Dendrochronological Evaluation of Ship Timber from Charlestown Navy Yard (Boston, MA)

Summary

More than 200 warships were built, and thousands serviced, at Charlestown Navy Yard (Boston, MA) in its 175 years of service for the U.S. Navy (1800-1974 C.E.). Recent renovations and redevelopment of the former yard revealed an historic timber pond, where hundreds of unfinished naval-quality ship timbers remained buried. Many of these timbers were offered to the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard (Mystic Seaport, CT) for their restoration of Charles W. Morgan. Courtesy of Mystic Seaport, forty Quercus sp. specimens were selected for recording and dendrochronological analysis and this paper presents the current understanding, with a focus on the social and behavioral interpretations possible from such a collection.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Dendrochronology: Social and Cultural Aspects of Wood in Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-50,05