The Shape of the Matagrana Shipwreck, an English Merchant Vessel from Late 17th to Mid-18th Centuries

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Nuts and Bolts of Ships: The J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction Laboratory and the future of the archaeology of Shipbuilding" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2008, the remains of a wooden vessel’s hull were uncovered by receding coastal dunes in Huelva, Spain. The exposition of the structure lead to an emergency intervention by the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage, directed by Nuria Rodriguez Mariscal. The architectural remains were dismounted, recorded in detail and reburied within a limited time. Further studies revealed the shipwreck was probably an English merchant ship from late 17th to mid-18th centuries. In 2018, the archaeological data was reinterpreted and digitally redrawn to produce a set of hull lines for the vessel, considering historical sources of the period. Photogrammetric and scale models were generated, and documentation issues related to the short time span available for the original excavation were assessed and tackled. The result provided a more thorough understanding of the shape and function of the vessel and may help broaden the knowledge of its time and place of origin.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• The Nuts and Bolts of Ships: The J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction Laboratory and the future of the archaeology of Shipbuilding

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 816