Maiden voyage of prehistoric dug out canoe replica
After 30 days of work, the experimental reconstruction of the iron age canoe of Vlaardingen Vergulde Hand is finished! Its maiden voyage will take place on Friday the 16th of February when it will be paddled for the first time by schoolchildren from Vlaardingen.
Reconstructing a prehistoric canoe
The dugout canoe was discovered in 2005 and has been dated at approximately 683 BC. The reconstruction was made by Leo Wolterbeek, Diederik Pomstra and local volunteers using a 160 year old and 13 meter long oak log and replica tools of the iron age.
Annemieke Verbaas (Material Culture Studies) and bio-archaeologists from Biax Consult designed the experiment. The production process has been documented and during the summer the researchers will experiment with e.g. seaworthiness, loading capacity and possible speed of the canoe. All these data, including those of the decay of the vessel will be incorporated in a multiperiod research on dugout canoe construction.
Archaeological Education Area
The canoe itself will be used in the Archaeological Education Area that is at present under construction in the Vlaardingen Broekpolder in close collaboration with scientists from the Faculty of Archaeology.
The time-lapse film shows how the canoe comes into being:
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