A Baltic Connection? Late Medieval Shipwrecks Reused in the Harbour of Hulst, The Netherlands

During a watching brief in the town of Hulst (The Netherlands) in 2011 several ship timbers were found reused in two late medieval quay sides. Both the restricted time in the field and lack of initial budget for the research were constraints to this project. In the consecutive years the wood, moss and pollen were analysed. The results delivered an insight in the construction methods, dates and provenances of the shipwrecks that were reused in the 13th and 14th centuries. At least two of them have a Baltic origin: one ship displays Scandinavian features, dates to the early 13th century and probably originated from L & uuml;beck; another ship from the 14th century was probably built in or near Gdansk. Sparse remains of probably two other ships have been studied as well.