Caulking of the Boatwright

This paper positively identifies a complex mix of not-so-native mosses that were used to caulk the hull of an Eastern Lake Constance region Log Boat.  The boat carbon dates to the Early Bronze Age, which for this region is really at the cusp of transitioning away from the old Beaker culture.  The mosses were packed tightly into the transom board as seen below.

(Dickson et al, 2013)

European logboats have continuity to the modern day.  The only real difference is that the massive oaks once available no longer exist, so modern logboats are much smaller than their sea going ancestors.  The paper just hit the net even though the abstract is dated 2013.

More on caulking sewn-plank and logboats [link] and [link]

Mosses Used for Caulking the Early Bronze Age Logboat from Degersee, Southern Germany  Dickson, Maier, Mainberger, Lecrivain (2013) [Link]