Overview

In this volume Professor Sean McGrail introduces the reader to a relatively new branch of Archaeology - the study of water transport - how early rafts, boats and ships were built and used. Concepts, such as boatbuilding traditions, ship stability and navigation without instruments, are first described. Archaeological research is then discussed, including sea levels in earlier times, how to distinguish the vestigial remains of a cargo vessel from those of a fighting craft; and the difference between a boat and a ship. Chapters 2 and 3, the heart of the text, deal with the early water transport of the Mediterranean and Atlantic Europe, from the Stone Age to Medieval times. Each chapter includes a description of the region's maritime geography and an exposition of its boat-building traditions. The third element is a discussion of the propulsion, the steering and the navigation of these early vessels. The sparse, often jumbled, remains of excavated vessels have to be interpreted, a process that is assisted by consideration of early descriptions and illustrations. Studies of the way traditional builders of wooden boats ply their trade today are also a great help.Experimental boat archaeology is still at an early stage but, when undertaken rigorously, it can reveal aspects of the vessel's capabilities. Such information is used in this volume to further our understanding of data from boat and ship excavations, and to present as coherent, comprehensive and accurate a picture as is now possible, of early European boatbuilding and use. AUTHOR: Professor Sean McGrail served in the Royal Navy as a seaman officer from 1946 to 1968; from 1952 he flew as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. He graduated with a BA at the University of Bristol in 1971, and in 1978 gained a Ph.D. at University College, London with a thesis on The Longboats of England in Wales. In 1988 he was awarded a D.Sc. by the University of Oxford. Professor McGrail was Chief Archaeologist at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich from 1974 to 1986, and Professor of Maritime Archaeology in the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford from 1986 to 1993. Since 1993 he has been Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton. 70 b/w illustrations

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9781399019460

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"""This volume should prove valuable to both the general reader and the student of archaeology in general... [with] a diffuse approach to its subject in offering concise regional summaries.""-- ""The Society for Nautical Research"""

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PROFESSOR SEÁN MCGRAIL is widely regarded as a leading authority on the subject of boats and ships within archaeology. After serving in the Royal Navy from 1946 to 1968, he graduated with a BA at the University of Bristol in 1971, and in 1978 gained a Ph.D. at University College, London with a thesis on The Longboats of England in Wales. In 1988 he was awarded a D.Sc. by the University of Oxford. He was Chief Archaeologist at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich from 1974 to 1986, and Professor of Maritime Archaeology in the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford from 1986 to 1993, before becoming Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton. He died in 2021.

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