16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

83 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Staffan von Arbin University of Gothenburg, Department of historical studies/Bohusläns museum, Sweden A 13 th -century shipwreck with ‘cog’ features, investigated off Skeppstad, western Sweden During an aerial survey of filamentous algae distribution along the Swedish west coast in the summer of 2008, a distinct ship-shaped feature was observed in shal- low water in the Jorefjorden estuary, approximately 100 km north of Gothenburg. A subsequent archaeological diving inspection, conducted in 2009, revealed a wooden shipwreck, 17.4 m long and 5.5 m wide. Dendrochronological analysis suggests that the vessel in question was built in the early 1260s from oak trees originating in the Ardennes. This implies that the timber used for its construction was floated down the river Meuse, and that it was either built somewhere along the river or further downstream in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, which today constitutes the southern part of the Netherlands. Minor investigations of the wreck site in 2012 and 2013 have shown that the vessel was built in the lapstrake fashion, with a straight stem and sternpost and massive through-beams. However, since the bottom section of the wreck is missing, it has not been possible to determine whether it was flush-laid, as is the case in contemporaneous ‘cogs’ and other bottom-based vessels, or clinker-built like the rest of the hull. The missing bottom section is presumably also the reason why so few artefacts were found during excavation, and that no traces of a cargo were identified. Investigations have thus shown that the Skeppstad wreck is clearly an ex- ponent of the so-called Ummelandfahrt, that is, the hazardous circumnavigation of the Skaw (Cape Skagen), which allegedly commenced during this period due to the partial sanding-up of the Limfjord strait. The purpose of this contribution is 1) to present some of the preliminary archaeological findings, made during inves- tigations of the wreck site, and 2) to briefly discuss these findings in relation to Ummeland voyaging more specifically.