Find Spot record MDR13182 - Medieval boat timbers, Thrumpton's Lane, Long Eaton

In April 2010, during a routine inspection of quarry workings at Thrumpton's Lane near Long Eaton, a collection of 34 timbers was noted in the hedgerow adjacent to the lane leading up to the quarry site offices. The timbers had apparently been excavated from the quarry several years previously and had been piled up 'to one side' by the machine driver. The timbers were clearly worked and retained evidence of jointing, and on this basis were removed to the University of Leicester for cleaning and recording. Analysis of the cleaned timbers showed that they came from a clinker-built medieval boat which was over 6m long, based on surviving parts of the keel plank. It was likely to have been a flat-bottomed craft, with pointed bow and stern, built of high-quality, straight-grained oak. The wood was locally sourced from trees felled in the 1320s to 1330s. A number of stains from tingle patches on the planks suggested the boat was repaired and there were even indications that a large-scale overhaul was carried out, with many of the plank fastenings showing evidence of secondary nails. Calculations regarding the size of the boat indicate that with a crew of two, each with oars, poles and ropes and possessions, the boat could have carried a cargo of two tons. (1)