| Fiskerton log boat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Wood (Oak) |
| Size | 6 m |
| Created | 457/6-300 BC |
| Discovered | Banks of the River Witham near Fiskerton, Lincolnshire |
| Present location | The Collection, Lincoln |
The Fiskerton log boat is an Iron Age log boat, found during excavations in 2001 on the banks of the River Witham near Fiskerton, Lincolnshire. [1]
The earliest excavations on the site were undertaken in 1981 by Naomi Field and Mike Parker Pearson, who discovered an Iron Age timber causeway with Iron Age and Roman votive offerings associated with it. [2]
The 2001 excavations uncovered more of the timber causeway, used during the Iron Age by the Corieltavi tribe to deposit valuable objects into the waters as ritual offerings. The Witham Shield may have been one such object. The Fiskerton log boat was made from a single oak tree trunk, and still bears axe marks from its manufacture. It was deliberately sunk as an offering and may have been specially made for this purpose. [3]
The process of the excavation at Fiskerton was the subject of a 'Meet the Ancestors Special' entitled 'Celtic Causeway', first aired on 27 March 2002. [4]
The boat measures approximately 6 m in length and was worked from a single oak tree trunk. [5] It has a bowed bow and a square stern, closed by a board slotted into a groove. This type of boat most likely would have been used to travel along rivers, transporting goods. [6]
The causeway has been dated using dendrochronology to date between 457/6–300 BC. As well as a second Iron Age boat, other votive offerings from the excavations include: a complete spear, a currency bar, a sword, a dagger, and some bronze fittings. [1]
The boat first went on public display in March 2006 at The Collection, Lincoln. [7]
Lincoln is a cathedral city and district in Lincolnshire, England, of which it is the county town. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2021 census gave the urban area of Lincoln, including North Hykeham and Waddington, a recorded population of 127,540.
The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at SK8818, passes through the centre of Grantham, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh. The name "Witham" seems to be extremely old and of unknown origin. Archaeological and documentary evidence shows the importance of the Witham as a navigable river from the Iron Age onwards. From Roman times it was navigable to Lincoln, from where the Fossdyke was constructed to link it to the River Trent. The mouth of the river moved in 1014 following severe flooding, and Boston became important as a port.
Flag Fen, east of Peterborough, England, is a Bronze Age site which was constructed about 3500 years ago and consists of more than 60,000 timbers arranged in five very long rows, creating a wooden causeway across the wet fenland. Part-way across the structure a small island was formed. Items associated with it have led scholars to conclude that the island was of religious significance. Archaeological work began in 1982 at the site, which is located 800 m east of Fengate. Flag Fen is now part of the Greater Fens Museum Partnership. A visitor centre has been constructed on site and some areas have been reconstructed, including a typical Iron Age roundhouse dwelling.
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe from the 8th to 6th centuries BC, developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of its area by the La Tène culture. It is commonly associated with Proto-Celtic speaking populations.
Lincolnshire, England derived from the merging of the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough Stamford. For some time the entire county was called 'Lindsey', and it is recorded as such in the Domesday Book. Later, Lindsey was applied to only the northern core, around Lincoln; it was defined as one of the three 'Parts of Lincolnshire', along with Holland in the south-east and Kesteven in the south west.
Nocton is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1202 road, 7 miles (11 km) south-east from Lincoln city centre. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 819. To the east of the village is Nocton Fen with its small settlement of Wasps Nest. To the west of the village, situated at the junction of Wellhead Lane and the B1188 road, is Nocton Top Cottages consisting of eight further dwellings. At the south of the village are the remains of Nocton Hall, and 1 mile (2 km) to the east the earthwork remains of Nocton Park Priory.
Lincolnshire is a large county in England with a sparse population distribution, which leads to problems funding all sorts of transport. The transport history is long and varied, with much of the road network still based on the Roman model, and the once extensive rail network a shadow of its former self.
The Hjortspring boat is a vessel designed as a large canoe, from the Scandinavian Pre-Roman Iron Age. It was built circa 400–300 BC. The hull and remains were rediscovered and excavated in 1921–1922 from the bog of Hjortspring Mose on the island of Als in Sønderjylland, southern Denmark. The boat is the oldest find of a wooden plank ship in Scandinavia and it closely resembles the thousands of petroglyph images of Nordic Bronze Age ships found throughout Scandinavia. The vessel is a clinker-built wooden boat of more than 19 metres length overall, 13.6 metres long inside, and 2 metres wide. Ten thwarts that could have served as seats, span the boat with room for two persons each; this suggests space for a crew of at least 20 who propelled the boat with paddles. The boat would have weighed an estimated 530 kilograms, making it easily portable by its crew.
The Collection is the county museum and gallery for Lincolnshire in England. It is an amalgamation of the Usher Gallery and the City and County Museum. The museum part of the enterprise is housed in a new, purpose-built building close by the Usher Gallery in the city of Lincoln.
The Glauberg is a Celtic hillfort or oppidum in Hesse, Germany consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds, "a princely seat of the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods." Archaeological discoveries in the 1990s place the site among the most important early Celtic centres in Europe. It provides unprecedented evidence on Celtic burial, sculpture and monumental architecture.
Hasholme logboat is a late Iron Age boat discovered at Hasholme, an area of civil parish of Holme-on-Spalding-Moor in the East Riding of the English county of Yorkshire. It is now on display in the Hull and East Riding Museum, in Hull.
Fiskerton is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,209. It is situated approximately 6 miles (10 km) east from the city and county town of Lincoln, and on the north side of the River Witham.
The Witham Shield is an Iron Age decorative bronze shield facing of La Tène style, dating from about the 4th century BC. The shield was discovered in the River Witham in the vicinity of Washingborough and Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, England in 1826. Further excavations at a nearby site have revealed posts interpreted as the foundation for a causeway, as well as artefacts including a sword, spears and part of a human skull with a sword fragment lodged within. The shield is now in the British Museum.
A wish tree is a tree, usually distinguished by species, location or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. Postulants make votive offerings in hopes of having a wish granted, or a prayer answered, from a nature spirit, saint or goddess, depending on the local tradition.
High Bridge, also known as the Glory Hole, carries the High Street across the River Witham in the city of Lincoln in eastern England. It is the oldest bridge in the United Kingdom on which buildings still stand.
St Mary Magdalene was a Benedictine priory in Lincoln, England. Along with Sandtoft Priory and Hanes Cell, it was a Lincolnshire cell of St Mary's Abbey in York, England. A surviving building, once owned by the priory, is Monks' Abbey, Lincoln.
The Hanson Log Boat was a Bronze Age dugout boat found in a gravel pit in Shardlow in Derbyshire. The log boat is now in Derby Museum and Art Gallery.
The Witham bowl is a missing piece of Anglo-Saxon silverware, described by T. D. Kendrick in The Antiquaries Journal in 1941 as "the most remarkable piece of pre-Conquest plate ever found in England". It was last seen at the National Exhibition of Works of Art at Leeds General Infirmary in 1868, when it was owned by the MP John Heywood Hawkins.
The Appleby logboat is a Bronze Age logboat, found during dredging of the old River Acholme near Appleby, North Lincolnshire, England in 1943. It dates to the period 1500–1300 BC. It is one of two prehistoric dug-out boat found in the Ancholme, the other being found near Brigg in 1886. Both of these boats contain evidence of repairs in the form of sewing of lashing techniques: splits in the wood had been repaired using birch plants held in place by oak wedges.
