EHG5214 - Archaeological Surveys - Loch Fleet Boat Graveyard

As part of the Scotland’s Coastal Heritage at Risk Project (SCHARP), a survey was carried out of a boat graveyard at Loch Fleet in partnership with the North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NoSAS) and the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS). Site recording included a drone aerial survey and the creation of detailed written, photographic and drawn records of the remains of 17 wooden fishing boats as well as wood species identification of samples recovered from the vessels. Historical research was undertaken, archival materials were consulted and oral histories were collected. The project created a record of the vessels and their condition for future monitoring and identified the boats as the remains of the herring fishing fleet which belonged to the village of Embo. The results corrected an erroneous interpretation which stated that the fleet had been deliberately scuttled and burned following the First World War, and instead has shown that abandonment of the vessels at the regular winter safe haven was due to their obsolescence following the introduction of steam power and larger boats to the herring fishing industry which occurred in the two decades prior to the First World War. The results of the work have been shared at conferences and disseminated through SCHARP networks and will be submitted for publication to the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology in due course. <1>