16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

26 16 th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology José Bettencourt 1 , Patrícia Carvalho 1 , Mónica Ponce 2 , Tiago Nunes 2 , Gonçalo Lopes 1 , Tiago Silva 1 & Inês Amélia 2 1 CHAM — Centre for the Humanities, NOVA FCSH—Uac, Lisabon, Portugal 2 ERA Arqueologia, S.A., Cruz Quebrada, Portugal An extraordinary find? Boa Vista 5, a new early- modern ship discovered in Lisbon waterfront (Portugal) Discovered in August 2020 and excavated until February 2021, Boa Vista 5 is the best-preserved ship ever found in the riverside area of Lisbon. The remains are 23 m long and 17 m in width, from the bow to the stern and from the keel to the level of a deck. The wreck was found in the limits of an anchorage used since Ro- man times, abandoned on the beach in the intertidal area, sometime in the last quarter of the 17 th century. The location and the presence of coconuts between and under the ballast suggests an operational area in the Atlantic, probably on the Brazilian routes, being a rare example of a merchant ship of this period. In this paper we intend to present the context, the documentation proce- dures and a first analysis of the ship’s construction features. The vessel presents a composite keel, a frame-first construction with scarves between the floor timbers and the futtocks, carvel planking, and an unusual transversal ceiling covering the space between the keelson and the first stringer. The mast step is a unique timber, fixed to the keelson with scarves. The hold was arranged in compartments. The fasteners are all in iron. Assuming the hypothesis that Boa Vista 5 was built in the Iberian Peninsula kingdoms, it is an important context for the review the available sources on later 17 th century ship construction for the Atlantic.