Multi-Scalar Analysis of Vessel Structure Remaining at BISC-0002: Using Extant Structural Remains to Understand the Vessel's Construction, Time and Place of Origin, and Their Implications for Trade at the Border of Colonial Empires

Summary

In the course of two field projects, visible timber remains were examined and documented from the BISC-0002 shipwreck site. The results of these investigations offered insight into the vessel's time and place of origin via interpretation of the construction features and materials. Of particular interest was the fact that many of the key structural elements of the vessel, including its keel, were made from a very atypical wood type: Betula sp. (birch). These findings alone raise compelling questions regarding ship construction technology, however, they also have implications as per the context of middle to late 18th century trade along shifting colonial borders. In considering these multi-scalar questions, it is hoped structural data can speak to a variety of more general questions relating not only to the life-history of this vessel, but also its role as a merchantman within shifting and permeable colonial borders.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Trade at The Border of Colonial Empires in late 18th Century North America: Historical, Methodological and Theoretical Insights from the Archeological Study of the "English China" (BISC-2) Shipwreck Site   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 681