Just Bad Quality or Just Good Quality? The Meaning of Macroscopic Growth Features of Timber in Ship-Archaeological Analyses

What is it about?

The perception of wood in connection to shipbuilding of the past seems to be strongly idealized and often not fitting to the reality reflected in the archaeological context. Features of tree-anatomy are only sometimes recorded, and often ignored during the interpretation of ship finds. The idealized idea of a shipwright, who is personally choosing only the best material, was likely born out of an idealized image of the past and possibly influenced by rather recent shipbuilding practices. Detailed advice on the choice of high-quality timbers for shipbuilding only appear during the 20th century, long after wood was superseded by steel for most vessels and the competition for shipbuilding timber on the market had ceased. In some cases, this has produced a somewhat distorted interpretation of ships and shipbuilding because a holistic approach to features of growth can give information beyond timber quality like environmental influences and the human impact on this resource. In certain cases, it even allows drawing conclusions on economic and social circumstances. This way the information gathered from building timber can alter the interpretation of boats and ships. This paper is discussing the demands for shipbuilding timber and its quality in Northwest Europe and aims to reflect on possible social, economic, or environmental reasons for the shipwrights’ choices.

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