The discovery of the Narsarsuaq disc (Uunartoq, Greenland) in 1948 sparked a long discussion on the identification of wooden discs as solar compasses used by the Vikings during sea voyages across the Atlantic. At the beginning of the 21st century, two similar artefacts were found in Wolin and Truso (Poland). Through a detailed analysis of those artefacts, the author indicates that hypotheses made so

One of the most important aspects of scholarship in every academic field must be the presentation and discussion of new ideas, approaches, and methodologies, often best expressed through the work of early‐career researchers. This is even more important in fields like maritime archaeology, because of new discoveries and the continual advances of methodologies and techniques. This book is an ideal example

This article provides a new application of Westerdahl's concepts of maritime cultural landscape and maritime cultures within the context of Mesoamerica, and more specifically during the Postclassic period (AD 1325–1521). The results presented here were obtained by transposing maritime archaeological research questions to new fieldwork in the Mexican highlands, using a pluri‐disciplinary methodology

The 1970s saw the first publication of a set of lead plaques used as labels on transport vessels found in a shipwreck off Annaba, Algeria. They were wrapped around the handles of several Africana II C2 amphoras and some referred to officinae, probably of salted fish. Labelling merchandise with tesserae plumbeae was common for products such as textiles in the Roman Empire, but considered unusual on

The Bay of Caska, on the Island of Pag, preserves the remains of a stratified settlement, with an important phase linked to a Roman maritime villa, the property of the senatorial family Calpurnii Pisones. After presenting the geographical and historical context of the site of Caska, the article summarizes the achievements of past archaeological research, and presents the results of the recent research

While iron and steamship archaeology dates from the mid‐1970s, the archaeological study of late 19th and early 20th century metal‐hulled vessels, especially those off the coast of South America is in its infancy. This paper deals with two steel‐hulled shipwrecks located on the coast of Patagonia, southern Argentina, from anthropological, archaeological, and site management perspectives. The chief research

During the 2019 underwater excavation season of the Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck (mid‐7th–mid‐8th centuries AD), an unattached hook‐shaped masthead fitting with sheaves was discovered and retrieved. This remarkable and rare find is a type of fitting characteristic of lateen‐rigged vessels, and is an addition to the assembly of rigging elements, such as blocks and ropes and the mast‐step assembly, found

Vernacular sewn boats from southern Iran and Kerala, India, in the collection of Qatar Museums are documented and their construction described. The Iranian baggāras are unique preservations of sewn boats from the Arabian‐Persian Gulf, notable for their previously undocumented keel‐garboard sewing technique and extensive use of bitumen coatings. Comparison between individual boats enables conclusions

Ships and seafaring were intrinsic to early English cultures, identifiable in the origin story of the adventus Saxonum, in the material cultures of 6th‐ to 10th‐century England, and in later portrayals of good kingship. However, effective control of the sea only became critical to Anglo‐Saxon kings in the 10th century, serving to legitimate their authority and demonstrate both power and prestige. Using

The site of Shavei Zion is an enigmatic deposit of hundreds of figurines and ceramic vessels found on the sunken kurkar ridge off the coast of the western Galilee. Despite its importance to the understanding of both maritime activities and cultic practices, the site has never been fully published. Only a part of the figurine assemblage has been analysed in the past, and the associated ceramic evidence

Evidence of fishing is rare at most Late Chalcolithic sites in the southern Levant, reflecting the region's economy and preferences. The minimal incorporation of fish into the diet is striking especially as some sites are near the Mediterranean Sea, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, the Hula swamps, and perennial streams. This article discusses the appearance of copper fishhooks, suggesting that

Excavation of North Carolina shipwreck 31CR314, Queen Anne's Revenge, has yielded an assemblage of sheet lead artefacts that reflect hull maintenance and repair practices on the slave ship, turned pirate flagship. This article will outline the different types of lead artefacts recovered from QAR associated with this function. The findings are discussed in relation to prevailing trends in hull sheathing

The 15th-century IJsselcog was lifted in 2016 from the river IJssel near Kampen (the Netherlands). From stern to bow and from starboard to portside about 70% of the original wooden hull is preserved. The combined approach of analogue documentation and photogrammetry enabled the research team to reconstruct the original ship in 2D and 3D, followed by a comprehensive study of its nautical characteristics

A unique leaded‐gunmetal disc decorated with iconic Portuguese markings was recovered in 2014 during archaeological excavations at the Sodre shipwreck site in Al Hallaniyah, Oman. Initially the identity and function of the disc was unknown, although it did possess characteristics suggesting it could be an astrolabe. Laser imaging of the disc post conservation revealed regular scale marks on the limb

This article provides a summary of the various maritime archaeology projects undertaken in the French Antilles (Guadeloupe and Martinique) since the 1980s that date to the 17th–19th century Colonial period. These projects are presented in the context of the principal maritime archaeological research questions. The results are analysed thematically touching on different aspects of archaeological research

This paper examines the theory and practice of the maritime cultural landscape in general, and projects the theoretical concepts and aspects involved on the highly dynamic late medieval north-eastern Zuiderzee region in the Netherlands. The cultivation of land and marine erosion (floods and rising sea level) are considered as the main factors that caused the transformation of the physical landscape

In this article, we provide practical and straightforward guidance for the selection and sampling of shipwreck timbers for dendrochronological research. We outline sampling strategies and present informative figures that illustrate how to proceed in a variety of scenarios that archaeologists regularly encounter. However, in order to fully exploit the potential of tree-ring research on these objects

Due to the circumstances of the loss of HMS Warrior and HMS Sparrowhawk in 1916, in which subsequent to disablement both had drifted and been towed unknown distances from the Jutland battlefield, they were not located in the 2015 Jutland survey. In August 2016 both ships were located and HMS Warrior was revealed to be a pristine warship wreck, the only example in this condition of the 25 ships sunk

This article presents the results of a project to 3D laser scan and digitally model 14 watercraft from theQatarMuseums collection, comprising a range of regional vessels: most had not been surveyed previously. The project used the resulting point clouds generated 2D naval lines and orthographic records of the vessels in their current condition, and photorealistic 3D digital models for gallery display

This article complements the archaeological account of the so-called ‘Edes¨o Wreck’ with archival research that has led to itsidentification. In 1659 the Swedish King Karl X Gustav ordered a number ...

A non-intrusive survey of this headland on Scotland's western seaboard reveals evidence of maritime activity from prehistory until the recent past. The siting of an Iron Age dun appears to have exploited a natural creek to bring boats to a secure landing-place. Access was enhanced by a cleared channel, and two docks with adjacent nousts constructed. A stone-revetted canal was later driven to the loch

This reports on a project that combined evidence gleaned from aerial photographs, place-names, interviews, topography, LIDAR data, and sonar bathymetry to locate stone tidal fish weirs in the Mol`ene Archipelago. The results were verified by diver and pedestrian visual surveys. Models of Holocene sea-level change allowed a group of possibly Late Mesolithic–Early Neolithic weirs to be recognized, with

Ships and boats form the foundations of the maritime connectivity that is a central part of our understanding of the ancient Mediterranean. While the general chronological sequence of sail and sailing-rig development is well established, the implications are less-well discussed. This article sets out how sails and sailing rigs developed in antiquity, with emphasis on the Greco-Roman world. Subsequently

This report explores a hypothesis that the Norman's Bay shipwreck is the Wapen van Utrecht, a 64-gun Dutch ship lost during the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. The shipwreck, found off the Sussex coast, was designated by the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973) in 2006, when it was speculated that the wreck was the English 70-gun ship Resolution, lost in the Great Storm of 1703. Dendrochronology dates the

Since 1994 almost 2000 ancient rupestral engravings, both verbal and pictorial, have been discovered in southern Attica. These include about 200 depictions of warships, merchantmen, and smaller vessels of various types. These engravings are dated to the 6th century BC on the basis of their style and the formal characteristics of their associated inscriptions. They contain the earliest-known labelled

Recent research on now indistinct ship graffiti in the Third Temple at Hal Tarxien led to discovery of a full-size record made 50 years ago. Correspondence elucidates contemporary interpretation of the context. Colonization of the island from Sicily c.5000 BC probably involved large flotation devices similar to those identified on the lowest tier of graffiti. A Neolithic date for some of the images

Yenikapi 14 (YK 14) is one of 37 shipwrecks discovered by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums during the Marmaray Project excavations in Istanbul's Yenikapi neighbourhood, the site of Constantinople's Theodosian Harbour. Dated to the 9th century AD, YK 14 is one of a group of Yenikapi round ships constructed using similar methods: it was a flat-floored, shallow-draught vessel built primarily of oak

Re-analysis of the Hal Tarxien prehistoric ship graffiti, the incised figure on a pottery sherd, from the Neolithic site of Grapceva cave on a Croatian island, known as the ‘Hvar boat’, and the Villanovian-Etruscan bronze razor from Bologna allow the last two to be reinterpreted as animals rather than ships, and the first to be dated to the Bronze Age Cemetery phase of the site. These findings require

This article reports on the results of a research project entitled ‘KARAVOI. The Ship Graffiti on the Medieval Monuments of Cyprus: Mapping, Documentation and Digitisation’, during which 233 ship graffiti were recorded in 44 different monuments on the island, dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Innovative recording techniques have been used to mitigate the effects of the subjective or partial

This paper reports the results of using a sector scan sonar to record a range of submerged archaeological sites in both shallow and deep water locations. The Kongsberg MS 1000 sector scan sonar was developed for the commercial sector typically to carry out underwater inspections and surveys of bridges, dams, ports and harbours. However, as will be demonstrated below, the ability of the device to rapidly

Warwick, a colonial merchantman owned and operated by Sir Robert Rich, Second Earl of Warwick, sank in Castle Harbour, Bermuda, in1619. Between 2010 and 2012, Warwick's hull remains and associated artefacts were excavated and recorded. Built early in the 17th century, Warwick’s structure revealed a traditional shipbuilding style. Covered with two layers of planking and a layer of sheathing, the ship

Since 2014, the conservation staff at Clemson University's Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina have been removing the concretion from the hull of H. L. Hunley, an American Civil War submarine lost 1864. In parallel, the archaeological team has been documenting the condition of the hull, the concretion layers, and the hull features revealed by the deconcretion process. This

The coast of northern Norway was an important dried-cod production area during the Medieval period. During the Iron Age, marine resources had also played a vital role in the economy of the inhabitants in the region. The increase in marine harvesting post c.AD 600, as substantiated by archaeological finds, suggests that mass maritime goods, in addition to those goods of a prestigious character, were

This paper presents the findings from surveys carried out in March 2016 of two wrecks sunk during the Battle of Jutland. The remains of HMS Indefatigable had previously only been partially understood. SMS V4, was found and surveyed for the first time. They represent the first and last ships sunk and allow the timings of the opening and closing of the battle to be established. In the case of HMS Indefatigable

This is the publication of proceedings of the international colloquium ‘La Batellerie Égyptienne’ (‘Egyptian River Craft’) held in Alexandria in June 2010. Organized by the Centre d’Études Alexandrines, the event brought together many renowned researchers, mainly French-speaking, working in the field of ancient shipbuilding and navigation. The Nile was the focus of the colloquium, and, by a twist of

The Odyssey Case refers to the dispute between Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (OME) and the Kingdom of Spain in the US courts to determine the ownership of more than 500,000 coins, as well as other artefacts, that OME recovered from a wreck-site it had code-named Black Swan. However, the process was much more than a dispute over the coins. It reflected many of the components involved in the protection

Before the Swedish warship Mars exploded and sank in action against a combined Danish and Lubeckian fleet in 1564, it was one of the largest ships in the world. In 2011 the wreck was relocated off ...

This article describes fieldwork undertaken in 1972 at the harbour of the Hellenistic city of Ptolemais at Tolmeita in Cyrenaica, Libya. This survey has shown that the city possessed a sophisticated Hellenistic harbour installation, now submerged by some 2 m. It consisted of a small fishing harbour and a larger commercial harbour protected by extensive stone breakwaters built around two offshore islands

This article investigates the entanglement of environment, materiality, technology and cosmology in the Middle Mesolithic Stone Age (8300–6300 cal. BC), of the NE Skagerrak area of Eastern Norway and Western Sweden, by focusing on the manufacture of bone fishhooks. The argument made is that fishhooks are key objects for exploring the world-views of Middle Mesolithic coastal groups. Fishhooks were linked

During 2015, the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries led a systematic seabed mapping survey along the Arctic coast of Alaska in search of whaling ships abandoned in 1871. The purpose of the expedition was to determine if wreckage from these abandoned ships was still present in the survey area, and, if so, to assess and document its location, status and condition. The project mapped approximately

Since 2006, four maritime archaeology field schools, desktop and field surveys have been carried out in Guam. In 2012 a site associated with the United States Navy's Construction Battalion (US Seabees) was investigated. This paper summarizes the historical background of Guam and the known sites of maritime archaeological interest, particularly those dating to World War II. The problems of public interpretation

Students at Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ, USA) investigated the reasons for an elongated projection at the bow of Mediterranean galleys. Using a 1:20 base model adapted from the Trireme Trust's Olympias fitted with: 1) an elongated projection; and 2) a control bow similar to excavated merchant ships, tow-tank tests were carried out at various speeds. Hydrodynamic resistance and power

Deep ploughing near Kilclief, County Down, near the site of an early monastery, disturbed a large quantity of buried stones. One of these displayed a Viking-type ship with a furled sail. Decorative artwork on the stone suggests an 11th-century date. The ship displays close similarities to Viking ship graffiti in Viking Dublin and in the Scandinavian homelands. This article describes the decorated stone

Ethnographic information collected by the authors on former star use along the Arabian Sea coast of Oman is presented and discussed. Although the stars were not observed directly, some were identified from detailed descriptions and astronomy software. Many are associated with winds warning of danger at sea, a few to tell the direction, and others to note productive fishing periods. Not all stars in

The Indigenous intangible heritage related to wrecked vessels has been poorly studied and documented. This article provides a counter to dominant maritime archaeology discourses via the investigation of the Aboriginal significance attributed to a wrecked and submerged River Murray barge (Crowie) in South Australia. There are numerous layers of Aboriginal significance that may be attributed to Crowie

Excavations at Abydos, Egypt, during 2014–2016 have revealed the remains of a boat burial dating to the reign of Senwosret III (c.1850 BCE). The boat burial occurred inside a specially prepared, subterranean vaulted building. Surviving elements of planking appear to derive from a nearly 20 m-long boat that was buried intact but later dismantled for reuse of the wood. The vessel may belong to a group

Late medieval shipbuilding in Catalonia followed the Mediterranean trend in adopting a frame-first shipbuilding principle with planking placed edge-to-edge. The predetermination of frame shapes using moulds had modified the construction process, as seen in the 11th-century Serce Limani vessel with the use of a series of moulds, and 13th-century Culip VI, with the use of a master mould, rising square

In 2012 a joint project survey to document and study submerged cultural heritage began along the southern Croatian coast. The survey, part of the Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program, produced wreck-sites from a wide time range that include the Roman, Byzantine and Post Medieval eras. Recording and artefact sampling of the sites was conducted during field operations, along with fabric analysis of amphoras

The archaeology of post-Emancipation periods in the Caribbean (i.e. after c. 1807 in the British Caribbean) remains relatively understudied. The collapse of the industrial-scale sugar plantation systems of the islands in the early 19th century saw a radical re-organisation of social and economic life. A new corpus of consumers was created, eking out a living on the margins of island society as sharecroppers

In 1991, the wreck of a late 3rd–early 4th century AD Roman merchant vessel was discovered on the west coast of Sicily that had carried North African amphora, tubuli, and other ceramics. The hull was dismantled and raised in 2011, including a keel hook-scarfed to stem and sternposts, 39 pegged mortise-and-tenon joined planks, 43 frames with an irregular pattern of floor-timbers, half-timbers, and futtocks

This article details recent maritime archaeological research off the town of Elmina in coastal Ghana. Founded in 1482, Elmina Castle was the first and largest European outpost in sub-Saharan West Africa, and remained a centre of maritime trade for almost four centuries. Survey and diver investigations led to the discovery of several sites, including a shipwreck dating to the mid 17th century, which

This article reports on the remains of a 5th-century-AD river barge excavated in 2014 and 2015. Most of the flat bottom and one side are preserved. The barge is at least 20 m in length and 2.9 m across the floor, and is constructed using sewn planks, iron nails and mortise-and-tenon fasteners. Both flush-laid and lapstrake planks are recorded. Archaeological, historical, iconographic and ethnographic

Two assemblages of ship graffiti were recorded using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) in the ancient port town of Winchelsea. The engravings show characteristics common to most medieval ship graffiti in England, while displaying a certain variety in the level of detail and quality in which ships can be represented using this medium, encouraging a nuanced understanding. It is suggested that

This article reports on the artefacts and environment of marine ballast and pottery sites identified through inter-tidal and underwater survey around Kilwa, Tanzania, one of the most important medieval sultanates along the east African coast. An inter-tidal site on the limestone fringing reef on the approaches to Kilwa Kisiwani Harbour and an underwater site within the harbour have been dated from

Two Portuguese naus from Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India, left behind to disrupt maritime trade between India and the Red Sea, were wrecked in May 1503 off the north-eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The ships, Esmeralda and Sao Pedro, had been commanded by da Gama's maternal uncles, Vicente and Bras Sodre, respectively. A detailed study and scientific analysis of an artefact assemblage

This paper presents the outcomes of sidescan sonar and archaeological diving surveys in 2015 of two wrecked vessels located off Flotta Island, Orkney, North Scotland. Archival research indicates these are the remains of Anti-Torpedo Close Protection Pontoons (ATCPP), an experimental protection device used for close protection of naval vessels at anchor in Scapa Flow from attack by aircraft-launch torpedoes

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in 1996, and was excavated in 2004–2007. It was dated to between the mid 7th and the end of the 8th centuries AD. The remains comprised the bottom of the hull, including the lower part of the turn of the bilge on both sides and the beginning of the upward curvature at the bow and the stern. It was constructed based on frames. Among the finds were two anchors,

The Yarabuoki underwater site contains seven iron grapnel anchors and Early Modern Okinawan ceramic jars and is dated to the 16th–19th centuries. The site lies at a depth of 12–32 m off the western coast of Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, Japan. Based on underwater archaeological and broadband multibeam surveys, as well as historical research of the artefacts and Early Modern Ryukyuan shipping, we discuss

The remains of a Roman barge were found in 1981 in the River Stella, Udine, Italy. Its cargo consisted mainly of roof tiles. It was excavated in 1998 and 1999, and detailed recording of the hull, and a second wooden structure, was achieved in 2011. A spread of material upstream of the wreck has been investigated 2012–2015. The barge was originally dated to the first quarter of the 1st century AD by

This article presents the remains of three medieval ships from North Norway. The sites are clustered near the Arctic Circle, two from the islands of Husoy (Traena) and Lovund in the Helgeland region, and a potential third wreck from the small lake Fiskvagvatn in Saltdal. Available information from the wrecks is presented to provide a basis for assessing their cultural contexts and relevance to medieval