| In 1969 an interesting and unique shipwreck was found at lot U 34 in the polder of eastern Flevoland, the Netherlands. The ship, dated about AD 1530, was 30 m long and completely clinker-built. The overlapping strakes were connected by a combination of rove and rivet and small treenails. In the Netherlands a few similar clinker-built shipwrecks have been found dating from the same period, but not as large as the ship at lot U 34. The Dutch clinker-built ships show characteristics found in the hitherto known medieval ship-building traditions in Scandinavia (with rove and rivet, and caulked with hair), the Baltic (with small treenails) and the Dutch IJsselmeerpolders, the area of reclaimed land in the former Zuiderzee (caulked with moss). However, none of these ships can be classified under one single tradition and the characteristics are not found in all ships, but vary and succeed each other. Wood provenance analyses show that some of these ships were built of Dutch/north German wood and others of Baltic or Swedish wood. This PhD research attempts to allocate the Dutch clinker-built ships, with their deviant features, to the medieval shipbuilding traditions of Europe. The following topics will be addressed. In the first place the Dutch clinker-built shipwrecks, in particular the one from lot U 34, are studied. The resemblances and differences in shape, construction and dimensions are put in a database. Particular attention will be given to further dendro-chronological analyses and analyses of provenance of cargo and ship s inventories. Secondly the Dutch wrecks will be compared with similar ship finds from other parts of Europe. From this research it will become clear to what extent this particular way of boatbuilding was a more widespread method across Europe. In the third place the possible origin of the clinker building method is studied. Research focuses on the shipbuilding traditions in the Dutch area and north-western Europe from about the Early Middle Ages. Interesting items are the finds of early medieval rivets in the Dutch coastal area of Friesland. However, complete ship finds from this period are still lacking. Finally, the ships are studied in their economic and social context. The cog-ships of the Hanseatic League (AD 1200-1400) and the flutes used in the Dutch Golden Age (AD 1600-1700) are widely known. Compared to these periods, little is known about Dutch shipping and shipbuilding in the intermediary period. In this period however, the transfer from clinker-built to carvel-built was made. Therefore a study of the main political and economic events in north-western Europe, in particular in the area of the former Zuiderzee may explain the role of Dutch shipping in the economic developments of Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. |
