LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND—Lincolnshire Live reports that roadwork has uncovered a 20-foot log boat that may be 4,000 years old. A wood sample has been sent for radiocarbon dating. The vessel was found in a silted-up channel of the Witham River, with the prow slightly higher than the stern, which suggests that it had been pulled ashore. The prow is not as well preserved as the stern, perhaps because it was exposed to the air while the rear of the vessel was covered by the swampy riverbank. The vessel was probably made by splitting a tree trunk in half with wedges, then hollowing out half of it with flint or metal tools, and then, possibly, subjecting it to controlled burning. Slots cut into the stern of the boat would have held a transom board to square it off. For more, go to “The Curse of a Medieval English Well.”
