This boat was discovered in 1899 whilst digging a canal 500m from
the sluice gates of the Ostend Canal, close to Bruges, Belgium.
The boat timbers were dated in 1976 by C 14 to AD 180 +-80 years
(in heartwood), indicating a second or third century date.
The remains of the boat were broken up, so there is a minimal
record of the vessel in situ. Some loose timbers were saved, and
these were recorded in 1976 at the National Scheepvaartmuseum
in Antwerp. They comprise: (a) a side rudder; (b) two side frames,
one with a post on top; (c) parts of the mast; (d) a mast-step
frame; (e) another timber shaped as a mast-step but possibly used
as a thwart; (f) a lower frame or floor-timber; (g) a stempost
or sternpost; and (h) two pieces of planking.
The fragments suggest that the ship was a carvel built vessel
of Romano-Celtic type, for it had features like those of Blackfriars
ship 1. The survival of the side rudder, whose tiller hole was
at a right angle to the blade, and the mast are particularly important
for such things rarely survive. A highly tentative reconstruction
suggests that the vessel might have had a breadth of about 4.5m
and a depth of at least 1.8m.
Main Publication:
Peter Marsden, 'A boat of the Roman period found at Bruges, Belgium,
in 1899, and related types'. International Journal of Nautical
Archaeology 5.1, 1976, 23-55.