Mittelalterliches Bootswrack aus der Lippe (Lippetal, Kreis Soest)

Even during the time of the Romans, ships sailed on the Lippe. In the course of the centuries, however, not all water vehicles reached their destination. Only many hundreds of years later, some of them reappeared. This story of the discovery of such a boat begins on a beautiful summer day in 2019, near Herzfeld, where the Lippe follows her bed leisurely. Peter Ferlemann from Lippstadt is out and about in the water of the Lippe with a diving colleague. Yes, we cut the plants here regularly, also elsewhere. And yes, we discovered that, or I discovered that. She had the sand side, I had the wood side, and that's how it came about. Then you tell each other about it. And then we planned to look it up again. And then we took the photos and recordings, took a piece of wood with us and then brought it to Dr. Schöllmann. And then it had its way. Then it went on and on to Dr. Walitz. And yes, it's unique. What he discovered exactly on the Lippe, the hobby diver was not yet aware of. Only one thing is certain, this time it is something special. When I saw the wreck, yes, I have often found boats, but they are metal boats. This time it was a wooden boat. And I immediately noticed that this is something completely different. And I found that very exciting and very great. So the result is sensational. The find is also sensational for the archaeologists of the LWL Archaeology for Westphalia. Because a first rough age determination of the wood leads to an urban age. Only experts can work under the difficult conditions underwater. Help comes from southern Germany. Dr. Martin Meinberger and his team of underwater archaeologists arrive in July 2020. The discoverer Peter Ferlemann shows the researchers the location of the find. What was to be seen just now? Yes, Boris is just clearing the planks. He is now clearing the sand and algae so that you can see it really well. And there is still a lot of work to be done. So they still need a whole day for it. The plan shows the location of the boat in the river section. The dark areas are marked by the already exposed planks. More wood samples are taken. It is oak wood. And, of course, it is the preferred, actually the only wood in Central Europe, which has been used in shipbuilding in historic times. Because it is extremely durable, extremely durable. And if I have expensive goods, I take the best wood I can get. But here in the High Middle Ages, this kind of boat, and apparently, as the colleagues say, a relatively large boat, is already unique. Autumn 2020. The archaeologists have returned after a break in summer. The new wood samples have enabled a more precise date. We are actually quite sure of the date. We have a 14c date and we have a dendro date, i.e. a year, exact age. We are almost exactly at 1150, i.e. after Christ. After much deliberation, the LWL Archaeology has decided to leave this special find in the mountains. The expectations are high. We will certainly learn a lot about the technology of the time, about wood. We have relatively little experience here. You will be able to make good comparisons with the ship from Gräfeld Gellep, which may be a little older. You may be able to make differences. We will see how the calphate mass, i.e. the mass for the seal between the planks, was produced, what else is there to say. Some work will be necessary here, especially in a scientific way, to work out all the secrets. The conditions for a mountain in this part of the LWL are by no means easy. At this time of year, the water is cloudy and the work is difficult due to currents. Dr. Meinberger and his colleagues are one of the very small professional groups that can undertake the mounting under these circumstances. This is actually the most important aspect when it comes to safety. A lot of experience in different waters and a very experienced team involved. Mounting the boat parts takes several days. First, smaller parts are taken out of the water by hand. Then the larger parts are attached. The steep slope does not make the work easier. With the help of a front loader, the heavy planks are stored in several passages. A process that requires the utmost caution and experience. Over the last one and a half weeks, we have stored all the components that were sunk in the lip of the boat. The boat is not complete. We have large parts, we have the floor, we have the bulk of a wall, stored with great effort. You need a special team for this. People who know how to deal with it. Dr. Meinberger and his team were exactly the right people who, with a lot of improvisation, but with great skill, have now stored this boat with us. Almost 900 years old moss that was used to seal the planks. The processing marks of the medieval craftsmen can still be clearly seen. This is high-tech. This has been sawed, this has been beveled. You can already see different marks. Iron has been processed. Sealing mass has been produced. So there were specialists at work here. With this plank boat, a kind of cargo ship, goods were transported on the lip in the Middle Ages. The planks in combination. To store the individual parts, all wooden dowels had to be removed. The storage of the wreckage was a success. Professor Bales draws a positive balance with a view to the future. So now, of course, the longest and most tedious part is coming, namely the transport, the intermediate storage and the conservation, which will take many years. And until it can be seen in the museum, maybe after my retirement, we will see.