Monday, September 28, 2015

(Take 2) Logboat Discovered Near Canterbury

An EBA logboat from about 2,000 B.C. was discovered near Faversham (outside Canterbury in Kent, England).  It was found in the mud of a dockyard this week.

Bronze Age log boat. Image: Paul Wilkinson
Photo Paul Wilkinson
The logboat was the nautical mainstay of Northern Europe from forever till fairly recent, no pun intended.  From Past Horizons 

Speaking of folks paddling down rivers, the ISBSA 14 (International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology) Conference concluded on Friday the 25th and there is an abstract book up from Waldemar Ossowski on Academia.  Looks like a few papers worth blog delvage.


****Update****

As Michael points out below, somehow I missed the description that is most interesting, that is a feature that the archaeologist speculates might be for a mast.

Some of the heavier logboats and plankers seem very cumbersome.  The reconstructions seem difficult to manuever and sappingly slow.  This could add a new twist to early maritime activity in the Atlantic.
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6 comments:

  1. DavidskiSeptember 29, 2015 at 1:32 AM

    Seen this?

    http://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Centre/2015/rhaglen-ysgafn-ddwyieithog-2015.pdf

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    1. bellbeakerbloggerSeptember 29, 2015 at 8:52 AM

      Wow. And on Halloween of all days. Looks like they've already reached a few conclusions. Thanks for sending!

      Delete
  2. UnknownSeptember 30, 2015 at 4:28 AM

    http://nomorefakereviews.ning.com/articles/my-bikini-belly-book-review



    http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/talk-his-heart-book-review-kavitha-ks

    ReplyDelete
  3. A Recovering Indo-EuropeanistOctober 2, 2015 at 3:26 PM

    As far as I know, if the boat turns out to have a mast step as the archaeologist cautiously claims, it would be the oldest direct evidence for sailing in Western Europe. The mobility of the beaker folk pretty much demands it, but the archaeology of sailing is notoriously difficult.

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    1. bellbeakerbloggerOctober 2, 2015 at 5:28 PM

      Amazing, I totally missed that last sentence somehow.

      Thanks for pointing that out. You know when Mowghar (older post) was re-created, the boat was so heavy that it was difficult for the thirty something rowers to power. Obviously the boat was sea-going because of it's hull weight, however if it has a square sail to aid, that just might be the missing piece.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousJuly 17, 2017 at 2:16 PM

    This does not look seaworthy and a sail might capsize this craft. You will have seen elsewhere that I claim that 'Clodgy Moor Boat Slate' depicts a Beaker ship. The stern and bow are raised and pointed with a forward mast assisting paddles/oars. Possibly it is a skin on frame boat or potentially a stitched plank boat made using copper tools. With respect to the Falmouth Mowghar reconstruction boat. I have seen it and as a first try OK, but surely it is at the very robust and crude end of the ancient boat builders' art. Graham Hill.

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