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For this programme Time Team visited one of the biggest building sites in Europe to unearth a perfectly preserved Roman boat. The Team was invited by Dutch archaeologists to help rescue crucial evidence from a 35-metre-long barge that once transported goods along the Rhine. The river – the 'motorway of Roman Europe', as one of the Dutch experts described it – was the vital supply line between Roman Britain and the rest of the empire. This would be the last chance to investigate the boat before the bulldozers moved in. The boat itself would be preserved, but buried beneath a cycle route.
The quality of the archaeology was to astound even the most seasoned diggers as they revealed a beautifully crafted wooden vessel that has survived intact for almost 2,000 years. There is also evidence that it was sunk on purpose. But why? Over three days Time Team and their Dutch colleagues were able to tell the story of a boat that turned out to be unlike any other that has been excavated.
Watched the programme, browsed the web pages? Now try our quick quiz to see how you get on.
What unusual tool did Phil use in excavating the Roman boat at Utrecht?
An egg whisk
A wooden spatula
A potato knife
Some 40,000 nails were found in the Roman barge excavated near to the one that was partially uncovered by Time Team. What were they made of?
Iron
Wood
Bronze
Utrecht was known as Trajectum in Roman times. What does the name mean?
Fast flowing
Belonging to the emperor Trajan
Crossing point
The Rhine gets its name from the Celtic 'Renos'. What does it mean?
That which flows
Belonging to Reno
Uncrossable
Why did the Romans import basalt blocks to reinforce eroding river banks on the Rhine near Utrecht?
There is no stone in the Netherlands
Local stone was too expensive
They liked the look of it
Roughly how far apart were Roman forts on the Rhine?
One day's sailing
One day's swimming
One day's marching
Answers here.
On the outskirts of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, a huge building development – one of the biggest in Europe – has kept archaeologists busy investigating what lies under the ground ahead of it being buried beneath 30,000 new homes. A major archaeological project has involved excavating a series of Roman remains connected with the river Rhine, which runs past Utrecht. The Rhine was both the frontier of the northeast Roman empire and the 'motorway of Roman Europe', as one of the Dutch archaeologists described it. The discoveries made alongside the river include the frontier road, watchtowers, forts – and boats.
Time Team was invited to Utrecht by the Dutch archaeologists to excavate one of these boats, which had been discovered almost perfectly preserved in the waterlogged ground. The Team also investigated a nearby site, which it was thought might have been the location of a Roman fort. In fact, although various Roman debris was found on the site, there was no sign of a fort, so most of the Team's attention was directed towards the boat. It did not disappoint.
This was not the first Roman vessel to be uncovered in this area. Another found nearby had already been excavated and was now being preserved at the Netherlands Institute for Ships and Underwater Archaeology. Shaped something like a large punt with a mast, this river barge was 2.5 metres wide by 25 metres long. To give an idea of its size, some 40,000 nails were used in its construction. Archaeologists worked out from its dimensions and structure that it would have sunk under the weight of a full load of grain, so it was probably used for relatively light, loose goods of various kinds.
The boat excavated by Time Team was also a river barge of similar shape, but it turned out to be much bigger. In fact, it was too big – and buried at too steep an angle, six metres below the surface at its bottom end – for it to be excavated completely. Instead, a five-metre section was uncovered – more than enough for the archaeologists to realise that this was a very important discovery.
The excavation revealed that the boat was 4.8 metres wide and up to 35 metres long. The fact that there was no mast socket in the excavated section meant that it was buried stern up; and the position of the boat led the archaeologists to conclude that it had been deliberately abandoned on a curve in the river in an attempt to stop further erosion of the river bank close to the frontier road. The Romans had also shipped in basalt blocks (the Netherlands has no stone) to build a revetment along this stretch of river bank. This was dated to around 100 AD by dendrochronology (tree ring dating) of poles used in its construction.
Timber samples from the boat were also taken for dendro dating. These came back with a date of around 77 AD (plus or minus about six years). This would make the boat the oldest of its kind (15 others have been excavated in the Netherlands, all later) – the earliest known example of a Roman Rhine river barge.
As well as its early date, the archaeologists were also excited by the techniques used in the boat's construction. These included the use of mortise and tenon joints to secure the planking along the bottom of the boat. None of the other similar boats excavated in the Netherlands were built in the same way, which is more associated with Mediterranean vessels. This made the discovery all the more exciting, according to Time Team's ancient woodworking specialist, Damien Goodburn, because it was 'throwing existing ideas up in the air'.
For this programme Time Team headed off across the water to the Netherlands. Here Time Team's 2D graphics guru, Neil Emmanuel, offers his thoughts on taking Time Team to Holland.
What's it like being on the road in another country with Time Team?
It's quite a lot of fun actually. Somehow it is extra exciting because there are more unknowns with going abroad. When you visit a foreign country in any
capacity, whether it be for work or just play, there are always new attitudes, knowledge to be gained and situations to experience. I find that most excellent.
What was the most interesting part of making the programme for you?
Seeing how archaeologists from a different country can work differently, and how they integrated with Time Team. The Dutch archaeologists were very good. There was also the occasion when Matt Williams [a Time Team digger] took me on a hunt for Frikadela. It is some weird junk food. We found some and it tasted like poo, or like I imagine cholesterol to taste like.
What did you think of Utrecht?
I am a fan. Unfortunately the area we were digging in was a building site, so no comment there, but we were staying in the heart of the city in the evening. It is a lovely town to hang around in. It's really pretty and had lots of restaurants by the canal, kind of like a less hectic Amsterdam. The people I met there were very cool.
As an artist, do you have a favourite Dutch painter?
I'm not really into Dutch artists, but I do like some others who are influenced by Dutch painters. I'm a fan of comic artist Andi Watson and he's into Vermeer.
If you could take Time Team to any site in the world where would it be?
I always thought it would be good to go to somewhere like north, middle or south America. I like that stuff. It would be great to do some Native American archaeology. Failing that, me mum's back garden would be cool.
See also Neil's biog in Meet the Team.
Further reading
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
There is a surprising shortfall of publications dealing specifically with Roman ships. The two archaeological reports listed below are both out of print, although the first is available online. For other books on the Romans, visit our special section on the Roman occupation and go to any of the individual programmes listed under 'Related links'.
Roman shipping and trade: Britain and the Rhine provinces by Joan du Plat Taylor and Henry Cleere (editors) CBA Research Report No 24 (1978)
The Archaeology Data Service hosts all the CBA Research Reports online. This one is available at: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/cba/rr24.cfm
A ship of the Roman period, from Blackfriars, in the City of London by Peter Marsden (Guildhall Museum, 1967)
The Blackfriars vessel was a Romano-British sailing barge of the second century, which sank in the river Thames while carrying a cargo of building stone. It is especially noteworthy as an example of the ancient shipbuilding tradition of Celtic north-western Europe, which differed from the Greco-Roman tradition of the Mediterranean. The wreck was discovered in September 1962 during construction work near the north end of the Blackfriars bridge in London. Archaeological excavations were carried out by the Guildhall Museum in 1962 and 1963 under the direction of Peter Marsden.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Other websites.
What unusual tool did Phil use in excavating the Roman boat at Utrecht?
A wooden spatula
Some 40,000 nails were found in the Roman barge excavated near to the one that was partially uncovered by Time Team. What were they made of?
Iron
Utrecht was known as Trajectum in Roman times. What does the name mean?
Crossing point
The Rhine gets its name from the Celtic 'Renos'. What does it mean?
That which flows
Why did the Romans import basalt blocks to reinforce eroding river banks on the Rhine near Utrecht?
There is no stone in the Netherlands
Roughly how far apart were Roman forts on the Rhine?
One day's marching