Cordage as Ship Fastener: The Roman-Era Northwestern Adriatic Tradition of Sewn Boats

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Ties That Bind: Cordage, Its Sources, and the Artifacts of Its Creation and Use" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Across the globe and over the millennia, cordage has been used as a key element to fasten the hulls of wooden plank boats and ships. As such, cordage has been an integral element of naval technology. Furthermore, the communal nature of constructing sewn plank boats arguably puts cordage at the heart of community identity-building among the builders themselves. This paper will explore both the technological and social aspects of cordage as ship fastener through an examination of a distinct tradition of sewn boat building that persisted during the Roman Period along the northwestern coast of the Adriatic Sea, which stands in contrast to the mortise-and-tenon joined boats and ships that dominated the contemporary Mediterranean world. In many ways, the cordage used to bind fast the hull planking of northwestern Adriatic sewn boats provides insight into ancient lifeways. It has helped refine chronologies for the manufacture and repair of the vessels. It serves as a remnant of the decision-making strategies of the community of builders. And the raw material from which it was spun, often an import from the western Mediterranean, ties the builders into the colonial machinations of the Roman Empire.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Ties That Bind: Cordage, Its Sources, and the Artifacts of Its Creation and Use   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38994.0