16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

24 16 th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology Tomasz Bednarz National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland Shipwrecks of flat-bottom vessels used in local transport in the Gulf of Gdańsk from the 16 th to the 19 th century Until now, in the Gulf of Gdańsk five shipwrecks of flat-bottom vessels have been discovered and archeologically examined. They were used to reload goods, trans- port the cargo between the ports within this area or operated as inland means of transport used for timber floating down the Vistula River. This paper aims at characterizing the structure of shipwrecks, their provenance, chronology, and functions. The most interesting vessel among this group is the F53.15 shipwreck, iden- tified as the remains of the 17 th century reloading ship, discovered with its cargo of quern stones and lead ingots. The vessel of 80-last load capacity was made after 1632, of pine wood (planking) and oak wood (floor timbers) from within the Gdańsk Pomerania. The paper will also refer to the F53.9 shipwreck, the remains of a flat-bot- tom vessel of inland ship structural features, possibly used to reload goods. The earliest date indicating the ship’s construction is 1854. The wood used to build the ship comes from the centre or upper Vistula river basin. Another vessel is the F53.12 shipwreck, the remains of the flat-bottom vessel made of pine and oak wood, operating as a reloading ship, or used in lo- cal freight shipping. The ship was built after 1869, of wood originating from the north-eastern part of Poland. Next ship is the F32.9 shipwreck which constitutes the remains of a flat-bot- tom vessel used in local transport within the ports of the Gulf of Gdańsk. Most probably, the ship was built and used in the second half of the 18 th century. The last flat-bottom vessel is the F53.20 shipwreck with structural features indicating the remains of an inland ship built after 1547. The planking was V-shape chamfered for the sealing with moss. The sealing was tightened with wooden stripes, and these were fitted to the planking with iron clamps.