The Doel ships: interpretations and conclusion

Jeroen Vermeersch SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE 2013

25 April 2013

‘De Kogge’ team: T. Lenaerts, J. Van Laecke, T. Jacobs, L. Poelmans, K. Haneca, K. Deforce, J. Vanmassenhove, S. Corveleyn, P. De Neef,

N. Beernaert, F. Vereycken, W. Bartels , L. Allemeersch and C. Lenaers (†)

Doel 1 Doel 2

Containers 26/29 1/4

Timbers 700 31

Tree ring series 147 15

Samples taken 340 19

Doel 1 Doel 2

Keel length (incl hooks) 8 (11,24) 8? (11,24)

Carvel strakes 4 (symmetrical) 3 (remaining)

Clinker strakes 14 0

Framing stations Ca. 40 (assymetrical) Ca. 20

Reconstructed dimensions Ca. 21 m x 7, 5 x 4 m Ca. 21 m x 7, 5 x 4 m

Felling date 1325/26 1328-1340

Provenance Lower Saxony Southern Baltic (Gdansk area)

Repairs 1339/Southern Baltic (Gdansk area)

Caulking Mainly mosses (1 ex. wool)

Mainly mosses (1 ex. wool)

3D drawings -> scale model Landscape & History of the area

What’s next? - Need for further analysis!

sGrooten - 1575

Ship model

23 March 2012 — Late medieval shipfinds — © Onroerend Erfgoed

3D drawings -> laser-sintered models (FRAUG) -understanding interconnection of the (+ 800) ship parts -working towards the original form -hull analysis, stability, hydrostatic analysis, etc. -comparison with similarly-built vessels (cogs/cog-like/hybrids)

Take home messages

Tree-ring analysis essential in archaeological research on ship remains. Not only a ‘nice’ dating technique.

Provenance

Timber conversion

Ship construction/layout

…

Repairs have high information content.

Symmetrical layout (of bottom) on other cog finds?

Deviating date of keelplank from other cog finds?

Landscape & History of the area Both ships laying upside-down Understanding the medieval landscape and its use (maritime cultural landscape) Maritime history of the area

Doel

Antwerp

Bruges

Ghent

Hulst Doel

Austruweel & Lefebvre dock

Antwerp

St-Maartensdijk

Wenduine

Conclusion

‘Belgium is a microcosm of Western Europe (…). The Scheldt and Meuse basins have not only served as the cockpits of Europe: they were also the place where ideas were traded between the Latin and German world (…), it was their ports which for centuries were the entrepôt for merchandise from both North and South’.

Henri Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique, 1900s

Een huisstijl voor het VIOE

Thank you for your attention!