Introduction^[1]

The Newport Ship was a 15^th century ship discovered in 2002 in Newport, Wales. It is believed to have been built in the late 1400s and was likely used for trading or transportation. The ship is significant because it is one of the best-preserved examples of a medieval ship from this period, with many of its original timbers still intact. It is currently on display at Newport’s Newport Medieval Ship Centre^[2] and is considered an important piece of maritime history. The Newport Ship is the most substantial medieval ship ever excavated in modern times in Britain^[3]. It was abandoned after extensive salvage, possibly after attempts at repairs to the hull^[4].

The discovery is described admirably and eloquently on the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website^[5], as follows (note: © Crown copyright, is duly acknowledged):

‘The discovery of the vessel was made within a coffer dam installed to facilitate the digging of the orchestra pit for the new Arts Centre. The dammed area included part of an old stone quay which is recorded on an 18^thcentury map of monastic land holdings. The find consisted of the lower part of the hull, one side of which has been truncated at about 2m above keel level and the other side, which has collapsed outwards and extended to a distance of about 4m above the keel. The ship is believed to have been dismantled to the height of the quay before it was finally abandoned. The main part of the hull consisted of 64 incomplete frames, 32 starboard and 16 port strakes or runs of planking. The ship was approximately 29m long and about 8m beam with planking edge-fastened by iron nails and square roves. Two sections of beam shelving were recorded on the starboard side. Half of what may be a deck beam has been recovered together with what may be a hanging knee. Evidence for the ship having reached the end of its working life has been noted from the split mast step; repairs to the planking using battens and lead tingles; square-sectioned pegs replacing riveted nails at some scarphs joints; and repairs to a rider. Treenails fixed the planking to the frame. Heavy, broad planks were scarphed and fitted as stringers inside the hull. Between these were fitted ceiling planks up to the deck beams. Forward and aft of the mast step was fitted with risers shaped from forked timbers. The mast step was 10m in length. Beneath it was found the bilge pump and the wicker basket-type strum box. The mast step was secured with chocks of wood [on the floors] to prevent sideways movement. The chocks acted as struts to the bilge stringer. There is no evidence for a keelson. Finds include leather shoes; textiles such as sail cloth and woollen clothing; rope and blocks; a mast parrel; cork; Portugese pottery and coins; stone cannon balls; barrel staves; two combs; a gaming piece; and an inscribed brass strap from a box with a quotation from Luke 4: 30. The partial skeleton of a man was also recovered from underneath the ship and has been dated to the Iron Age (approximately BC 170).’

One day in the late 15^th Century

Newport in Wales sits at the heart of one of Britain’s busiest trade routes, as it was in the late 1460s. The Severn Sea, and the adjoining River Usk, bustled with some of the biggest ships of the day – enormous wooden vessels carrying trade to and from across Europe. One day, in need of repair, a particular ship sails up the Usk and docks in Newport. It was meant to be a temporary stop, but more than five hundred years later, the ship, or what is left of it, remains in the city – famously found on the west bank of the Usk during the construction of the city’s Riverfront Arts Centre in 2002.

It is believed that the ship sailed the Lisbon-Bristol trade route and was built in the Basque Country around 1449, 20 years before stopping at Newport. By all accounts, it was a ‘big ship’, three-masted, about 30 metres long and capable of carrying the equivalent of about 160 tuns (barrels) of wine, or around 200 tons of cargo. Vessels of its size were considered ‘great ships’ by contemporary standards and were typically used for the long-distance trade between Britain, Biscay and southern Iberia^[6].

Dendrochronology^[7] indicates that it was built after 1449, probably in the Basque Country (an area well known for its shipbuilding industry at this time), according to research carried out in conjunction with experts from Iberia^[8]. Timbers associated with later phases of repair come from Britain, as do many structural pieces dating from c.1466. These timbers have been associated with the major renovation work being carried out in Newport at the time the vessel foundered. Remnants of a cradle found beneath the ship suggested that it had been berthed for repair but then abandoned after the supports on the starboard side gave way. Many of the artefacts in the ship, such as coins, pottery, and plant remains, suggest that it was trading with Portugal in the 1450s–1460s.^[9]

The ship was brought into Newport for refit or repair in or about 1469 and subsequently deconstructed^[10] and abandoned. Palaeo-environmental evidence^[11] and archaeological finds point to the vessel spending time in Portugal and, broadly, the Atlantic seaboard of Wales, England, France, and Spain.^[12]

Abandonment may not have been planned – there is some evidence that whilst in Newport, the cradle supporting the ship in its pill^[13] collapsed. The hull was flooded, and the majority of the ship was then taken apart, leaving only the lower hull that is preserved today.

Image: Screenshot or video clip from YouTube video, at: https://youtu.be/JheJnSFBXfk.

Fair Use Claimed. © Copyright of owner duly acknowledged.

Naming the Ship
The official name of the vessel is now the Newport Medieval Ship to help distinguish it from other historic vessels. The ship was built using the ‘clinker’ or lapstrake shipbuilding method, first used by the Vikings. This method is characterised by overlapping planks, each fastened to its neighbours, as opposed to the ‘carvel’ tradition in which the planks are butted smoothly against each other. The clinker method remained popular in northern Europe and the Basque Country well into the Renaissance period.

Attempted Repair or Refit in 1469
The River Usk has a large tidal range, and it appears that the vessel was deballasted and carefully floated into a side channel or Pîl^[14] on a very high tide and then positioned on a pre-erected cradle made of oak and elm logs.

The ship appears to have been undergoing a major refit, as evidenced by the shaping and inserting of British-grown timber (dating to after 1465) into the vessel. However, before this repair work could be completed, the cradle seems to have collapsed, with the ship heeling over onto its starboard side.

The subsequent incoming tides appear to have flooded the vessel with silt and water. However, at the time, efforts were made to drain, pump out and right the ship, and when these failed, attention turned to salvaging the accessible timber and iron (for reuse), along with removing larger items such as anchors, guns and rigging. The salvaging of the vessel involved hacking at the upper works with axes and removing substantial amounts of the lapstrake planking, framing and internal timbers. The salvaged material would have been readily reusable in other ships or building works. During this salvage work, numerous disarticulated timbers were placed in the vessel’s hold.

The Crew
Whilst there are no extant records to indicate how many crew members the Newport Medieval Ship had, it would have required a sizable crew to operate a three-masted ship of its size and capacity. The exact number of crew members would have varied depending on the specific voyage and cargo being transported. A vessel of that size would have required a captain, navigator, sailors and a number of skilled workers such as carpenters, cooks etc. It is also possible that additional crew members were hired temporarily for specific voyages.

Preservation
Initially, there were no plans to preserve the ship, but local people campaigned so keenly for preservation it led to the formation of a support group – the Friends of the Newport Ship.^[15]  Initial estimates suggested that preservation would cost about £3.5 million, a sum eventually found by the Welsh Assembly Government and Newport City Council.

All of the ship’s timbers have subsequently been raised and transferred to a dedicated industrial unit which the local council describes as “now the biggest wood conservation centre in the UK“, where preservation took place, and research continued. Due to its size, it has not been possible to display the ship in the basement of the new arts centre, as was originally proposed.

After the ship’s discovery, the timbers have undergone a lengthy and painstakingly careful conservation process so the ship can be displayed to the public. It remained in pieces until the conservation treatment was complete. The ship is considered an important historical artefact and significant for the research on the shipbuilding technology and trade of the medieval period. In January 2020, BBC reported that archaeologists can now, after 20 years of painstaking restoration, start to reassemble the wreck of the ship. Experts believe the medieval vessel is as significant a find as King Henry VIII’s Mary Rose – and is a century older.^[16]

Structure of the Ship^[17]
The excellent condition of the ship’s timbers may be due to the low oxygen level in the mud of the River Usk, which has inhibited the presence of woodboring creatures.

At some time during its berth, the port (left) side of the ship was cut down about 9 feet (2.7 metres) above the keel, but fortuitously this has preserved the correct shape of the hull. The starboard (right) side, which collapsed onto the river mud long ago, together with the ship’s frames, has been preserved to almost its full height, although the collapse has distorted some planking.

The ship’s dimensions have now been estimated at around 116 feet (35 metres) in length and around 27 feet (8.2 metres) in width. It had an estimated carrying capacity of 161 ‘tons burden‘. That was a contemporary measure of ship size based on the number of tons of wine a ship could carry. In the 1460s, customs accounts of nearby Bristol, vessels of over 150 tons were typically called ‘navis‘ (great ship) and used primarily for long-distance voyages to southern Europe, particularly Lisbon.

The vessel was clinker built, with each plank overlapping the one below, the lower plank always being on the inside of the one above. The planks of the outer hull were positioned first and, on the ship, were secured to each other with iron nails driven through the overlap from the outside and then fitted with iron rove plates. The end of each nail was then hammered flat against the rove to produce a tight seal. Gaps along the overlap were secured by caulking with tar and animal hair. Hair from horses, cows, sheep and goats has been identified in the Newport ship. The frames (ribs) of the ship were then fitted inside the hull and secured to the planks. Each framing piece was secured to the keel (spine) of the ship by having its keel cut-out placed over the keel and held by the precision of fit. Nails and trenails have not been used in this ship to secure frames to the keel. For reasons still unknown, the keel is beech, but the rest of the ship is made of oak – a possible explanation is a simple shortage of oak compared with beech at the time of construction. Almost all woodwork on the vessel was done using axes and adzes with saw marks found on only a few timbers.

The ceiling planks were, on average, 25mm thick, whilst the stringers varied from 48 to 97mm in thickness. The planks were fastened to the frames with small iron nails, whilst the stringers were connected to the frames with two oak treenails of about 30mm diameter at each intersection.^[18]

Inside the frames were stringers: longitudinal structural components. Seven runs of stringers were found on the more-preserved starboard side. Between the stringers, the inside of the hull was lined with ceiling planks – these are thinner than the stringers and, together with the stringers, served to stop cargo or ballast from coming into contact with the inside of the external planking of the hull.  The stringers and the ceiling planks were made of sawn oak, contrasting with the radially split hull planks and the hewn framing. The highest surviving stringer shows evidence of supporting the first deck.^[19]

Markings
During restoration, the timber cleaning led to the discovery, on the planking of the outer hull, of a series of marks deliberately scribed into the wood. These appear to be either individual shipwrights’ marks or instructions for the positioning of planks or fastenings. The conservation team hopes a pattern will emerge as the recording process continues. During mid-2007, the cleaning of barrel-top fragments revealed merchant marks. Some of these may resemble known marks of merchants from Bristol, but this is not proof that they originated there.

Glossary

The following explanations, albeit not complete but presented alphabetically, will help readers understand some of the ‘maritime’ terms and words used:

• Caulking: This is the process of filling gaps along the overlap of the planks to make them watertight, using a mixture of tar and animal hair.
• Ceiling planks are thin planks placed between the stringers and line the inside of the hull. They served to prevent cargo or ballast from coming into contact with the inside of the external planking of the hull.
• Clinker-built: This refers to a type of boat building where the planks of the outer hull overlap each other rather than sitting flush next to each other. The overlap is held together by iron nails and rove plates.
• Frames (ribs): These are the structural components of the ship that run across the width of the vessel and give it its shape. They are fitted inside the hull and secured to the planks.
• Garboarding: This refers to the process of adding a strip of wood along the bottom of the ship’s hull, known as the “garboard strake.” This strip would have helped to strengthen the hull and prevent water from entering the ship through the joints between the planks. See also “Strakes“.
• Gunwale: The gunwale is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally, the structure was the “gun wale” on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firing artillery.^[20]
• Hood ends: This refers to the ends of planks in the hull structure of a wooden vessel which fit into the rabbets of the stem and sternpost.^[21]
• Iron nails and rove plates: These are used to secure the overlapping planks of the outer hull to each other. The nails are driven through the overlap from the outside and then fitted with iron rove plates. A rove plate is a small iron plate that sits on top of the nail head and is bent over the nail to keep it in place. The end of each nail is then hammered flat against the rove plate to produce a tight seal.
• Keel: This is the central spine of the ship that runs its length and to which the frames are secured by the precision of fit. It is likely that the ship had a modified full keel – that is, a full keel with a cut-out at the front, reducing the wetted surface slightly, which increased performance without sacrificing too much comfort and stability. After the full keel, it has the best directional stability and the least amount of heel.^[22]
• Merchant marks: These are markings or logos that were stamped onto the barrel-top fragments, likely by merchants who owned or sold the barrels.
• Rabbets of the stem and sternpost: A rabbet is a 90-degree inlaid notch cut into the face or along the edge of a piece of wood. The keel and stem have a long rabbet cut into them to accommodate a ship’s planking.
• Radially split hull planks and hewn framing: This refers to how the planks of the outer hull and the frames were made. The planks were split radially (from the centre outward), and the frames were hewn (cut with an axe).
• Stem: The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship’s bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. It is the curved edge stretching from the keel below up to the gunwale of the boat and is part of the physical structure of a wooden boat or ship that gives it strength at the critical section of the structure, bringing together the port and starboard side planks of the hull.^{[23] & [24]}
• Strakes or Garboard Strakes: In boat and ship construction, strakes immediately adjacent to either side of the keel are known as the garboard strakes or A strakes. The next two are the first broad or B strake and the second broad or C strake. Working upward come the bottom strakes, lowers, bilge strakes, topside strakes, and uppers also named sequentially as the D strake, E strake, etc. The uppermost along the topsides is called the sheer strake.^[25] Strakes are joined to the stem by their hood ends.^[26]
• Stringers: These are longitudinal structural components that run the ship’s length, inside the frames. They help to support the weight of the ship.
• Trenails: These are wooden pegs or dowels that were driven through the edges of wooden planks to secure them to the ship’s frames.
• Woodworking tools: Almost all the woodworking on the ship was done using axes and adzes (a tool with a curved blade at right angles to the handle, used for shaping and cutting wood).

The Ship’s Age^[27]
Dendrochronology has revealed that most of the timbers used to build the ship came from the Basque Country of northern Spain, dating from c.1449. ^[28] The discovery in the spring of 2006 of a French “petit blanc” (small white) silver coin inserted into a cut-out in the stempost/keel join, was a major step forward. Placed, perhaps, as a token of good fortune at the start of the ship’s construction, this coin was minted in Crémieu in the Dauphinois region of France between May and July 1447. Tree trunks found under the hull and forming the support for the ship when under attempted repair at Newport, have a dendrochronology date of 1468 – 1469^[29], which would give the vessel a maximum working life span of 20 years.

There is circumstantial evidence that, by 1469, the ship may have belonged to and been under repair for the Earl of Warwick. A letter of authorisation dated 22^nd November 1469 from Warwick to Thomas Throkmorton, his receiver of Glamorgan and Morgannwg, authorised various payments for “the making of the ship at Newport“, which could be construed as repairs to the badly damaged vessel.^[30]

Historical research has shown that Newport sometimes had very large vessels in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, such as the Newport Medieval Ship. These ships were used primarily to serve the long-distance trade of Bristol, which was then the second port of the realm of England.^[31]

Artefacts^[32]
As the Newport ship was in dock for repair or dismantling, it was not full of cargo or personal possessions at the time, nor did it contain any ballast^[33]. However, during excavation, several hundred objects were found within the ship, ranging from a stone cannonball to grape seeds and including a damaged hourglass, 13 single shoes, of which one is a very expensive shoe, pieces of cork and some Portuguese coins.^[34]

The seeds, cork and coins would suggest trade to and from the Iberian peninsula and the presence of Merino sheep wool in the caulking material supports this idea, but is not conclusive proof.

After studying the ship’s structural details, members of the Albaola Society based in Pasaia, near Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain, believe that the ship may have been built by Basque shipwrights, either in the Basque region of Spain or southwestern France. Artefacts, including Portuguese coins and ceramic shards, along with the remains of waterlogged plants indicate strong trading links with Portugal, with the possibility that the vessel was Portuguese-crewed. The ceramic shards are nearly all Iberian micaceous red-ware and likely Portuguese in origin.

The ceramic assemblage is highly variable in form, and some pieces are soot-stained, leading to the conclusion that this material represents crew items instead of cargo.

The environmental samples also contained a variety of well-preserved plant, insect and faunal remains. Food stuffs, such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pomegranates, grapes, figs and olives, were found, along with over a thousand fish and animal bones. Cod, hake, ling, tusk, herring, blackspot bream, conger, flatfish and Atlantic salmon are just some of the species represented in the fishbone assemblage.

Shellfish recovered included oysters, whelks, mussels and cockles. Human fleas, dog fleas and numerous flies were present in the ship’s bilges, as well as some interesting beetles, including the woodboring beetle, which has never been found in the UK before. The animal bone collection primarily consisted of domesticated cattle, goats, sheep and pigs. Archaeologists also found rat bones and quantities of domestic fowl bones. In addition to salted or smoked meats and fish, it is likely that livestock was kept on board, as evidenced by certain grass and plant remains that would have been used as animal food and bedding.

Viewing^[35]
The Friends of Newport Ship organises regular open days when the project may be viewed in its current state of restoration, along with exhibits to explain the restoration process. Visitors can talk to members of the ship team and find out about the excavation and the campaign to save the ship through tours of the facility run by the support group Friends of the Newport Ship. Generally, the Ship Centre is open every Friday and Saturday between Easter and the end of October, and on Saturdays only from spring half term until Easter and for November and early December.

The ship’s owner is the Newport City Council, which is responsible for the core project funding, whilst The Friends of Newport Ship provide volunteers to open the Ship Centre regularly and also raise funds to assist with the project and support the Curator.

Terminology

The words and expressions used in the maritime world are not understood by everyone. You may need help interpreting the text in this paper or which arises from any research or reading you pursue afterwards. Here are a few glossaries and specialist dictionaries I’ve identified – most are available from bookshops or online at Amazon. You may need to use Google to find some of them:

Books

• A Glossary of Medieval Naval Terms, by Peter Spufford. Published by the Naval Records Society, 2005.
• Medieval Ships and Shipping, by Gillian Hutchinson. Published by Boydell & Brewer, 1994.
• Maritime Terms in the Age of Sail, by John Harland. Published by Seaforth Publishing, 2014.
• The Seafaring Dictionary: Terms, Idioms and Legends of the Past and Present, by John Boorman. Published by Seaforth Publishing, 2012.
• Ships and Shipping in the North Sea and Atlantic, 1400-1800, edited by Rosamond McKitterick and others. Published by Boydell & Brewer, 2001.
• Medieval Ships and Shipping, edited by Jean-Michel Jouve and others. Published by Ashgate Publishing, 2003.
• The Vocabulary of Medieval Trade, edited by John Hatcher and Richard Britnell. Published by Boydell & Brewer, 1996.
• The Seaman’s Dictionary, by John Smith. Published in 1627. Available in early modern English dictionaries and online through library databases.
• Ships and Shipping in the Medieval North Atlantic, edited by Adam Kwakowski and others. Published by Boydell & Brewer, 2012.
• Glossary of Nautical Terms, by John Henry Parker. Published in 1848.
• A Glossary of Medieval Naval Terms, by Patrick J. O’Brien. Published by the British Nautical Research Society, 2009.
• Medieval Shipping and Trade, 1000-1500, edited by Sophie Cabot and others. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• The History of Ships, by Richard Henry Dana. Published in 1840.
• Maritime Words and Phrases in Use from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries, by E. G. R. Taylor. Published by the Navy Records Society, 1950.
• The Oxford Guide to the History of the British Navy, edited by Bernard Ireland. Published by Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Encyclopaedia of the Middle Ages, edited by Norman F. Cantor. Published by Routledge, 2000.
• A Dictionary of the Middle Ages, edited by Joseph R. Strayer. Published by Scribner, 1983.
• The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages, edited by Robert E. Bjork. Published by Oxford University Press, 2010.

Online:

• Illustrated Glossary of Ship and Boat Terms, available as a PDF at: https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/maritimearchaeology11/files/17920584.pdf
• Maritime Terms and Definitions (circa 1944), at: http://www.usmm.org/terms.html
• Glossary of Nautical Terms and Abbreviations, at: https://www.nomadsailing.co.uk/learning-zone/glossary.html
• Maritime Dictionary, at: https://officerofthewatch.com/tools/maritime-dictionary/
• Wikipedia Glossary of Nautical Terms, at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_nautical_terms_(A-L)
• Nautical Terms, at: https://phrontistery.info/nautical.html
• Boating Basics Glossary of Nautical Terms, at: https://www.boatsafe.com/boating-glossary-terms/
• Ship and Boatbuilding Terms: at https://www.iims.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Glossary-of-ship-and-boat-building-terms.pdf

Summary and Conclusion

The construction of the Newport ship used traditional shipbuilding techniques and materials, including the use of wooden planks and frames fastened together with iron nails and wooden trenails. The ship’s hull was rounded or garboarded for better hydrodynamic performance, and it was equipped with a mast and rigging made from wood and hemp, as well as sails made from heavy canvas or flax. The ship’s interior was divided into multiple compartments, including storage areas, crew quarters, and a galley, or kitchen, where food and drink were prepared for the crew and captain. The ship was also probably equipped with weapons, such as longbows, crossbows, and grappling hooks, as well as defensive structures like bulwarks and battlements.

The Royal Museums at Greenwich say^[36] that in the 15^th century, a larger form of trading ship was developed called the carrack. It was carvel-built (the planks did not overlap) and had three or four masts (the Newport Ship had three). There were square sails on two masts and a triangular sail on the mast at the back. Carracks that were used as warships were armed with great guns. I have found no evidence that the Newport Ship took this form, nor have I read much else said of its sails and whether oars were used for additional propulsion.

Image: Three- and Four-masted Carracks
Attribution: Frans Huys, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Four-master_and_Two_Three-masters_Anchored_near_a_Fortified_Island_from_The_Sailing_Vessels_MET_DP102238.jpg

This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Numerous artefacts have been recovered from the Newport shipwreck, including pottery, glassware, metal objects, and textiles, providing valuable insights into the trade and commerce of the late medieval period. The timbers of the ship, despite being submerged for nearly 600 years, are in good condition due to the anaerobic conditions of the River Usk, which prevented the timber from rotting and allowed for its preservation.

In conclusion, the Newport ship provides valuable insights into the technology, trade, and maritime practices of the late medieval period and is an important example of medieval shipbuilding and seafaring history. The extensive research and documentation of the ship, along with the recovered artefacts, has helped to shed light on the design, construction, and use of ships in this era, providing a window into the maritime history of Europe and the wider world.

Reference Sources

• https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/newportship_2013/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship
• https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=21488
• https://mythornbury.co.uk/thornbury/newport-medieval-ship
• https://visitrevisit.co.uk/attraction/newport-medieval-ship-project
• https://www.academia.edu/23318248/The_Newport_Medieval_Ship_Wales_United_Kingdom
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64151535
• https://www.livinglevels.org.uk/stories/2019/1/30/newport-ship
• https://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/en/Newport-Ship/Newport-Ship.aspx
• https://www.newportbus.co.uk/newport-medieval-ship
• https://www.newportship.org/
• https://www.newportship.org/discover-the-ship/what-is-the-newport-ship
• https://www.peoplescollection.wales/users/3253
• https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/case-studies/ethics-case-study-newport-medieval-ship-project
• https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/15479544.15-years-on-how-newports-medieval-ship-was-found-and-how-it-was-saved/
• https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/19/3d-medieval-puzzle-newport-ship-reassembled-2500-pieces-timber
• https://www.twmbarlwm.co.uk/newport-medieval-ship-project/
• https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/newport-ship/
• https://www.visitwales.com/attraction/historic-site/newport-medieval-ship-1113666
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/newport-medieval-ship-opening-date-17288380

Books:

• The World of the Newport Medieval Ship, Trade, Politics and Shipping in the Mid-Fifteenth Century, by Evan Jones and Richard Stone, published by the University of Wales Press, available at:https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/the-world-of-the-newport-medieval-ship/ and https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Newport-Medieval-Ship-Mid-Fifteenth/dp/1786832631
• The Newport Medieval Ship: A reappraisal, by Richard Stone and Tim Parnell, published by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in 2015.
• The Newport Ship: A 15th Century Trading Vessel from Wales, by Mark Redknap and Richard Stone, published by Oxbow Books in 2013.
• The Newport Ship: A Closer Look, by Mark Redknap, published by Oxbow Books in 2017.
• The Newport Ship: A Medieval Merchant Vessel, by Paul Belford, published by Amberley Publishing in 2014.
• Newport Ship: The archaeological story, by Newport City Council Heritage Service, published by Newport City Council in 2011.
• The Ship: An Illustrated History, by Richard Woodman, published by Conway in 2002
• Medieval Merchant ships and seafaring in Northern Europe, by J.R. Skelton, published by Boydell & Brewer in 2011.
• Maritime Archaeology of the Medieval Mediterranean, by Kevin Greene, published by Cambridge University Press in 2018.
• Medieval Shipbuilding, by Richard W. Unger, published by Leiden University Press in 2018.
• Ships and Shipyards, Sailors and Fishermen: Maritime Ethnology in the Scandinavian North, by Ingolf S. Pedersen, published by Aarhus University Press in 2014.
• Newport Medieval Ship: A Guide. Newport City Council / Friends of the Newport Ship. ISBN 978-0-9519136-5-9.

Bibliography:

• Nayling, N. and Jones, T., 2013, The Newport Medieval Ship, Wales, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.
• Nayling, N. and Susperregi, J., 2013, Iberian Dendrochronology and the Newport Medieval Ship, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

Videos:

• Newport Medieval Ship, The ship’s final voyage, at: https://youtu.be/JheJnSFBXfk
• The Mysteries of the Medieval Ship, at: https://youtu.be/2NdsVTmNqo4
• SHIP SHAPE: Newport’s Medieval Ship – 10 years on, at: https://youtu.be/UA2O_wL5IPk

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End Notes and Explanations

1. Source: Machine-generated artificial intelligence answers to questions (https://chat.openai.com/) and on Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑

2. Address: Newport Medieval Ship Project, Unit 20, Estuary Road, Queensway Meadows Industrial Estate, NP19 4SP.  Ship Centre 01633 274167 ↑
3. Source: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/newport-ship/ ↑
4. Source: https://www.academia.edu/23318248/The_Newport_Medieval_Ship_Wales_United_Kingdom ↑
5. At: https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/307059/ ↑
6. Source: Jones, Evan T.; Stone, Richard, eds. (2018). The World of the Newport Medieval Ship: trade, politics and shipping in the mid-fifteenth century. The University of Wales Press. ISBN 9781786831439. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
7. Explanation: Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating tree rings to the exact year they were formed in order to analyse temporal and spatial patterns of tree growth. This can be used to reconstruct past environments, study past climatic conditions, and date wooden artefacts. Source: https://chat.openai.com/ ↑
8. Source: https://www.newportship.org/discover-the-ship/where-we-are-with-the-project ↑
9. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
10. Explanation: In the context of the text in which the word appears, “deconstructed” means to take apart, to disassemble or to break down into smaller parts. It means that instead of repairing or refitting the ship, the ship was taken apart and dismantled. The ship was disassembled, and the majority of it was taken apart. ↑
11. Explanation: Palaeo-environmental evidence refers to information about past environments that can be gleaned from various sources such as fossils, pollen, tree rings, and sedimentary deposits. This type of evidence can be used to reconstruct past climates, ecosystems, and landforms, and to understand how these have changed over time. This information can be used in a variety of fields, including archaeology, geology and climatology, to study past human and natural systems. Source: https://chat.openai.com/ ↑
12. Source: Book Review (by Antony Firth) of The World of the Newport Medieval Ship by Evan T. Jones and Richard Stone, at: https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/reviews/books/review-the-world-of-the-newport-medieval-ship.htm↑
13. Explanation: A ship’s pill is a support structure used to hold the ship in place during maintenance or repair work. The pill is typically a wooden frame that is built around the ship and used to support the ship and keep it level, so it can be worked on. Source: https://chat.openai.com/ ↑
14. Explanation: Pîl (also rendered as Pill, Pil or Pyll) is a Welsh placename element. The name is defined as the tidal reach of a waterway, suitable as a harbour, and is common along the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. The highly localised distribution suggests it may have been part of a common maritime culture on the waterways within the tidal reach of the Severn Sea. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pil_(placename) ↑
15. Source: “Home”. Friends of the Newport Ship (https://www.newportship.org/) Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship
16. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64151535 ↑
17. Sources: Mostly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship, together with other references as noted in the text. ↑
18. Source: Nayling, Nigel; Jones, Toby (September 2014). “The Newport Medieval Ship, Wales, United Kingdom: The Newport Medieval Ship”. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 43 (2): 239–278. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
19. Ibid. ↑
20. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunwale ↑
21. Source: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095943947 ↑
22. Source: https://improvesailing.com/guides/sailboat-keel-types ↑
23. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_(ship) ↑
24. Source: Steward, Robert (1987). Boatbuilding Manual, 3rd ed. Camden, Maine: International Marine Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87742-236-2. ↑
25. Source: Principles of Naval Engineering. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office. 1970. p. 19. ↑
26. Source: http://www.surveyorsforhire.com/boat_facts/general_wood_boat_information ↑
27. Sources: Mostly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship, together with other references as noted in the text. ↑
28. Source: Jones & Stone 2018, The Newport Medieval Ship: Archaeological Analysis of a Fifteenth Century Merchant Ship. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
29. Source:  “Newport’s medieval ship ‘probably French’”. South Wales Argus. 17 April 2010. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
30. Sources: (1) Jones & Stone 2018, Newport during the fifteenth century, (2) “The Newport Ship”. Newport Past, and (3)“Ship’s Papers” (PDF), S.O.S.: The Newsletter of the Friends of the Newport Ship, no. 7, pp. 4–5, Autumn 2005. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
31. Source: Jones, Evan T.; Stone, Richard, eds. (2018). The World of the Newport Medieval Ship: trade, politics and shipping in the mid-fifteenth century. The University of Wales Press. ISBN 9781786831439. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
32. Sources: Mostly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship, together with other references as noted in the text. ↑
33. Source: https://www.newportship.org/archaeology-conservation/artifacts ↑
34. Source: Head, Viv (2017). Sailing Ships of the Bristol Channel. Amberley. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-1445664002. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
35. Sources: Mostly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Ship ↑
36. At: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/shipbuilding-800-1800 ↑