Conference considers plans
for the Newport Ship
The Newport Ship in its Context
- Research, Conservation and Display
UWCN - 10th May 2003
5. The Post Excavation Process
by Sean McGrail
Sean McGrail in discussion with Nigel Nayling
at the mediaeval ship excavations.
After lunch, Professor Sean McGrail introduced his contribution with a sobering review of the major ship finds of the last forty years including the 17th century Swedish Vasa raised from the seabed in 1962, the 11th century Viking ships found at Skudelev in the Roskilde fjord, the 14th century Bremen Cog, Henry VIII's 17th century flag ship Mary Rose, the 1800BC bronze age boat found at Dover and the Romano-Celtic boat excavated locally at Barlands Farm on the northern shore of the Severn Estuary.
He observed that despite their differences and a varied excavation history spanning over forty years they all had one thing in common - in all cases their post-excavation research programmes have not yet been completed. Research information has yet to be published neither in academic circles nor for the ultimate archaeologists patrons, the public of Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England and Wales.
Post-excavation research and publication is clearly a long process and no one should expect the definitive publication of the Newport ship to be in the bookshops for a very long time yet. He did however believe that there is much to be learned from these earlier projects and Newport ought to be able to do better than the Vasa and could possibly be published in less time than the Barlands Farm boat.
Importantly and despite full size 'replicas' having been made quite early on in several cases, he stressed that the size, shape and structure of these ships will only be known after the research is completed and published! Regardless of the size of the ship the post-excavation processes of recording, analysis, conservation and interpretation inevitably takes a very long time. An understanding of the size and shape of the original vessel will not begin to be known until one is about two thirds of the way through the project.
Critically for the Newport ship, like the Dover boat and the Skudelev wrecks, it has been recovered in a dismantled state, timber by timber. Many of these timbers were fragmented, displaced from their original positions and will be distorted or compressed. Parts are missing including the upper parts of the hull and deck superstructure and the stern end of the ship with the evidence of its steering. Such a project is faced with an immense and complex 3D jigsaw-like task during the recording and interpretation phases of research in order to project its form with confidence.
Lessons from the Barlands Farm experience
The Barlands Farm boat had been excavated in a similar manner to the recently found mediaeval ship and Professor McGrail felt that it was useful to review the processes applied in that case to gain a fuller understanding of what will be involved in the post excavation stage. He showed numerous examples of the detailed drawings and photographs made to record the find and elaborated on the value of schematic drawings as part of the interpretative process which helped in the documentation of jointing systems, framing sequences and planking patterns.
He went on to describe the process of analysis of all the related samples associated with the find, finally describing how the various elements of the recording and analysis, and other data, are brought together to compile comprehensive accounts of everything that had been revealed through the excavation and research. In this case it led naturally to four main groups of knowledge:
- The environment in which the boat was deposited.
- The artefact finds associated with the boat.
- The historical context derived from documentary and archaeological evidence.
- The 'history' of the boat.
In compiling the boat history answers were sought to a range of questions including, where did the raw materials come from? Where and when was the boat built and repaired? What was the original shape and structure? How was she built and what determined the choice of materials, tools and techniques? How was she used and what cargos were carried? Where had she been on her final voyage and how had she come to be abandoned. And finally, What was her performance in terms of cargo capacity, speed and handling performance?
Small scale model and replica
In the case of the Barlands Farm boat some of these important questions were tackled through the construction of small-scale models. With the Vasa and Mary Rose the surviving part of the ship had been lifted in one piece and it was therefore possible to work at full scale. With the Newport ship, having been dismantled, small scale modelling of every plank and timber frame should prove rewarding and provide opportunities to assemble, dismantle and reassemble until eventually the best fit is achieved to give the most likely shape of the original ship.
This would be the "as found" model from which drawings may be extrapolated to fill in the missing parts as it were and explore possible answers for the mast and rigging configuration, the steering system and ultimately the ships sailing performance. While some of these questions would be best answered by the construction of a full-scale sailing replica this is necessarily expensive - authenticity costs a lot of money. A decision to build a replica should not be taken lightly and is best left for some years after publication to allow time for the reconstruction drawings and model to be evaluated.
In summing up McGrail suggested that there were four main lessons to be learned from the analysis of other ship wrecks.
- Timescale - There are a number of British examples of excavated
boats that have been published expeditiously, these were 'boats' however
and much smaller than the Newport ship. Nevertheless the six projects
described at the start of this talk show that, regardless of size and
complexity, any project can take an inordinate time unless well planned
and focussed. Post-excavation research and publication for the Newport
ship will certainly take years, not months. However with careful planning
and the right team of specialists the time should be very much less
than the forty plus years of the Vasa project.
- Speculation - Speculation on site and in the media about the
Newport ship's size, shape, performance and even her last voyage are
just that - speculation. As a maritime archaeologist, I would say that
you do not really know what you have excavated until you are about two-thirds
of the way through the post-excavation research. Only then can you begin
to formulate conclusions.
- Research Programme - 'Research and Publication' by archaeologists
on the one hand and 'Conservation and Display' by conservators
and curators on the other hand are, to a degree, in competition with
each other. Active conservation should ideally be undertaken as soon
as possible to minimise damage and decay while access for research by
archaeologists needs to be maintained. An integrated and co-ordinated
research programme is therefore essential.
- The Research Team - A specialist post-excavation research
team is needed from now until the final report is published. That team
must be based on the site where the timbers and finds are stored and
should have the necessary research facilities. Many archaeologists would
not know a rowlock from a futtock, or a sheet from a shroud, so you
cannot recruit any archaeologist who happens to be at hand.
The team leader should be a maritime archaeologist with experience of post-excavation nautical research. Seafaring and/or boatbuilding experience would also be desirable. There are not many people in Britain who would match this specification and it may be necessary to look abroad. The world-renowned and widely experienced team at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at Roskilde, Denmark is to be disbanded in September 2003. Some of these people could well form the nucleus for the Newport Ship research team.
Professor Sean McGrail of Southampton University is a
maritime archaeologistof international standing.
Summary of the presentation prepared by Ron McCormick
10th June 2003
Individual papers
1. "Need the excitement be a nightmare?" by George Lambrick
2. Excavating the Ship by Kate Howell
3. The Wood Record by Nigel Nayling
4. Waterlogged Wood Conservation - an Overview by Kate Hunter
5. The Post Excavation Process by Sean McGrail
6. Future Planning Considerations for the Newport Ship by Gustav Milne
The Newport Medieval Ship in its Context
- Research, Conservation and Display
Saturday 10th May 2003
University of Wales College Newport
Caerleon,
Newport,
South Wales, UK
Organised by UWCN in association with
the Friends of the Newport Ship
and Chepstow Archaeological Society