The Vordingborg Boat: Investigation, Presentation and Interpretation of a 14th-Century Boat-Find from Vordingborg Castle, Denmark

In 2012, a mechanical excavator unearthed the remains of a 14th-century boat while restoring the moat at Vordingborg Castle, Denmark. The boat-find was documented and both dendrochronological and metallurgical investigations were conducted. The trees that were used to build the boat were felled 1355–1366 in the region around Gdańsk, Poland. However, the building of the boat was probably conducted near Vordingborg Castle in the second half of the 14th century. It is suggested that the boat was built, mainly using imported leftover materials originally intended for crafting the castle’s interior features. Concluding the article, we discuss 14th-century Baltic timber trade.