Thanks to Tai Ghose of LiveScience (who I believe also took the images shown here)
"A nearly intact medieval shipwreck has been hauled from the frigid waters of a Dutch river.
"The wooden, flat-bottomed ship was
first discovered in 2012 while a national organization was carrying out
investigations to preserve water safety in the Dutch river. (Rijkswaterstaat,
the Netherlands)
"The fact that we were able to
raise the Ijssel cog [a type of wooden vessel] in its entirety and in one
attempt is a fantastic achievement by the entire team," lead maritime
archaeologist Wouter Waldus said in a statement. "The shipwreck can become
a symbol of our rich maritime history, and I fully expect many people, both
young and old, to be amazed by and start enjoying this ship from the Hanseatic
period's fascinating story."
So bravo Zulu to the Dutch maritime archeologists!
Until next time,
Fair winds,
Old Salt
Surprise discovery
The boat was first discovered in
2012 at the river bottom during efforts to widen the flow of the Ijssel River.
The massive ship was lying perpendicular to the river flow, along with a
medieval barge and a punt, a specialized ship designed for navigating river
deltas.
Over the course of the next three
years, maritime archaeologists put in place a painstaking, meticulous plan to
recover the ancient seafaring vessel. First, the team built a platform and crane on the river,
then built a protective frame around the ship to lift it out of the water.
After suctioning gunk from the area inside the frame, the archeological team
created 3D images of the boat underwater. Only then were the team members ready
to carefully lift the boat out of the water, using a basketlike structure made
of straps, crossbeams and jacks. Each strap had its own motorized control to
allow perfectly precise maneuvering in response to the forces experienced in
the ship.
"This was an incredibly
involved operation and was almost as impressive as the cog itself. The raising
of the 65 feet ship was complex, in the middle of the river, near the navigation
channel. Also, as a result of the fact, three different specializations had to
work together here: an archaeological research team, divers and storage
specialists," said Ben Broens, an official with the Rijkswaterstaat, a
water management bureau in the Dutch government, which helped oversee the
salvage operation.
Medieval cog
It turned out the 55-ton (50 tonnes)
ship was a medieval cog, a type of wooden vessel with a steep, straight ship prow and deck beams that stick out from the boat's skin. Cogs
were typically used in the late medieval period on international trade
voyages. Many of the structural support
elements, such as nails, were made of metal, meaning it was sturdier, and
therefore easier to take out of the water without falling apart.
The team believes the ancient
seafaring vessel was likely sunk deliberately. It was placed perpendicular in
the stream of the river. By looking at medieval maps and historical documents and recreating the historical path
of the river, the team found the ship was sunk at a time when silt was building
up, creating huge sandbanks along the Ijssel River. Those sandbanks would have
prevented ships from docking properly, so the ship, along with the barge and
punt, were likely sent to the bottom of the river in a bid to narrow the river
flow or divert it in a way that would improve sea traffic.
Though the ship was stripped of much of its original finery, the team did find an intact brick oven, as well as gorgeous glazed tiles, in the galley area of the ship.  |
| galley area - cooking hearth to the left |
Now that the ship is safely out of
the water, the team will transport it inside its custom-made frame to a
preservation facility in Leylstad, the Netherlands.
There, it will undergo a
painstaking process of drying out, which could take another three years. If all
goes well, the Ijssel Cog will be placed on display in a museum.
But if the
ship can't be dried out safely, it will be studied thoroughly before being
destroyed."
Until next time,
Fair winds,
Old Salt
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