Drawings by Caroline Caldwell.
Ebook (PDF) published 2013.
This report is the first full study of the remains of ships and boats used in the port of London from the first to the eleventh century AD. Using evidence from the vessels, from the waterfronts, and from trade goods, Peter Marsden has reconstructed the design and use of these ancient ships, and brought together for the first time the accumulated evidence of over 30 years of archaeological research. The remains of three substantial vessels are discussed: Blackfriars ship 1, the earliest-known seagoing sailing ship yet found in northern Europe, the New Guy's House boat, a river barge from the second century, and the County Hall ship, discovered in 1910 and dating from the fourth century. Using these and fragments of different types of clinker-built vessels found in the Thames the author examines the pattern of shipbuilding in northern Europe, with the conclusion that London was the meeting point for several shipbuilding traditions, of which the primary 'Roman' tradition in northern Europe was Celtic. The growth of trade, from Roman times to the fifth and sixth centuries when London was deserted, and from its renewal in the seventh century to the end of the eleventh century, is examined through the evidence of the remains of imported goods, together with the changing function of the port and the development of berthing practices.
Author(s): Peter Marsden
Series: English Heritage Archaeological Reports, 3
Publisher: English Heritage
Year: 1994
Language: English
Pages: 238
City: London
List of figures 6
List of tables 8
Acknowledgements 9
Introduction 11
1. The port from the mid first to the mid third centuries 15
2. Blackfriars ship 1, 1962 33
3. The New Guy's House boat, 1958 97
4. The port in the later third and fourth centuries 105
5. The County Hall ship, 1910 109
6. The port in the seventh to ninth centuries 131
7. The port in the tenth to eleventh centuries 135
8. Ships and boats of the tenth and eleventh centuries 141
9. Conclusions 163
Appendix 1. The pottery dating evidence from Blackfriars ship 1 181
Appendix 2. Metallographic analysis of nails from Blackfriars ship 1 183
Appendix 3. Romano-Celtic ship caulking 189
Appendix 4. Analysis of resin 191
Appendix 5. Theoretical stability of Blackfriars ship 1 193
Appendix 6. Dendrochronology of Roman and early medieval ships 201
Appendix 7. Hair in caulking from Fennings Wharf boat fragments 211
Appendix 8. Headings for recording each fragment of ship 213
Appendix 9. Glossary of nautical terms 215
Summaries 217
Bibliography 221
Index 225
