Applying Botanical Analyses to the Study of Ancient Shipwrecks, an Example from the Palynological Investigation of the Stella I Roman Era Laced Boat

Standard botanical analyses – such as wood and fiber identification – have long been an essential part of nautical archaeology, the study of ancient ships.  The incorporation of more recent techniques, including phytoliths and pollen, has the potential to transform the analysis of shipwreck remains from a simple identification of materials used in construction to a more nuanced understanding of the processes of ancient ship construction.  The Stella 1 laced boat is one of about a dozen laced wooden-plank boats excavated in the northern Adriatic that date to the Roman imperial period and provides a working example of these possibilities in botanical analyses.  Analysis of the pollen microfossils within the caulking and cordage samples of this vessel yields clues to the nature of the sites where these materials were processed in antiquity, and allows for conclusions to be drawn about the broader socio-economic framework driving the construction of this local boatbuilding tradition.