Quantifying Ship Shape in Archaeology: Evaluating 3D Geometric Morphometrics

The analysis of the archaeological remains of ships and boats, in particular hull shapes, have been central to wider analysis of performance, function, and significance within past societies. This article reviews established methods of quantifying shape in ship and boat archaeology—linear measurement ratios and form coefficients—and evaluates the utility of 3D geometric morphometrics (GM). The 3D shape of 30 vessels from north‐west Europe dating between 325 BC and AD 1915 are quantified to study how hull shape relates to a vessel's function and intended operating environment. A comparison of the three methods highlights the importance of analysing the complexity of a hull in a holistic manner and demonstrates that 3D GM outperforms the traditional methods.     

A Study of the Sewn‐Plank Boats of Goa,India

The study of traditional boats has enhanced our knowledge of the maritime past. Traditional boats are both river‐ and sea‐worthy. They have been used in rivers for transporting cargo to inland ports from ships anchored at sea, and have often been used in naval warfare. In this paper an attempt has been made to study the sewn‐plank boats of Goa, their building techniques and other features in order to understand their quality and how they were used in the past for an inland river‐transport system. © 2011 The Authors     

The Conception of Hull Shape by Shell‐builders in the Ancient Mediterranean

Did ancient Mediterranean shipbuilders at the turn of the first millennium have methods to pre‐design the shape of their hulls prior to the construction of the ship? If so, can these methods be identified? This paper proposes that ancient shipwrights were in possession of such design methods, based on geometry, that are comparable to the medieval and post medieval hull‐design procedures called whole‐moulding. These methods are well suited to be transformed into rules‐of‐thumb, therefore allowing the storage and transmission of accumulated knowledge. The implications of this proposal on the present understanding of the transition from shell‐ to skeleton‐building are explored.     

The Hull Construction of Yenikapı 14 (YK 14), a Middle Byzantine Shipwreck from Constantinople's Theodosian Harbour,Istanbul, Turkey

Yenikap? 14 (YK 14) is one of 37 shipwrecks discovered by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums during the Marmaray Project excavations in Istanbul's Yenikap? neighbourhood, the site of Constantinople's Theodosian Harbour. Dated to the 9th century AD, YK 14 is one of a group of Yenikap? round ships constructed using similar methods: it was a flat‐floored, shallow‐draught vessel built primarily of oak using a distinctive combination of shell‐ and skeleton‐based construction methods. Regularly spaced pegs called coaks were used to assemble the hull planking edge‐to‐edge from the keel to the first wale, above which planks were fastened exclusively to frames.     

The IJsselcog project: from excavation to 3D reconstruction

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. The hull volume and height were maximized by the shipbuilders using previously unknown construction elements in cogs, such as wales and vertical riders; shipbuilding traits that are generally applied to 16th‐ and 17th‐century carvel‐built cargo ships.     

Transition from Shell to Skeleton in Ancient Mediterranean Ship‐Construction: analysis,problems, and future research

During the 1st millennium AD ship‐construction changed. Previously, ships were built ‘shell‐first’—strakes were installed before frames, giving the hull its shape and integrity. About the mid‐1st millennium AD the concept and construction of hulls changed to being shaped by transverse frames fixed to the keel, reinforced by longitudinal members. During the transition varying combinations of the two technologies were used. It has been widely accepted that the transition was completed by the beginning of the 2nd millennium. Recent discoveries, mainly in Dor/Tantura lagoon and lately in Yenikap?, analyses of other hulls, and reassessment of evidence, indicate an earlier completion of the transition. Since this process was the result of many factors, including economic and social, and occurred in different areas of the Mediterranean at different times, no simple linear development is suggested, but a more complex process, which raises questions for future research. © 2012 The Authors     

A Preliminary report of recording the Stella 1 Roman River Barge,Italy

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 the in situ cargo. This article describes the bottom‐based sewn‐plank hull construction and examines it in the light of local boatbuilding traditions. The second wooden structure is also described, along with recent finds and new dating evidence from the dispersed material. The Stella 1 excavation was part of the Anaxum Project, a wider study of the Stella River's cultural landscape through time.     

The Use of Copper and Lead Sheathing in VOC Shipbuilding

Much has been written on the use of lead and copper sheathing in post mediaeval shipbuilding, yet evidence for such hull protection by Dutch shipwrights in the 17th and 18th centuries has received little attention. A discussion of the archaeological and historical evidence pertaining to the application of copper and lead sheathing by the Dutch long‐distance trading companies outlines the argument for the innovative character, experimental use—on ships’ hulls—and standardization—on sternposts—as early as 1602. Archaeological evidence presented mainly comes from the Dutch East Indiamen Nassau (1606), Mauritius (1609), Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draak (1656), and Buitenzorg (1760).     

Constitution‐writing,nationalism and the Turkish experience

Until recently there has been relatively little attention paid to the question of how the relationship between the state, its citizens and the nation is articulated in constitutional texts. This paper seeks to address this gap through an examination of how the rules of belonging to the nation are discussed by the political elite and how these discussions find their final formulation in the constitutional texts. The analysis focuses on the Turkish case at two constitution‐writing moments (1924 and 1961). While such moments have conventionally been assumed to be ‘revolutionary’, the data on Turkey highlights continuities rather than radical changes over time. More particularly, it underscores the resilience and salience of the principle of nationalism over time.     

To be or not to be a cog: the Bremen Cog in perspective

Following on from Thijs Maarleveld's paper in 1995 on type-names for archaeological finds of ships, the use of the term cog has been questioned by Timm Weski, who suggested the archaeological term Ijsselmeer-type instead. The present paper surveys a total of 18 ship-finds of this type with respect to date, origin and year of investigation, without finding support for the proposed change in terminology. Instead, the archaeological term cog should be restricted to seagoing vessels of the 12th–15th centuries which share the structural features of the lower part of hull with the Bremen Cog.
Recent results of dendroanalysis point to the root of the Jutland peninsula as a more likely area than the former Zuiderzee for the transformation of a hypothetical older'proto-cog'-type for navigation on rivers and in the Waddensee into the proper seagoing medieval cog-type. Impulses for this transformation were found, most likely, in the need to circumnavigate Cape Skagen already in the 12th century, and technical features were probably taken over from large Scandinavian cargo ships of that period. © 2000 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

‘The Ghost Ship’. An Intact Fluyt from c.1650 in the Middle of the Baltic Sea

We report an exceptionally well preserved 17th‐century shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. The investigation of the intact 3‐dimensional hull at 130 m depth in the cold dark water has demanded new methods of documentation. Field investigation of ‘The Ghost Ship’ has been done in co‐operation with a nautical survey company, combining archaeological skills with advanced technology and filming for a television documentary. The discovery offers detailed knowledge about Dutch shipbuilding and the construction of fluyts. We also believe that study of the social organisation aboard this small trading ship can give insights into the mentality and ideology of the period. © 2012 The Authors     

Viking-Age Sails: Form and Proportion

Archaeological ship-finds have shed much light on the design and construction of vessels from the Viking Age. However, the exact proportions of their sails remain unknown due to the lack of fully preserved sails, or other definite indicators of their proportions. Key Viking-Age ship-finds from Scandinavia—the Oseberg Ship, the Gokstad Ship and Skuldelev 3—have all revealed traces of rigging. In all three finds, the keelson—with the mast position—is preserved, together with fastenings for the sheets and the tack, indicating the breadth of the sail. The sail area can then be estimated based on practical experience of how large a sail the specific ship can carry, in conjunction with hull form and displacement. This article presents reconstructions of the form and dimensions of rigging and sail based on the archaeological finds, evidence from iconographic and written sources, and ethnographic parallels with traditional Nordic boats. When these sources are analysed, not only do the similarities become apparent, but so too does the relative disparity between the archaeological record and the other sources. Preferential selection in terms of which source is given the greatest merit is therefore required, as it is not possible to afford them all equal value.     

Measurements,figures and formulas for the interpretation of Western Norwegian boats and viking ships

Along the coast of Norway we find a family of closely‐related boats. The Nordlands boat is one of them, and in many respects it is the most modern. The plan for the shape of these boats is typically coded into figures. Thus the “secret” of the boat's structure is a sort of “number code”. The question addressed here is: to what extent can the shape of the hull in Viking ships be expressed as a number code similar to that of the 19th‐century west‐coast boats of Norway. The principles behind the methods used to explore this question will be illustrated by three basic concepts, which will be treated separately below.     

Designing the 11th-century-AD vessel from Serçe Limanı, Turkey

A previous article investigated the methods used to design the 9th-century vessel from Bozburun, Turkey, and a basic methodology emerged which combined Richard Steffy's emphasis on the comprehensive deconstruction of a hull with the segregation of hull-construction into the phases of conception, design and assembly. This article tests this methodology by applying it to the 11th-century craft from Serçe Limanı, a vessel studied and reconstructed by Steffy. It discusses the resulting design-method, the similarities between this method and that used on the Bozburun vessel, and how we gain insight into changes in the maritime community which built these ships.
© 2010 The Author     

Maritime Archaeology and the Early Atlantic Trade: research at Elmina,Ghana

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 is characterized by a mass of trade goods, cannon and buried hull remains. A second Dutch vessel dating to c.1700 was documented after its discovery during dredging operations in the Benya Lagoon adjacent to Elmina. These sites present an opportunity to study ships and cargoes involved in the West African trade.     

A Presumed Hydraulic Apparatus for the Transport of Live Fish,Found on the Roman Wreck at Grado,Italy

The Roman wreck found off Grado, not far from the city of Aquileia in the north Adriatic Sea, was recovered in 1999. The ship carried various kinds of amphoras with processed fish. A lead pipe, inserted in the hull near the keel, is curious evidence which the authors try to explain. The pipe could be connected to a piston‐pump to suck water. A theoretical reconstruction demonstrates how this apparatus could work and that it could be used to feed a tank to allow trading in live fish over a long distance. © 2011 The Authors     

A Basque Shipyard Design Method of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries,and its Relationship to Non‐graphic Hull Design of the 15th Century

The aim of the article is to show that the Mutiozabal shipyard in Orio, Gipuzkoa, Spain, was using the tools and procedures of non‐graphic hull‐design methods into the latter 19th and early 20th centuries. These procedures allow a hull to be designed with a very simple set of tools: a template of the master‐frame and some simple graduated gauges or graminhos. The plan of a 65‐Burgos‐foot ¹ (18.11 m) trading boat is used as the basis of the study. The nature of the templates and graminhos is shown in detail, as well as their use.     

Tonnages and displacements in the 16th century

Questions associated with the size of ships suggested in historical documents are relevant to giving an idea of the volume of cargoes, the size of crews, cost of freights, or when trying to evaluate competitive advantages in war and commerce. Good estimates are often difficult to obtain from the written record, although some values concerning basic hull dimensions are sometimes mentioned. The establishment of reliable relations between registered capacity, as expressed in coeval documents, and displacement, as it is defined nowadays, would be helpful to both historical and archaeological research. This paper probes into the relations between a number of known formulas to calculate tonnages in the 16th century, and the reconstructed hull of the Pepper Wreck, an archaeologically excavated shipwreck dated to 1606.     

Evidence of Geometric Operators used to Shape Ancient Hulls

In some shipwrecks we can recognize factors such as units of measurement, use of segments and arcs, and repetition of shapes, which may have been rationalised during the transition from craft shipbuilding to a formal design process. This is an a posteriori assessment, as we do not know how hull‐shapes were planned and controlled in Antiquity. However the Cheops boat, and the Madrague de Giens, Anse des Laurons II, Fiumicino 4 and Yassi Ada II wrecks, display measurements and geometries suggesting rational approaches to hull‐moulding, with principles common to those of medieval and Renaissance shipbuilding and the traditional Mediterranean garbi. © 2012 The Author     

Two bullocks,a ladder and a lamp: electoral symbols in Nehruvian India

There is a substantial body of literature on nation‐building that, from a variety of theoretical approaches, examines the role of symbolic constructs in the process of construction and consolidation of new nation‐states. Among these works, the dramatic and symbolic aspects of election and their function in the nation‐building project have been investigated by political scientists and anthropologists alike. However, analysis of electoral emblems as constitutive elements in the nation‐building process has been largely missing from most studies of nation‐building and official nationalism. A case study of postindependence India suggests how national belonging was also made to hinge upon on competent democratic participation of the masses in the political life of the country. Central to this process of identity work was the establishment of an independent Election Commission and of strict rules for the design, selection and allotment of election emblems. Conventional accounts have argued that these procedures were introduced primarily for the benefit of the uneducated masses who were suddenly invited to participate in India's democratic process. I argue against this simplistic interpretation. Far from being only tools for the simplification of electoral processes, India's election symbols were one of India's institutional mechanisms designed to nurture the development of a correct democratic conduct and therefore ultimately contributing to the Nehruvian national project.