Connecting ships: Using dendrochronological network analysis to determine provenance and ship building practices of Roman-period river barges found in the Lower Rhine region

Over the past decades various Roman-period river barges were found in the Lower Rhine region. These ships were large vessels of over twenty meters in length. Many were excavated in order to document the constructions and some were lifted from the ground and conserved for future display. The first barges that were found (fifty years ago), the Zwammerdam ships, were among those that were preserved. This has more recently allowed for a re-examination of their ship constructions using more modern techniques. Research on the constructions including a dendroarchaeological study of the timbers has been undertaken by Y. Vorst. The provenance of the wood has been studied by both researchers, based on a recently published approach (Visser 2021). This approach uses networks to visualize and explore dendrochronological relations based on similarity. In addition, these networks give insight in other aspects of ship building practices, such as wood use and the construction. The combined studies have led to a better understanding of past practices in shipbuilding and timber transport and use during the Roman period.

The research on this poster is published as:

Visser, RM and Vorst, Y. 2022 Connecting Ships: Using Dendrochronological Network Analysis to Determine the Wood Provenance of Roman-Period River Barges Found in the Lower Rhine Region and Visualise Wood Use Patterns. International Journal of Wood Culture 1(aop): 1–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10014.