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.     

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     

Fishing Gear from a 7th-Century Shipwreck off Dor, Israel

The ancient anchorage of Dor, Israel, contains wreck-sites from several periods. Underwater exploration of one Byzantine wreck discovered the remains of a medium-size boat constructed with iron nails. Coin-finds dated it to c .665 AD, after the Muslim conquest. The wreck was probably caused by natural agents, but an event in the Byzantine-Muslim conflict can not be discounted. The artefacts include a group of objects testifying to the practice of light-fishing. Literary sources indicate a prevalence of light-fishing, but archaeological finds are very rare. This discovery clearly indicates light-fishing in late antiquity. A sounding-lead and steelyard can be seen as auxiliary to the fishing.
© 2007 The Authors     

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).     

Models as Evidence for Sewn‐boat Traditions

Models of traditional boats stitched together with thread or cane from different parts of the world are commonly found in museum collections. They are often highly detailed and assembled in a way that is characteristic of a particular region. Through the presentation of a range of sewn‐boat models, particularly focusing on those from Sri Lanka, this paper considers how representative models are of full‐size boats, and if they can tell us about boat types and construction techniques. It provides guidance on using and interpreting models and aims to promote the use of these objects to further understand sewn boats.     

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.     

Sailing Rock Art Boats

Amongst the thousands of Bronze Age rock art images that are found along the paleogeographic coast lines of southern Scandinavia the most ubiquitous is the boat. A few are furnished with what look like a mast or sail. These attributes have largely been ignored or explained away as features or objects other than rig because it is widely accepted that the sail was not used in Scandinavia until the 8th century AD. But what if after all they really are depictions of rig? Might this suggest that the sail was not only known but perhaps used here over a 1,000 years earlier than previously accepted? Starting from the bases of the images and the environment in which they are found, this paper asks whether vessels of the types we believe belonged to the Scandinavian Bronze Age could have been sailed? These evaluations led to a series of sail trials in a canoe undertaken in the archipelago of the Swedish west coast in the late summer and autumn of 2005. The successful results of these trials were later transferred to the Tilia, a full-scale reconstruction of the Hjortspring boat, a vessel dated to 350 BC but believed to belong to a long-established boatbuilding tradition stretching back into the Bronze Age. This is the report of the hypothesis behind these trials as well as their planning, execution and immediate results.     

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.     

THE REGIONALIZATION OF A WATERWAY: A STUDY OF RECREATIONAL BOAT TRAFFIC

The Trent-Severn Waterway is an artificially connected series of lakes and rivers used primarily for recreational boating. A graph theoretic analysis of 56,675 boat trips was conducted to establish the predominant boating patterns on the waterway. Short trips, with a high degree of directional balance, are characteristic. Seven distinct nodal regions with high isolation ratios can be clearly identified as the result of the highly localized nature of most of the boat traffic.
La voie navigable Trent-Severn se compose d'un ensemble de lacs et de rivières, reliés artificiellement; la voie est utilisé principalement pour la navigation de plaisance. Afin d'établir les modèles prédominants d'usage de la voie navigable, l'auteur a entrepris une analyse ← graph théorique → de 56,675 voyages en bateau. Les trajets les plus caractéristiques sont assez courts et présentent un équilibre d'orientation élevé. étant donné le caractère très localisé de la navigation, on peut identifier clairement sept régions nodales distinctes qui ont toutes des raisons d'isolement élevées.
The geographic study of outdoor recreation, in those cases which have focused on recreational areas, has been largely static; recreational areas have been treated as formal (i.e. uniform) rather than functional regions. In this paper, by contrast, graph theory is used to develop a model of the internal spatial structure of a waterway, disaggregating what is conventionally thought of as a single recreational unit into its component regions in a way that reflects the trip patterns of recreational boaters.     

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。     

An Exploratory Geophysical Survey at the Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur, Egypt, in Search of Boats

A geophysical survey at the pyramid complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur sought to determine the suitability of magnetometry and electromagnetic induction (EMI, or conductivity) for mapping the area where several ancient boat-burials were found in the 1890s. At least one boat reported at the time of excavation remains unaccounted for. Tests demonstrated that magnetometry does detect subsurface structures of stone, fired brick, and unfired brick under current site conditions. Data indicated areas of geological activity as well as unexcavated archaeological remains, though no definitive traces of boat burials. No excavation was undertaken but another survey season is planned.
© 2009 The Authors     

Building a copy of the Gokstad Faering

This is the story of the building of a replica Viking craft. Being only 22 ft (6.7 m) long and having 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) beam, the Gokstad faering does not conform to our usual image of a Viking boat. However, the smaller craft shows all the construction details found in the larger ships. A close examination can help us to see some of the principles the Vikings applied to their boatbuilding.     

Preserving Medieval Farm Mounds in a Large Stormwater Retention Area

The Netherlands has denoted large areas as stormwater retention areas. These areas function as temporary storage locations for stormwater when rivers cannot cope with the amount of water. A large area, the Onlanden — 2,500 hectares — was developed as such a storage area between 2008 and 2013. This peat area contains up to 300 medieval housing areas. These ‘peatmounds’, named after the current visible small mound, were explicitly mentioned as a preservation goal in the project. The preservation of the peatmounds during and after the project has been guaranteed by a combination of protective measures, research, and monitoring actions. At first a risk evaluation was performed, followed by a monitoring project focusing on the preservation of the organic part of the mounds. This evaluation showed that the rewetting of the mounds might improve the overall preservation. A total of fifteen monitoring stations were a-selectively distributed over the total area, covering the four main types of land use. The measured parameters at these stations focus on the desiccation/rewetting effects. The second threat, as determined in the risk evaluation, is the growth of deep penetrating plants. These roots might disturb the archaeological profile. Preventive coverage with plastic and up to a metre of soil could prevent root growth into the archaeology. An experimental coverage showed the effectiveness of this technique, but also the risks. This paper focuses on the lessons that can be learned from this six-year project, the monitoring results, and clearly shows the benefits of a combined approach in large-scale projects.     

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。     

Rubh’ an Dùnain: a multi‐period maritime landscape on the Isle of Skye,Inner Hebrides,Scotland

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 beyond, and quays built on either side of the entry. A 12th‐century boat‐timber was found in the loch. Later the canal was widened, and finally blocked. The sequence of development, and associated dating, merits further research.     

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.     

Earthquake-Induced Damage Detection in a Monumental Masonry Bell-Tower Using Long-Term Dynamic Monitoring Data

ABSTRACT

This work investigates the use of an advanced long-term vibration-based structural health monitoring tool to automatically detect earthquake-induced damages in heritage structures. Damage produced in a monumental bell-tower at increasing values of the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of the seismic input is predicted by incremental nonlinear dynamic analysis, using a Finite Element model calibrated on the basis of experimentally identified natural modes. Then, predicted damage effects are artificially introduced in the monitoring data to check for their detectability. The results demonstrate that a very small damage, associated to a low intensity and low return period earthquake, is clearly detected by the monitoring system.     

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Recreational Angling Effort in a Warm‐Temperate Australian Estuary

Among the critical issues for the management of estuarine fish resources is the need to adequately identify the extent of use by recreational fishers, and the allocation of the resource between recreational and commercial users. Recreational anglers in estuaries often target a similar range of estuarine fish species to commercial fishers. Prior to the declaration of ‘recreational fishing havens’ (estuarine waters closed to commercial netting but remaining open to recreational angling) in many New South Wales (NSW) estuaries in May 2002, the estuary of the Manning River on the central NSW coast supported the tenth most productive commercial estuarine net fishery in the State. To quantify the recreational angling effort in the Manning River estuary, progressive counts were made of shore‐based and boat‐based anglers from a small power boat from June 2001 to May 2002. Sample days (eight per month) were chosen in a stratified random fashion, taking into account the proportions of weekends, public holidays and school holidays in each month. The total recreational angling effort exerted on the estuary for the 12‐month period was 144 892 ± 3248 angler‐hours, indicating a low to medium effort compared to other NSW estuaries of similar size. Over half of the effort was exerted in the section nearest the northern entrance at Harrington. There was relatively little variation in shore‐based angling effort throughout the year, whereas boat‐based fishing increased markedly in summer. Months that coincided with NSW school holidays were most popular, especially January. More recreational fishing effort was exerted in the afternoons than in the mornings during winter, but this trend was reversed in summer. Although daily effort was much higher on weekends than weekdays, the total cumulative effort was generally similar, due to the greater number of weekdays in the year. Pilot studies of catch per unit effort indicate that the recreational catch in the Manning River estuary is probably small compared to the pre‐closure commercial catch. Therefore management strategies aimed at limiting the recreational catch are likely to have minimal impact on fish stocks in the estuary when compared with regulation of the commercial sector.