The Thaikkal-Kadakkarappally Boat: an Archaeological Example of Medieval Shipbuilding in the Western Indian Ocean

Recent excavations at Kadakkarappally in Kerala, south-west India, have unearthed the remains of an iron-fastened boat, believed to predate the earliest known records for the use of iron in South Asian boatbuilding. The design departs significantly from the traditional view of Indian watercraft, although the use of locally available timber and the suitability of the design for use in the backwaters that characterise the region suggest that it was built and used in India. This is the first excavation of its type to take place in Kerala and contradicts the belief, widely held in Kerala, that the survival of organic remains has been negated by the tropical climate of the region.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

Absorbing External Shocks: The Gulf Crisis,International Migration Linkages and the Indian Economy, 1990 (with special reference to the impact on Kerala)

The paper analyses the impact of the Gulf crisis on the Indian economy as a whole, on the state of Kerala which was the origin of the majority of the Indian migrants in Kuwait and Iraq, and on the returning migrants them- selves. The scale of the disturbances is estimated both with respect to the labour market, as well as the flow of remittances. Alternative policy responses are discussed, especially in the context of the Kerala economy, and the problem is viewed separately from the vantage point of the returning migrants, as well as that of the State Government. The effects of the crisis become more acute as the focus shifts from the level of the macroeconomy, to the state of Kerala, to the migrants themselves.     

The Dover Boat—a Reconstruction Case-Study

The Bronze-Age Dover boat, reconstructed and published by Owain Roberts in 2004, is discussed in regard to the general considerations of reconstructing ancient boat structures in the previous paper. The archaeological evidence shows that the boat had a bottom shape different from that shown in the 2004 reconstruction, and various other aspects, such as the general shape and strength of the hull and the calculation of potential speed when paddled, are questioned, partly drawing on the author's experience with the reconstruction of the Hjortspring boat. A re-assessment of the evidence is called for before any attempts to build a full-scale version of the Dover boat for sea-trials.
© 2006 The Author     

1949—1958年卫运河船民融入集体的历史进程

卫运河为近代以来华北地区的重要运输通道,其船民由漕运船户演变而来。在船民中长期存在着自利、迷信等旧观念。新中国成立后,华北内河航运管理局通过稳定物价、调整劳资关系等方式加强了对卫运河运输的管理,同时也开展了对船民的改造工作。这给船民的旧观念带来了一定的冲击。对此,华北内河航运管理局在满足船民利益需求的同时,通过经济扶持、教育引导、安全管理、改变迷信观念等诸多方法,增强了船民对国家的认同,船民由只问私利的个体劳动者转变成具有集体主义观念的新中国劳动者。     

A Royal Boat Burial and Watercraft Tableau of Egypt's 12th Dynasty (c.1850 BCE) at South Abydos

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 of royal funerary boats associated with the nearby tomb of Senwosret III. Incised on to the interior walls of the boat building is an extensive tableau including 120 surviving drawings of pharaonic watercraft. A unique deposit of pottery vessels was found associated with the ceremonial burial of this royal boat.     

Sørenga 7: the reconstruction of a 17th‐century boat from Oslo harbour

In 2006, during the Immersed Tunnel Project in the harbour of Oslo, Norway, a c.9.4 m‐long boat was discovered. The boat was found in the area historically known as Sørenga, and was named Sørenga 7, following six other finds in the area excavated from the early 1970s to the 1990s. The boat was documented digitally piece by piece, and a scale model was made in cardboard and polyamide. The deposition of the boat in the transition between the 17th and 18th centuries focuses attention on life in the early modern harbour of Christiania (Oslo).     

Re-evaluating the Monitoring of the Shardlow Log Boat

Following the discovery of a Bronze Age log boat in Shardlow Quarry, Derbyshire in 2003, a scheme was devised to preserve this boat in situ. This included a monitoring programme to ensure that reducing conditions were maintained. This solution was agreed by the mineral planning authority Derbyshire County Council, with input and advice from English Heritage.

Monitoring lasted ten years, during which time gravel deposits surrounding the boat were extracted. The boat was protected from dewatering during this time by a clay cut-off, installed around the area containing the boat before extraction begun. After extraction the adjacent areas were backfilled with on-site soils and inert waste.

Data indicate that a reducing environment has been largely sustained during this period. Following careful and considered discussion, the monitoring programme ceased as there was unlikely to be further impacts to site hydrology, making additional data collection redundant.     

Examining Possible Driftwood Use in Viking Age Icelandic Boats

While boat and ship graves are known from across northern Europe, and are particularly associated with the Viking Age, only seven examples of such monuments have been excavated in Iceland. Furthermore, no shipwrecks are known dating from this period in Iceland, and examples of boat timbers preserved by waterlogging are very rare. As such, the mineralized wood remains from these burials comprise the vast majority of direct archaeological evidence currently available for the boats used in daily life in early Iceland. This paper uses taxonomic identification of mineralized wood remains from the Icelandic boat graves, along with comparative data from Europe and Scandinavia, to discuss boat construction and repair in early Iceland, including the possibilities of driftwood utilization and the importation of boats from Norway. The economic and social significance of the practice of boat burial in Iceland is also explored, with regard to the importance of boats as transport and the limited availability of wood suitable for boat construction and repair.     

彰显与重塑——佛山盐步老龙礼俗的调查与研究

明朝万历年间,佛山南海盐步老龙与广州泮塘龙舟因一次大型龙舟比赛而结缘,因对比赛结果的谦让而结契：根据两条龙船所造时间之先后、历史之长短来划分辈分,盐步老龙因时间久远被尊为“契爷”（干爹）,年轻的泮塘龙舟甘为“契仔”（干儿子）,并择日簪花挂红,举行隆重的结拜仪式。在以后的每年端午节期间,“契爷”、“契仔”互相探访,仪式隆崇,场面壮观,彰显和重塑了南海盐步老龙厚重的文化习俗。     

The Great Hall of the Bishop's Palace at Hereford

Abstract

In the Summer of 2005 the authors directed the excavation of a flat stone setting with a boat-shaped central depression at Skamby, Kuddby parish, Östergötland, Sweden. The stone setting covered a small and poorly preserved boat inhumation, dated by the artefacts recovered to the early Viking period (9th century AD). This is the first excavation of a boat inhumation in the province of Östergötland. The paper reports on the excavations including the discovery of an exceptional collection of 23 amber gaming pieces, which provide a new perspective on Viking-period gaming. The data from this boat grave are considered in relation to the rest of the Skamby cemetery, which remains to be investigated. Judging from a topographical survey of the ridge surrounding the excavated area, and from metal-detector finds recovered from the surrounding fields, the Skamby cemetery appears to be a high-status burial ground divided into two zones, one comprised of boat inhumation graves, the other of circular stone settings likely to cover cremation graves. The results of the excavation lead to a revised picture of boat burial as an élite mortuary rite in southern Sweden during the late 1st millennium AD.     

How to Carefully Construct a Hospital over a Roman Boat in Central London,UK

This paper examines the Roman boat, buried beneath Guys Hospital in London, UK. A small part was discovered in 1958, and has been carefully left free of disturbance since that date. In 2009, a proposal was made to construct a 14-storey building above the boat; clearly raising challenges for preservation, not to mention the philosophy of burying or excavating and entire ancient monument. A trial pit was opened to see if any remains of the boat survived and uncovered well-preserved timber planks and nails preserved five metres below ground level. Consequently, archaeologists worked closely with the entire design team, determined that more was required than the usual scheme of preserving and monitoring the boat. A legal agreement was secured, making this one of the few projects in the world to have a clearly structured and enforceable plan, if the monitoring data show demonstrable deterioration.     

Graphical Reconstruction and Comparison of Royal Boat Iconography from the Causeway of the Egyptian King Sahure (c.2487–2475 BC)

Recently published reliefs from the causeway of Sahure and a review of contemporary iconography and archaeological data shed new light on a variety of features of Old Kingdom royal sailing boats and equipment, such as quarter rudders, rigging, signalling devices, decorations and crew. Furthermore, another relief depicts men paddling in a sequential or what appears to be a wave pattern. Only one other such relief exists. A comparison of both reveals that they are different boat types. One is a specialized racing boat and the other appears to be a larger boat possibly designed to be rowed.     

Public Intervention and Poverty Alleviation: A Study of the Declining Incidence of Rural Poverty in Kerala,India

In the context of the continuing and lively debate on the estimates, trends and determinants of rural poverty in India, this article examines the sharp decline, since the late 1970s, in the incidence of rural poverty in the state of Kerala, well known for its record of social development. It is argued that, given the slow rate of growth of the Kerala economy in general and agriculture in particular since the mid-1970s, the ‘trickle down’ theory cannot explain the decline in poverty. Similarly, the fact that rural wages have increased faster than the consumer price index does not constitute a sufficient condition for crossing the poverty line. Expansion of state-directed programmes is seen to be the single most important determinant in reducing rural poverty. The effect of public intervention programmes is roughly estimated to be equal to one fifth of the consumption of rural labour households. The lesson of Kerala for poverty alleviation is that social protection expressed in terms of meeting the basic consumption requirements of the poor, especially the vulnerable among the poor, should be a necessary component of development policy. However, this is not a sufficient condition: there should also be a growth strategy which would provide adequate employment to all members of the labour force from the poorer sections of the population. The current line of official thinking in India, in the context of economic liberalization, is hardly conducive to such a strategy.     

Globalization Lived Locally: Investigating Kerala's Local Labour Control Regimes

This article uses the case study of a prominent electronics manufacturer in Kerala, southern India, to illuminate an approach to labour studies which focuses on local labour control regimes. Kerala was chosen for this study because of certain unusual characteristics of its labour market. Building on the theoretical base of local labour control regimes, empirical evidence from the case study reveals that local labour markets develop their own forms of labour control and worker response patterns. These are not always clearly visible and may require something more than superficial enquiry to bring their salient features into view. In this case, the Church is shown to play an unexpected role in local labour control regimes.     

Executed Criminals and Folk-Medicine

This essay sees “through” an object produced by Portuguese folklore: the moliceiro boat of Ria de Aveiro, whose most original characteristic is the group of four different panels painted on each boat. These unique panels have echoed national mythologies and have undergone influence from institutional channels of instruction and propaganda for much of the twentieth century. We will analyse how this boat expresses the inventory of a community's identity, imagination, and practices.     

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

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.     

Mahishi's rage: Communitas and protest at Sabarimala,Kerala

In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban on females of menstrual age entering the sacred site to Lord Ayyappan at Sabarimala in the Indian state of Kerala. Violent protests, for and against, engulfed Kerala throughout the main festival and pilgrimage season of 2018–19. This article explores the major sociopolitical and cultural forces that underpinned the violent protests at one of India’s (and also the world’s) major centres of religious pilgrimage. The central argument extends Victor Turner’s thesis in The ritual process to show how the dynamics of liminality and communitas created an intense vortex of crisis of potentially sociocultural transformational effect.     

State Life: Land,Welfare and Management of the Landless in Kerala,India

The pressing need to manage the spiralling number of landless people around the world has compelled several states to experiment with scattered land distribution programmes in combination with welfare transfers, instead of comprehensive land reform. This article examines the chasm between land demands and state responses in such contexts. Focusing on the Aralam resettlement site for the landless Adivasis in Kerala, India, it argues that management of the landless could take the form of ‘state life’ — a life envisaged by the state rather than the life the people wish to lead. Three interlinked processes are shown to shape state life in Kerala: the reduction of land to welfare, amplified welfare transfers and the mobilization of assumptions about the target population. State life enables states to extinguish simmering land struggles in the short term, but ultimately it reproduces landlessness.     

The Discourse of Fengsu in the Song Literati’s Writing: The Example of Boat Racing

The category of “customs,” or fengsu, was important for the literati of the Song dynasty in writing local histories. It covers local practices of festival rituals, weddings and funerals, rites for passage into adulthood, sacrificial rites, and the like. The main purpose behind the literati’s efforts to record fengsu was not to acknowledge local variations but to censor local customs and transform society. This paper looks at these type of texts as a discourse that is meant to promote the correct, standard performance of rites and suppress those deemed improper. It uses boat racing in Song records of fengsu as a case study to illustrate how the imperial spectacle of boat racing in spring was propagated and how the linkage between the death anniversary of Qu Yuan and Duanwu were reinforced. Meanwhile, the popular ritual of boat racing during the summer, which bore distinct violent and shamanic attributes, was strongly criticised. Through these efforts by the literati, a normative discourse of the boat-racing ritual was repeated and reinforced in the fengsu recording.     

Ground-penetrating radar survey at the pyramid complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur,Egypt, 2008: search for the lost boat of a Pharaoh

A survey at Dahshur, Egypt, employed 3-D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in an attempt to locate pharaonic boat burials at the pyramid complex of King Senwosret III. In AD 1894, the original excavator reported finding five or six boats; however, only four “Dahshur boats” are known in museum collections today. The suspected site of the lost boat burial(s) lay beneath the large 1894 excavation backfill pile. The steep topography of the backfill required nonstandard GPR processing methods to accurately image the subsurface of the site. Although revealing no definitive traces of any remaining boats, imaging results did indicate discernible strata associated with the original naturally deposited surface, an excavated boat pit, debris and fill associated with either its original creation or its excavation, and deeper, presently unidentified archaeological remains.