As part of our ‘Gwent Levels Revealed’ series, join Dr Toby Jones, Curator of the Newport Medieval Ship Project from Newport Museum and Art Gallery, to explore the challenge currently being undertaken on this iconic Gwent Levels maritime discovery.

Discovered, disassembled and raised in 2002-3, the hull remains and artefacts of the mid-Fifteenth century Newport Medieval Ship have subsequently progressed through cleaning, documentation, analysis and conservation treatment.

The use of advanced three dimensional digital recording and modelling technologies, in the form of contact digitising, laser scanning and 3D printing has created a comprehensive and accurate digital data set, which has enabled researchers to determine the dimensions, capacity, and performance of the original vessel. The examination of the individual ship timbers and overall hull form have led to a greater understanding of Atlantic-Iberian ship design, construction sequence, and woodland resource management in the late medieval period.  

Conscious of the deformation acting on numerous archaeological ships already on display, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and engineers are designing a comprehensive support structure made from fibre-reinforced polymers that would provide universal support for the hull remains, while remaining largely hidden in the inter-frame spaces of the re-assembled hull, thus satisfying both structural and aesthetic challenges.  

This talk will be delivered via Zoom, so please make sure you have the most up to date version.

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