Early Boats

The discovery of the Varpelev Boat in 1973 was an archaeological sensation which attracted significant attention from both the media as well as scholars. In consultation with specialists, Køge Museum initiated a salvage operation and conservation plan. However, the process faced setbacks, which led to the boat's deterioration. In 2005, a rescue operation enabled its re-conservation, which was completed in 2016. The boat was transferred to the Viking Ship Museum in 2017. The boat, dated to 1220-788 BC, was partially preserved. It had a flat 'platform' at the aft end, hewn from the trunk's root, and featured three hewn-out ridges inside. It measured c. 12.4 m in situ, with reconstructions estimating its original length to be about 13 meters, c. 50 cm high, and weighing c. 1300 kg. During the boat's era of use, sea levels were higher, making the river valley, in which the boat was found, a navigable brackish fjord. This suggests that the Varpelev Boat was part of a broader maritime transit network. It would have served as a cargo and crew carrier in a key geographical area in which sea and land routes intersected. This is furthermore supported by the boat’s design, which shows similarities to other watercraft from the period. A new research project (2024 to 2025), aims to provide deeper insights into the boat's construction and its role in Bronze Age maritime networks, utilizing dendrochronology and 3D reconstructions. The project is a collaborative effort with plans for a scientific publication and a temporary exhibition to showcase the boat's historical and technological significance.

en février 2024 nous avons eu l'occasion d'effectuer deux nouveaux séjours dans la corne nordest de la Tasile-n-Ăžžǝr, entre les oueds Karakaï et Imirhu. Les documents collectés apportent un supplément d'informations aux données de 2023, confirmant la prédominance des gravures sur les peintures, la haute fréquence des ovaloïdes et des personnages en posture de Bès. On note aussi une densité inhabituelle de figurations de récipients, principalement gravés, avec une concentration remarquable dans l'oued Afar wa-Tanjet.
Abstract : In February 2024, we had the opportunity to make further visits to the northeastern horn of the Tasile-n-Ăžžǝr plateau (Algeria), between the Karakaï and Imirhu wadis. The documents collected provide additional information to the 2023 data, confirming the predominance of engravings over paintings, the high frequency of ovaloids and figures in the Bès posture. There is also an unusual density of containers figures, mainly engraved, with a remarkable concentration in the oued Afar wa-Tanjet.

A comprehensive assessment of boat-related bog finds from the collection of the Arctic University Museum of Norway (Norges Arktiske Universitetsmuseum, NAU) materialises the entanglement of boat technology and cultural meaning in northern Norway during the Iron
Age. Nineteen boat parts and related equipment made of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) from 17 bog locations have been documented. As the Early Iron Age and pre-Iron Age bog finds have been discussed in an earlier publication (Wickler 2019), this chapter focusses on bog boat finds
from the Late Iron Age. The documentation of bog boats has emphasised absolute dating using radiocarbon and dendrochronology, in addition to detailed descriptions and graphic documentation of the objects. Some finds are related to ritual activities which include votive bog offerings and
a boat grave. Most of the Late Iron Age boats have sewn planking, a construction technique which predates the use of iron rivets first documented in the Roman Iron Age and which is also associated with indigenous Sámi boats. Hybrid vessels combining sewing with treenails and rivets are also represented. Bog boat remains are discussed in the context of relevant explanatory frameworks in order to evaluate their significance for the development of boat technology and as expressions of northern Norwegian maritime culture.

The long, strange tale of the Behring An American vessel abandoned in Sydney Harbour Nestled within a small cove in Sydney's Middle Harbour lie the remnants of an American vessel constructed during the height of the clipper ship era. Following a lengthy sailing career that took it to far-flung corners of the globe, the intrepid craft ended its days as a powder hulk in the employ of the New South Wales colonial government. Dr James Hunter discusses the history of the barque Behring and forthcoming plans to archaeologically investigate and confirm its identity.

Contribution à l'étude de l'art rupestre tassilien : à la recherche d'un sens à Ozan Ehéré (Tasîli-n-Ajjer, sahara central, Algérie)
par Amel Mostefaï-Ithier (Mostefaï)
Thèse de doctorat en Préhistoire

Sous la direction de François Bon et de Jean-Loïc Le Quellec.

Soutenue le 22-09-2014

à Toulouse 2 , dans le cadre de École doctorale Temps, Espaces, Sociétés, Cultures (Toulouse) , en partenariat avec Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (Toulouse) (laboratoire) .

Le président du jury était Claudine Cohen.

Le jury était composé de François Bon, Jean-Loïc Le Quellec, Nacéra Benseddik, Michel Barbaza, Robert Vernet.

Les rapporteurs étaient Claudine Cohen, Nacéra Benseddik.


Art rupestre
Tasîli-n-Ajjer
Ozan-Ehéré
Approche structurale
Représentations féminines
Art pariétal -- Algérie -- Ajjer, Tassili des (Algérie)

Résumé
En se basant sur le profil des figurations humaines et sur quelques présupposés particulièrement tenaces sur un monde des masques et un animisme considérés comme proprement noir-africains, nombre des auteurs ayant traité des images rupestres du Sahara central ont confondu «culture» et «identité raciale», canons artistiques et types anthropologiques, s'appliquant à écrire une Histoire culturelle hachée que rien ne justifie a priori. Ainsi, à Ozan Ehéré, de remarquables cas de rapports explicites illustrés par des scènes montrant un anthropomorphe touchant un zoomorphe invitent à suggérer un parallèle entre des figurations en style des Têtes Rondes et des images bovidiennes (styles de Séfar - Ozan Ehéré, d’Abañher, d’Iheren), alors que ces groupes sont généralement tenus pour indépendants l’un de l’autre et cloisonnés par souci typologique. Une première approche structurale de l’art rupestre de la zone permet aussi d’ouvrir quelques pistes stimulantes quant à la nature des êtres représentés sur les parois (qui ne sont peut-être pas des humains et des animaux ordinaires vaquant à quelque occupation banale), et conduit à s’interroger sur la fonction de ces images. À la lumière de leur possible dimension féminine, quelques peintures en style des Têtes Rondes pourraient sortir du dossier des représentations énigmatiques et l’on pourrait également — sans recours à des lectures littérales — faire quelque peu quitter aux images bovidiennes le monde de la peinture décorative et celui de la chronique historiée.

The current policy and legal framework surrounding the scheduling of submerged monuments in English waters, its application and the implications for the conservation of underwater cultural heritage arising is reviewed. Historic England (HE's) new policy being seemingly based primarily upon the perceived implications for its resources. The resulting dichotomy of policy between DCMS and its statutory advisers is at best confusing to both the marine archeological community and the public, at worst it may be ultra vires. At times of unprecedented public funding austerity statutory agencies such as HE need to build support amongst their public constituencies. Formulating such an approach is potentially alienating and does not seen well designed to achieve this. The 1979 Act also appears to offer a versatile instrument for managing underwater sites. Indeed the Act may fit HE's public agenda better than the 1973 Act, delivering the public access that HE desires, without he resource...

The increased use of laser scanning and photogrammetry has given rise to new opportunities in disseminating information about historic maritime assets and are of great use in conservation management initiatives. This chapter discusses the current state of 3D survey of historic vessels and how this has been applied more recently for historic vessel conservation management. Key questions such as how this data is utilized, and what it is that the capture of such data is trying to achieve for the conservation and management of historic ships and vessels will be explored. In addition, this chapter will introduce information modelling, most commonly seen as Building Information Modelling (BIM) as an approach for furthering the effective management of historic ships and vessels, as well as other historic marine and maritime assets. It will demonstrate that the majority of attempts at utilizing BIM in the heritage sector have been limited to buildings, and that the full potential of this technique has not been realized. Through the use of the 'VIM' project at HMS Victory the chapter will then explore how information modelling can be applied to a highly complex historic ship.

The Tassili-n-Ajjer plateau is famous for its tens of thousands of pictographs discovered in the mid-XX th century. Despite extensive studies aimed at preserving this art inscribed on the World Heritage List, the antiquity of these paintings remains hotly debated. Because recent attempts at dating with radiocarbon failed to provide reliable results, an OSL dating study focused on Quaternary deposits preserved at the feet of painted walls and which can be connected to them was undertaken. Thirteen sediment samples were collected from below and above the palaeosol where the painters might have lived. The OSL results indicate that the paintings are younger than w9e10 ka, but unfortunately they do not allow us to narrow the time interval during which they were made.

The increased use of laser scanning and photogrammetry has given rise to new opportunities in disseminating information about historic maritime assets and are of great use in conservation management initiatives. This chapter discusses the current state of 3D survey of historic vessels and how this has been applied more recently for historic vessel conservation management. Key questions such as how this data is utilized, and what it is that the capture of such data is trying to achieve for the conservation and management of historic ships and vessels will be explored. In addition, this chapter will introduce information modelling, most commonly seen as Building Information Modelling (BIM) as an approach for furthering the effective management of historic ships and vessels, as well as other historic marine and maritime assets. It will demonstrate that the majority of attempts at utilizing BIM in the heritage sector have been limited to buildings, and that the full potential of this technique has not been realized. Through the use of the 'VIM' project at HMS Victory the chapter will then explore how information modelling can be applied to a highly complex historic ship.

More than 50 representations of the "pseudo-nasses" were submitted to the authors for analysis. Not less than 39 of them concern a "horned" variant. It is a new genre which had not been distinguished in the previously published hundreds of these engravings of all types. This article, presents some assumptions of his installation on ground. The detailed analysis of the « horned » forms allowus to compare these two types. The « horned » pseudo-nasse is the result of an evolution of the classic type, up to a protohistoric ultimate variant. A chronology of these three types is proposed. The hypothesis of a real object, ethnologically unknown, leads to advocate technologies in order to find out its trace in excavations in favorable sites, and try to decipher the variants of forms and uses. The "body" assembled with bovine appendages gives to the « horned » pseudo-nasse a probable high symbolic value.

The development and character of the so-called Scandinavian boat-building tradition has long been a matter of debate. It is commonly thought that it extends back to around AD 1. But what happened before that date? Countless Bronze Age vessels are depicted on rock carvings and bronzes, but few are known as actual wrecks. Which tradition do they represent? In this essay it is suggested that the Scandinavian boat-building tradition was born already at the beginning of the Bronze Age. The basis for this suggestion is a number of observations indicating continuity into the ist Millennium, as seen in ship depictions, ship settings and wrecks. The Bronze Age shipwrecks are not nomerous, but some are known. From the Continent, the British Isles and Scandinavia several log boats are known, which share important technological features such as hewn out frames, rectangular/ trapezoid cross-section and a considerable length (fig. i). There are indications of a relationship between these log boat...

Le commentaire de J.-L. Le Quellec appelle d'abord diverses rectifications. Au sujet de la technique, J.-L. Le Quellec use du terme technique incis@e. Or, nous n'avons fait mention de trait incisk ou pique@ qu'en reference au contexte rkgional. Le

In Italy, the 80s saw the beginning of a re-born interest in nautical heritage. Year after year, 'old' activities such as traditional shipwright skills and boatyards working with wooden boats started to be reintroduced to the Italian entrepreneurship reality. Their new scope was no longer the construction of new wooden boats, but the restoration of those considered historical or with cultural importance. Restoration is a practice aiming to secure the future of objects of cultural importance. Until today, wooden boats have been restored according to the project designer's sensitivities. Rules or general indications do not exist. Thanks to the tool of 'design thinking' this research arrives at the proposal of 'guidelines for boat restoration', with a multiple purpose: being a tool for any designer working on the restoration of boats; adding value to those designers' work; activating opportunities for new entrepreneurship; and developing old entrepreneurship realities according to present needs.

Rrsum6-Un art schrmatique grav6 par fine incision du support fait son apparition A la fin de l'Age du Fer et couvre toute la prriode historique. Le corpus iconographique est restreint en drpit de nombreuses variantes graphiques. I1 semble qu'on puisse attester une organisation des panneaux gravrs avec des figures centrales (personnages, animaux...), des signes qui leur sont associrs (signe solriforme, zigzag...) et des signes prriphrriques ~ la composition grnrrale (pentacle, grille, traits non organisrs...). Les sites recensrs dans le sud-est de la France sont des grottes, des abris sous-roche et deux 6difices architecturaux. L'orientation au sud et la couleur rouge des parois sont deux crit~res du choix des sites naturels. Certains abris ~ gravures linraires sont des sites drjA ornrs au Nrolithique. Il semble qu'on privilrgie des lieux aux marges des terroirs agropastoraux.

During a year of surveying for rock art in the
Ennedi in 1956-57, Gérard Bailloud recorded over 500
sites. The majority of these have been re-located and visited
in recent years. However, a group of paintings at the
localities of Soro Kezenanga and Tarchia have stubbornly
eluded all attempts to find them. In the winter of 2018 the
authors finally re-located the “lost” sites presented here,
as well as finding some previously unreported ones.

The well-known Nordic Bronze Age razor from Vestrup Mark in northern Jutland, dated to c. 1100-900 BC, is possibly the most well-published Nordic Bronze Age razor, and its motif is commonly regarded as epitomising the religious and ritual sphere of the period. The motif was reexamined in autumn 2018 and autumn 2019, and new details were revealed as a result. Using a digital Dino-Lite USB microscope, model AM4815ZTLx, with x10 x140 magnification and an inbuilt camera, detailed micrographs were taken of the ornamentation. The new analyses revealed that the published illustrations of the razor are not entirely accurate; in one case, the motif has been interpreted incorrectly and then superimposed onto a photograph without alerting the reader’s attention to this manipulation. This is problematic, as later interpretations of the symbolism and meaning behind the motif have depended on this inaccurate illustration. The current article therefore draws attention to the risk of overly relying on old illustrations and highlights the benefits of implementing new analytical methods, even when dealing with well-published objects that have been sitting in museum storerooms for over a hundred years. The low-power micrographic analysis substantiates some of the previous
interpretations of the motif on this razor, while at the same time evoking new ones. It remains evident, however, that the motif is placed firmly within the spiritual sphere of the Nordic Bronze Age and, as such, we may be getting a little closer to this aspect of Bronze Age society and life, now the motif is once again visible.

Résumé : Inventaire des peintures tassiliennes interprétées comme représentations de masques, et réflexions sur leur localisation dans les sites.
Abstract : Inventory of the Tassilian paintings interpreted as representations of masks, and considerations on their position in the sites.

Resume.-La finalité de cet article est de présenter des images nouvelles provenant de la Tassili-n-Ajjer. L'accès à un certain nombre de sites non répertoriés et l'utilisation intensive de DStretch Image J permettent de présenter des documents originaux intéressants couvrant les périodes «Têtes-Rondes» et «Bovidienne». Après un rappel de l'intérêt de DStretch, nous verrons une grande scène «Têtes-Rondes» puis divers person-nages de cette culture. Nous continuerons cette période par la présentation de quelques thérianthropes. Pour la période bovidienne, nous montrerons des images de représentations humaines dans le cadre d'activités techniques puis ludiques et sportives. Nous verrons quelques représentations féminines et terminerons par la présentation de procédés graphiques originaux. DStretch Image J Ce logiciel mis au point par John Hermann et Alvin Mc Lane (www.DStretch.com) permet de rendre compréhensibles des images très peu visibles; il permet aussi de vérifier la validité de certains relevés. En ce qui concerne les sites relevés par l'équipe d'Henri Lhote ou photographiés par Jean-Dominique Lajoux, la plupart des peintures ont énormément souffert des lavages et sont actuellement méconnaissables. L'une des premières utilisations très significatives de ce logiciel a été faite sur le fameux site du Lotori de Tin Tazarift dont l'interprétation par Hamadou Hampaté Ba (Hampate Ba & Dieterlen 1966) a fait l'objet de nombreuses polémiques. DStretch a permis de démontrer que le relevé n'était pas rigoureux et que toute spéculation à par-tir de ce relevé pouvait conduire à des résultats erronés (Fouilleux 2007) (figs 1, 2, 3) **. Jean-Loïc Le Quellec a rédigé récemment un historique de l'utilisation de ce logiciel (Le Quellec et al. 2015) mais, curieusement, il a oublié de citer cette utilisation pourtant très importante sur le Lotori. Période des «Têtes-Rondes» La grande scene «Tetes-Rondes» Dans un espace circulaire presque complètement fermé, nous trouvons sur la paroi sud les restes d'une grande scène, hélas très effacée (figs 4, 5). En partant de la droite vers la gauche, nous voyons d'abord un grand personnage que l'on peut qualifier de personnage principal car il domine de beaucoup tout le reste de la scène. Une antilope, dont il ne reste que la tête, lui est superposée; viennent ensuite deux mouflons en position

Né le 16 avril 1941 à Bourgoin (Isère), Bernard Fouilleux est décédé d'une crise cardiaque le 7 décembre 2017 alors qu'il randonnait dans le Vercors, pratiquant-là l'une de ses activités favorites dans un cadre qu'il appréciait hautement. Épris de grands espaces et d'histoire, Bernard a longtemps concilié son métier d'ingénieur de recherche en électronique avec deux passions : d'une part, le vol à voile dont il a été moniteur jusque dans les années 1980 et, d'autre part, la civilisation égyptienne, et en particulier la période prédynastique. Ce deuxième centre d'intérêt l'entraîne, le temps d'un voyage, dans le nord du Soudan où il découvre au détour d'un oued des gravures rupestres…

Abstract : During four visits to the Tasīli of Tamrit (east of Djanet) and the Taġelahin and Ăharhar Tasset regions (west of the oasis of Iherir) between 2011 and 2016, the author had the opportunity to visit all principal rock-art localities in the area. Processing the taken digital photographs with DStretch®, plug-in of ImageJ developed by Jon Harman, it was possible to discern elephant hunt scenes at four well known localities which have not been published by previous authors.

The visit of more than 1,300 rock art sites in Ennedi has established an unprecedented inventory of a large fraction of the region, especially in areas not covered by Gérard Bailloud during his expeditions in the 1950s Photographic materials that cover all phases, from the oldest to the newest, reveal aspects not suspected till now on the populations of the Ennedi during the Holocene. They provide valuable information on their distribution and on changing lifestyles while inviting us to question the classification and chronology proposed by Gérard Bailloud. In this work, we mainly focus on paintings considered as « archaic » by this author. The observation of multiple painted figures out of reach today, the existence of paintings covering various phases of the local rock art and distributed at various height on one wall in association with various cases of su-perposition lead us to postulate a relationship between their age and their height above the ground. These high positions, often 4 to 6 m and even up to 10 m in exceptional cases, result from the removal of the soil at the foot of the walls, caused by winds of intensity and frequency without equivalent.

La visite de plus de 1300 sites rupestres en En-nedi a permis d'établir un inventaire sans précédent sur une fraction importante du massif, et notamment dans des zones non parcourues par Gérard Bailloud lors de ses expéditions dans les années 1950. Les documents photographiques qui recouvrent toutes les phases, des plus anciennes aux plus récentes, révèlent des aspects jusqu'à présent insoupçonnés sur les occupants de la région au cours de l'Holocène. Ils procurent de pré-cieuses informations sur leur répartition et sur l'évo-lution des modes de vie tout en nous invitant à nous poser des questions sur la classification et la chrono-logie proposées par Gérard Bailloud. Dans ce travail, nous nous focalisons essentiellement sur les peintures qualifiées d'archaïques par cet auteur. L'observation de multiples cas de peintures hors d'atteinte aujourd'hui, l'étagement en hauteur de diverses phases rupestres sur une même paroi et divers cas de superpositions nous amènent à mettre en relation leur ancienneté avec leur hauteur au dessus du sol. Ces positions élevées, souvent 4 à 6 m et même jusqu'à 10 m de façon exceptionnelle, résultent de l'ablation du sol au pied des parois, provo-quée par des vents d'une intensité et d'une fréquence sans équivalent.

Perhaps the greatest barrier to effective management of underwater cultural heritage is the lack of data on the nature and location of offshore archaeological resources. This is a problem shared with terrestrial archaeology, but is particularly acute due to the limitations of survey techniques in the underwater environment. In Scotland <15% of known ship losses from the last 200 years have been located and the record is far less comprehensive for earlier periods, verging on a near total data gap. Most known archaeological sites in Scottish waters have been discovered through large-scale sonar survey of relatively low resolution and a considerable bias has been introduced in the archaeological record; this has favored the discovery and documentation of larger and more recent, often upstanding, metal shipwrecks. This article presents the methods and results from a three-year project designed to reduce this bias by demonstrating large-scale prospecting for maritime archaeology through a community-based crowd-sourcing approach. Project SAMPHIRE (the Scottish Atlantic Maritime Past: Heritage, Investigation, Research and Education Project) was geographically focused on the west coast of the Scottish mainland and was undertaken between 2013 and 2015, resulting in a large number of new archaeological discoveries, including shipwrecks, aircraft, and other material of a much more varied nature than what is typically found through large-scale hydrographic surveys.

Ship-like stone settings were introduced in southern Scandinavia during the later part of the Late Neolithic and gradually became more common during the Bronze Age. Cremations (either singly or in groups) are often found in or nearby the stone ships from the late Bronze Age, and most of these monuments seem to have been used as markings/or graves in this period. The length-width index/or ship-like stone settings seems to vary substantially, somewhere between 1:2 -1:10. This ratio has a direct bearing on how a vessel performs in the water. A high ratio of 1: 5 -1: 10 ensures that it will perform well when it is paddled or rowed, while a low ratio of 1 :2 -1 :4 gives it optimal qualities for sailing. This means that if the southern Scandinavian stone settings depict actual ships from the period, then different types of sea vessels must have existed, and these would have been optimized for different kinds of propulsion. Assuming that the ship-like stone settings are depicting real canoes and ships, we can conclude that there really were different types of vessels for varying tasks, like canoes for combat, ritual display and processions and heavy-duty sailing ships for open water conditions. it is therefore suggested that our view of the situation should involve a more dynamic picture of the range of sea vessels in use in the region during the Bronze 1ge.

This paper presents the results of the 2016 survey project that was conducted on the hulk of the boat Flash, found in Satchell Marsh of the River Hamble, in Hampshire, England. The project was conducted by the author and four other postgraduate students during spring 2016 and was part of the assessment of the 2015-2016 master's degree in Maritime Archaeology at the Center of Maritime Archaeology in the University of Southampton. The boat Flash, which now lies in the intertidal zone of the River Hamble, is a 19th-century fishing boat, possibly a cut-ter or a dry-smack, which was transformed into a hospital boat for the naval training school T.S. Mercury during the last decade of the 19th century. The intertidal site of Satchell Marsh and the archaeological remains of the Flash have been previously surveyed and partially recorded in 2008 and in 2013/2014. The 2016 survey project revisited the site with the objective to record thoroughly the remains of the Flash, understand the form and the construction techniques of the vessel, find archaeological evidence proving the exact dates of its second use as a hospital boat for T.S. Mercury, and comprehend the site-formation processes as well as the rate of degradation of the boat, which has been abandoned and unprotected on the River Hamble since the 1930s. The Flash survey project included archival research but also an on-site archaeological survey for the collection of data that enabled the creation of digital maps, reconstructions of the site, and three-dimensional models and drawings of the boat and important structural parts of it. Additionally, a variety of artifacts (glass medical vessels, thermometers, coins, stamped china plates) were recorded in situ and studied in the lab to establish the dates of use of the boat as a hospital. Finally, the pictures, the plans, and the three-dimensional models of the 2016 project were compared with the 2008 and 2013/2014 survey data to spot several changes that have occurred on the hulk of the Flash in the course of eight years. Therefore, it has been highlighted that the Flash has been subject to heavy erosion and degradation due to the fluvial environment of the site and is in need of constant monitoring and recording to avoid further loss of archaeological material.