Morgawr: an experimental Bronze Age-type sewn-plank craft based on the Ferriby boats

Abstract

This paper reports on the construction of a full-scale Bronze Age-type sewn-plank boat based on the Ferriby boats. The boat, which was named Morgawr, was constructed in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, England, during 2012 and the first months of 2013, as part of a larger exhibition in the museum. This paper provides the background and context of the project, describes the process of building the craft, and reflects in particular on differences between Morgawr and the 'hypothetical reconstruction of a complete sewn-plank boat' published in 1990 by Ted Wright and John Coates which formed the basis for this project. © 2014 The AuthorsKey words: National Maritime Museum Cornwall, rocker, withies, keelplank, cleats.T he sewn-plank boats from England and Wales constructed between c.2000 and 800 cal BC are the oldest-known planked vessels from Atlantic Europe. Their construction represents a remarkable development in regional boatbuilding technology. Using planks rather than hides or a hollowed-out treetrunk brought about three concurrent innovations: first, in the absence of any nails or treenails, planks were sewn or stitched together with organic fibres of yew or willow; second, an intricate system of integrated cleats and slots or transverse timbers was employed to ensure stiffness of the bottom of the hull; third, caulking was used for the first time, made from woodland mosses.None of the sewn-plank craft discovered in England and Wales to date are complete or near-complete. The remains of Ferriby 1, the Dover Boat and the Brigg 'raft' are substantial, to the point that their hull shape, size, performance and the seaworthiness of the original craft have generated extensive discussions and debates (for

Archaeological, Historical, and Ethnographic Approaches to the Study of Sewn Boats: past, present, and future

“…These vessels broadly date to the late 2nd and 1st millennium BC and were stitched through rounded holes. Cleats were also used to reinforce the integrity of the hull (Van de Noort et al ., : 297–301). However, the sewn‐plank boat tradition of northwest Europe was not limited to the shores of the British Isles.…”

“…There have been considerable efforts to understand vessels held together with fibres in Northern Europe, in particular in the United Kingdom, where two reconstructions of the vessels discovered in North Ferriby, Ferriby 1 (1880–1680 cal BC), Ferriby 2 (1940–1720 cal BC), and Ferriby 3 (2030–1780 cal BC) (Wright, ), have been built, Oakleaf and Morgawr (Gifford and Gifford, ; Gifford et al ., ; Van de Noort et al ., ), as well as a half‐scale model named Ole Crumlin‐Pedersen , based on the remains of Bronze Age ‘Dover Boat’ found and excavated in Dover, England (Darrah, , ; Crumlin‐Pedersen, ). However, all of these vessels are held together with individual yew withy stitches, rather than continuous stitching, so are not discussed in any depth here.…”

Copper ingots from a probable Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Salcombe, Devon: Composition and microstructure

“…No surviving evidence for any Bronze Age boat at Salcombe site has been found. It can only be assumed that either contemporary sewn plank vessels such as found at Ferriby, northeast England (Wright et al, 2001;Van de Noort et al, 2014) or Dover, southeast England (Clark, 2004), or log boats as found at Carpow, southeast Scotland (Strachan, 2010) were involved in transporting the objects recovered. The locations of the departure and destination are unknown with the debate complicated by the high probability that two temporally distinct Bronze Age shipwrecks can be identified at Salcombe.…”

Recovering prehistoric woodworking skills using spatial analysis techniques

“…The relevance of prehistoric woodworking skills in the socio-cultural evolution has been stated by other archaeological studies as well. The investigation of ancient wooden houses (Coles, 2006) and the experimental construction of a Bronze-Age-type sewn-plank boat (Van de Noort et al, 2014) have also proved the particular know-how of the first carpenters. The recovering and understanding of these forgotten skills is a challenging research task as the early human life can only be analysed by tangible evidences and an intangible heritage must be connected, in whatever form it takes, to the present (Stefano et al, 2012).…”