The Hanson Log Boat was a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

boat found in a gravel pit in Shardlow in Derbyshire. The log boat is now in

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The colle ...

Discovery and preservation

The log boat was discovered at the

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

gravel pit in Shardlow, a village south of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, in 1998, as part of an archaeological

watching brief In British archaeology a watching brief is a method of preserving archaeological remains by record in the face of development threat. An archaeologist is employed by the developer to monitor the excavation of foundation and service trenches, lan ...

during quarrying operations at the site. The boat was almost complete but was damaged slightly by the quarry machinery before its importance was identified. The boat had to be sawn into small sections so that it could be transported and conserved because it was so heavy. Much of the weight was due to the boat's waterlogged condition which had preserved the wood and kept it from rotting. The wood was slowly dried at the

York Archaeological Trust The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited (YAT) is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the city of York, England. It carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York, Yo ...

after it had been immersed for 18 months in

polyethylene glycol Polyethylene glycol (PEG; ) is a polyether compound derived from petroleum with many applications, from industrial manufacturing to medicine. PEG is also known as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), depending on its molecular we ...

, a chemical which penetrated the wood and provided strength. The boat's conservation was completed at a cost of £119,000 and the object is now on display at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Description

The boat was dated to 3500 bp, which, at 1500BC is in the

Middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pr ...

, making it around the same age as the

Dover Bronze Age Boat The Dover Bronze Age boat is one of fewer than 20 Bronze Age boats so far found in Britain. It dates to 1575–1520 BC, which may make it one of the oldest substantially intact ''boat'' in the world (older boat finds are small fragments, some l ...

and somewhat younger than the

Ferriby Boats The Ferriby Boats are three Bronze-Age British sewn plank-built boats, parts of which were discovered at North Ferriby in the East Riding of the English county of Yorkshire. Only a small number of boats of a similar period have been found ...

from Yorkshire. It is made of a single dug-out oak tree trunk. Unusually the boat still had a cargo of Bromsgrove sandstone which had been quarried at Kings Mills nearby. The stone is presumed to have been destined for strengthening a causeway across the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

.1001 objects to inspire
derbymuseums.org, accessed 21 April 2013

Second log boat

A second log boat was also discovered at the quarry five years later but it was reinterred in order that it could be preserved.
StonePages.com, citing Derby Evening Telegraph on 24 November 2003 accessed May 2011

Other finds from Shardlow

The display at Derby Museum also includes metal finds that were also found during quarrying at Shardlow. The items mostly date from the Middle Bronze Age and were usually found by metal detectors on the quarries conveyor belts although in one case the artefact was identified by a customer of a bag of sand, and it was possible to trace the supply chain back to Shardlow quarry. The number of finds of axes and broken rapiers is thought to be due to religious offerings where valuable items were thrown into the water.Labels at Derby Museum, read June 2011

References

{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) 1998 archaeological discoveries History of Derby Collections of Derby Museum and Art Gallery Ancient boats