According to this article on BBC News, an important Bronze Age archaeological site is being excavated at a quarry in Whittlesey, England. The village, located along the old course of the River Nene, burned about 800 B.C., and was subsequently buried by 3 meters of peat and silt, which preserved a great many artifacts, including six (count 'em!) oak dugout canoes, along with other items such as ropes, buckets, swords, spoons, and a pot of nettle stew. (We don't wonder why that was left uneaten.)
There's the usual nonsense about the artifacts being "perfectly preserved," when it's clear from the photos that the canoes, at least, did of course suffer deterioration: but that's not to imply that they were not sufficiently well preserved to be of potentially great archaeological value Unfortunately, the article includes no details about the canoes, but if you learn anything elsewhere, please leave a comment.
Thanks again to Marian for this tip.
Nice find of a bronze age logboat.
ReplyDeleteIn Sweden, in the southern part of the province of Vaestergoetland, in the clay adjacent to the river Viskan a remarcable find was made in the 1930:s. It was the remains of a bark canoe. Now, many years later the find has finally been dated (with carbon 14) and it turns out it is nearly 3000 years old.
Here is pictures of the find:
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=95&artikel=4869876
One can contact the Goteborg city museum for more information:
http://stadsmuseum.goteborg.se/
or the Bohuslan museum
http://www.bohuslansmuseum.se/Kultur_Default.aspx?id=3475
Another article about the Whittlesey find is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/dec/04/bronze-age-archaeology-fenland
It includes more information and a better photo of one of the boats.