After 1700 Years, Roman Dugout Boat Leaves Maas and Waal

Photo: Norbert Voskens

Never before has such a large dugout boat been discovered in the Netherlands

The dugout boat is the centerpiece of the 300,000 archaeological finds from the Over de Maas renovation project. Local archaeologists discovered the rare riverboat in 2017 in Dreumel, a village between Maas and Waal.

Dugout boats are made from hollowed-out tree trunks. This boat also has frames, a skeleton. From Roman times, plank boats emerged, such as punts, aken, and flat-bottomed boats. This boat thus has both construction methods: it is hollowed out and has frames. This makes it an interesting intermediate variant.

We think the boat dates from the late Roman period

Archaeologists believe this due to the find location and a coin from the year 261-262 found under the boat. A later date is also possible.

Volunteers and ship archaeologists extract the boat from the clay

In June 2018, the dugout boat, clay and all, was completely recovered in a custom-made steel box. After this, dozens of volunteers, together with ship archaeologists, carefully removed the sand and clay from the riverboat. The steel box has since been filled with water to prevent the wood from falling apart.

Never before have so many volunteers extracted a completely intact dugout boat from the ground. The Foundation Expedition Over de Maas is a working group of amateur and professional archaeologists. They have dedicated themselves to the boat for 7 years. We are the owners of such archaeological finds and have now found the means and parties to research and conserve the boat.

We want to exhibit the boat in the region

We commissioned the archaeological research bureau Vestigia Archeologie & Cultuurhistorie to research and conserve the boat. Based on the growth rings, researchers can determine the exact age. Archaeologists also look at which type of wood was used and how the seams were sealed.

A specially built tank is ready on the grounds of Archeon for this purpose. The wooden boat will be submerged in a warm, waxy liquid, polyethylene glycol (PEG). After 2 to 3 years, the liquid will have penetrated the wood and the boat will be strong enough.

Deputy Drenth: “After that, we would like to exhibit the dugout boat in the region. This find fits well with the Canon of Gelderland project, which aims to present stories from the region in a coherent and recognizable way to a large audience.”

River was the fastest route

In Dreumel, (remains of) as many as 25 river ships have been found. It is remarkable that they come from a long period of up to a thousand years, from the mid-Roman period to the late Middle Ages. This indicates increased maritime activity during this period. In the northern river area, with the Rhine and Nederrijn, river ships have been found in many places, but little is known about the river area of Maas and Waal.

In the first millennium AD, the Gelderland river area looked very different than it does now: the rivers were free because there were no dikes. Rivers and streams meandered through the landscape, making the area often wet and marshy. Nevertheless, many people lived on the higher riverbanks. Because large parts of the Netherlands were hardly passable and roads were extremely rare, the river was the fastest transport route. The boats found in the area of Maas and Waal were probably used to transport people and goods from one bank to the other. There may have been a lively trade. The research hopefully also clarifies exactly what the Roman riverboat was used for.

Cooperating parties

The Foundation Expedition Over de Maas is a working group with many volunteers and amateur archaeologists.

In addition, the following parties work closely with us in coordination and execution:

• Foundation Expedition Over de Maas
• Over de Maas
• Contractor J. den Boer BV
• Van Zonsbeek Metalworking BV
• Museumpark Archeon
• Vestigia Archeologie & Cultuurhistorie
• Archaeological Services Center
• Van Oort Transport and Crane Rental BV
• Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed