to make a black dye, animal coal or Animal Black. In addition to this cargo, there are various pieces of furniture, coral branches, a very beautiful lead probe, hardware and haberdashery as well as personal objects, dominoes, inkwells... Thanks to the study of archives, the eight years of navigation of the Prophet on the Spanish, Moroccan, Italian, Libyan, Egyptian and especially Algerian coasts are reconstructed. They shed light on the activities of the great Marseilles merchants who equipped the ship.