The Rašia Boat: From Log-Boat to Boat (A Case Study)
Volume 14 (2010): Underwater Archaeology in the Baltic Region, pp. 85–88
Pub. online: 20 December 2012
Type: Article
Open Access
Received
19 August 2010
19 August 2010
Revised
14 October 2010
14 October 2010
Accepted
20 December 2010
20 December 2010
Published
20 December 2012
20 December 2012
Abstract
Lithuanian boat and ship archaeology is a field of studies that is still in its very early stages. This paper is presented as a case study of a solitary watercraft found during underwater prospecting. The subtitle ‘From log-boat to boat’ is intended not only to stress technical innovations and transitions in boat-building techniques, but also to open a new chapter in Lithuanian inland underwater archaeology, with an emphasis on boat and ship archaeology. Some technical features of this boat, such as the bottom made from a single piece of pine, links it to more archaic log-boats. In eastern Lithuanian woodlands, archaic watercraft remained relatively unchanged up to modern times. From appearances, the Rašia boat can be taken as originating during the change from log-boat to boat, reflecting some features that can be retrospective in time to earlier periods of history.