The Mary LK 981 is the oldest surviving Shetland-built boat. Detailed recording of surviving examples of Shetland’s boats has been rare, and where undertaken, has focused on analysing overall boat form rather than their biographies. However, previous work has been critiqued as too narrowly focused on hull form and the direct connection between Shetland’s small boats and their Norwegian (or even Norse) antecedents. This paper presents new recording and analysis of the Mary’s surviving remains taking an archaeological approach combined with historical and archival research providing a more complete biography of the Mary. We argue that the Mary is a unique survival of Shetland’s vernacular boatbuilding tradition and its biography parallels important transitions in Shetland’s nineteenth-century maritime economy. This work has dramatically cast into relief areas for future research into Shetland’s vernacular boatbuilding and wider maritime history.

中文翻译：

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设得兰群岛最古老的船的民族志，Sixareen Mary LK 981

Mary LK 981 是现存最古老的设得兰群岛建造的船只。对设得兰群岛船只幸存例子的详细记录很少见，并且在进行时，重点是分析整体船只形式而不是它们的传记。然而，之前的工作被批评过于狭隘地关注船体形状以及设得兰群岛的小船与其挪威（甚至北欧）祖先之间的直接联系。本文采用考古学方法结合历史和档案研究，对玛丽的幸存遗骸进行了新的记录和分析，提供了更完整的玛丽传记。我们认为玛丽是设得兰群岛本土造船传统的独特存续，它的传记与设得兰群岛 19 世纪海洋经济的重要转变相似。