Today we talk with Margreet Pakkert, who was kind enough to record an interview during the Flevoland 2025 Field Work Archaeology Open Day . The students were supervised as they document a Dutch Waterschip . This is a type of fishing vessel that was common in the Zuiderzee before it was reclaimed to form the province of Flevoland . As fish were caught they were kept alive in two chambers in the boat that were open to the sea¸ allowing the fishermen to deliver the freshest of fish to their market .

As the water table in Flevoland is lowering, the shipwreck will soon rot away. So the team are out teaching students the craft of documenting the find and preserving what is unique. The ship itself sank between 1520 and 1530.

Download hpr4447_VID_20250802_100139Z.mp4 video.

Links

• Zuiderzee
• Zuiderzee Works
• Flevoland
• Waterschip in Dutch
• Veldschool Scheepsarcheologie Flevoland 2025 van start in Dutch
• Dendroarchaeology
• Unhygienix
• Maritime archaeolog
• Photogrammetry
• 3D Modle of Ship
• Lidar
• Artec 3D scanners

Images

The front/Fore

There is a large event tent often used for weddings, covering the escalation area. The legs of two people can be seen standing on the grass above two archaeologists who are in the wreck. From the grass level, there is a 30cm/1 Foot layer of sandy soil until there wreck begins. The body of the ship is exposed and we can see the interlocking planks that form the hull. There is a "stepping stone" path made from sand bags from the keel/center spine of the ship, to the surface. One archaeologist stands at the end of this path with a bucket and at his feet is a scoop that he is using to fill it. The lower part of the ship is filling with water that is seeping in from the surrounding ground. Another archaeologist stands in the Bow/Front of the ship with a drawing board where she is making a record of the find. The view down the tent from front to back. The ship lies about 15 Degrees to port (left in direction of travel) A photographer is taking pictures.

The bun/fish compartment

In the body of the ship we see three wooden partitions, that form the two chambers that were used to keep the fish alive. Although not visible to the untrained eye, there are holes to the outside sea.

The Mast hole in the keel

A close up of the 2M/6Foot wooden sleeper that lies on a forklift pallet. It is about 15CM/6Inches thick. This has a about 30cm/1 Foot square hole in it, that is only about 5CM/2Inch deep. This was used to hold the bottom of the mast.

The Timbers

Views of the overlapping timbers with cut marks, and pins holding them together.

The Back/Aft

A view from the back from the back of the ship. We can see that there is a rip in the hull behind the last fish compartment and the back of the ship. Was this a collision or did it occur after sinking ? An archaeologist is fighting a loosing battle to scoop out water.

The glamour of the dig.

The back of the site tent showing the woodland in the background, a pile of soil that was removed, and a another pile of rotting wood from the ship. There is a makeshift pool of water used to store water pumped from the wreck. The front of the site tent showing the woodland in the background, some storage shipping containers, some steel plates used to spread the load of heavy machinery. A 2M/6Foot wooden sleeper lies on a forklift pallet. A earthen mound is in front of the woods. In front of that is a very wet and damp looking tarpaulin with parts of the ship. They are normally kept wet covered with another tarpaulin so they will not rot. Each has a label on it. Some are held vertical by sandbags. There is a view of the pile of rotten wood, the eacavated soiland the pump pool. There are some rusted iron as braces in the wood. There is a rust shaped axe.

Information Displays

A informational poster showing how they determined the date to be Dendroarchaeology. If two trees grew during the same period, the thickness of their rings during that period will be the same. Archaeologist were able to make a complete historical map of tree rings going back to prehistory. They did this by comparing the overlapping tree rings from in existing buildings, shipwrecks and artwork. In some cases there were receipts from wood choppers for the timbers. Further back can be used by comparing overlapping rings in different artifacts.

A drawing of the ship cross-sections through the center, a top, front and back view. Then a drawing of the ship with triangle sail at the front, and a square sale at the back with rigging. The cross section shows where the bun/fish compartment was located in the middle behind the mast at the bottom of the ship.

A informational poster tells us the shipwreck was discovered in 1972 when the land was drained. The ship is 16 meter long and 5.5 meter wide, which is a small version as they often got to 20 meter in length. The ship was complete to the top of the bun/fish compartment. It sank somewhere between 1520 and 1530. It continues to give a timeline of the discovery.
The next poster shows the 3d scans from 2022 to 2025.
2022 Shows the front half of the ship with a rats nest of broken timbers.
2023 The entire top deck is exposed
2024 and 2025 show the wood is now cleared down to the frame of the ship.
There are also 3D printed versions of the scans in cases.

The 3d scanner used to record some of the models.

A map showing the shipping routes through the Zuiderzee.

Items that visitors are encouraged to touch are fresh moss used to seal the lats, a piece of timber, some iron nails, and braces to keep the planks together.

Items that visitors are not allowed to touch include, barrel taps, rings, actual moss, fish bones, and a box of other finds.

The Author

The author Wouter Waldus was there to discuss the dig, marine archaeology, and his many books.

• Turfvaart op de Zuiderzee. Scheepswrakken in Flevoland, 1550-1700
• Gezonken Erfgoed
• De IJsselkogge. Hanzeverleden boven water
• Wrakken in wereldzeeën - Vergane Nederlandse schepen uit de zeventiende eeuw