Tracking ancient ship routes through the analysis of caulking material from shipwrecks? The case study of two 14th century cogs from Doel (northern Belgium)

Abstract

Archaeological research of shipwrecks mainly focusses on both the study of the general structure and the individual timber elements and on the provenancing of ships by dendrochronological analyses and the study of the cargo. This study now presents the analyses of a large number of samples from the mosses that have been used for the caulking of two early 14th century maritime cargo vessels. The identification of the mosses showed that different taxa have been used for the caulking of original seams, repairs and for re-caulked seams. Analyses of the botanical macroremains of vascular plants trapped in these mosses confirm the different environments these mosses have been collected in, as is suggested by the ecological characteristics of the different identified taxa. The analyses of pollen trapped in these mosses indicate a different regional origin of the mosses used within one single ship and thus show the potential of this technique for the provenancing of shipwrecks and ancient ship routes.