Dover
Lock and Key of the Kingdom

The Bronze Age Boat was discovered in 1992, during excavation work associated with the building of the new A20 road to the Eastern Docks and the renewal of the sewer system. Initially a cross-section of the boat was excavated and lifted from the hole but the realisation of just how important an archaeological discover it was led to further excavation of the boat. In the end the whole of one end of the boat was raised and removed to special treatment tanks to start the preservation process.

The timbers of the boat have been dated to 1550 BC, making it the world’s oldest sea-going boat. A total of 9.5 metres of the boat has been recovered, which represents at least half, but possibly as much as two thirds of the original. The boat was made up of at least six oak timbers lashed together with yew wood, with all the joints reinforced with a thin lath of oak, covering moss pushed into the joint. The two central planks are joined by the use of wedges pushed through a central rail and a series of cleats.

The boat would have been capable of crossing the channel carrying a substantial cargo of supplies, livestock and passengers. It was propelled by at least eighteen paddlers. Goods were also being traded across Britain and it is likely the boat plied along the South Coast. A piece of shale from Dorset was found in the boat, so she may have traded down as far west as Cornwall, as well as across the Channel.

The preservation process on the boat took nearly six years. During this time the Bronze Age Boat Trust had been busily raising money to pay for a new gallery in Dover Museum to display the boat in. The preserved sections of the boat were returned to Dover and a team of experts spent the next nine month reassembling them on a specially-built adjustable cradle in the purpose built gallery. The boat is in a case in which the environment is carefully controlled to ensure the preservation of the timbers. The new gallery was opened to the public in 1999.