SHARE:
FALMOUTH, ENGLAND—A replica Bronze Age boat paddled by a crew of 18 has been launched into the sea, in spite of the hungry seagulls that tried to eat the moss and sheep fat that make the craft watertight. Such sewn-plank boats were stronger and more stable than the older animal-skin boats and dug-out canoes. They were probably developed in Britain for trade across the North Sea and for transporting soldiers to hostile shores. “We hope that the project will help us answer a series of important questions about how Bronze Age Britons carried out overseas trade,” said Robert Van de Noort of the University of Exeter. Computer models have helped the researchers determine the boat’s cargo-carrying capacity, stability, and speed.
