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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Bremen’s 17th-century Weser barges, a piece of maritime heritage currently in storage at the German Maritime Museum (DSM) / Leibniz Institute for Maritime History in Bremerhaven, are to be digitally recorded. Two foundations are providing the funding.
Alongside the ‘Bremen Cog’ from 1380, they are among the museum’s oldest vessels, yet until now they have been invisible to museum visitors: two wooden cargo barges discovered in 2007 at the Teerhof in Bremen on the banks of the Weser.
Dating from the second half of the 17th century, these archaeological vessels are around three centuries younger than the medieval “Bremen Cog”. Thanks to funding from the Cultural Foundation of the German States and the Bremen-based Karin and Uwe Hollweg Foundation totalling around 92,000 euros, this early modern maritime cultural treasure can now be digitally documented using contemporary standards and methods.
The initial plan is to systematically digitise the oak barges using modern scanning techniques and to create precise data sets, which in turn will enable the generation of 3D models. In addition, wood samples will be taken for material analysis to prepare for the future conservation of key components of the larger of the two barges. Visitors to the museum will be able to view the conserved barge fragment in the entrance area of the future DSM exhibition ‘On Board – Ships Change the World’ in the refurbished Scharoun Building.
The Bremen Weser barges are a cultural asset of international significance, as watercraft of this type have only very rarely survived in a condition that allows for meaningful study. They represent significant evidence of early modern goods transport on the Weser, as is particularly evident in the example of ‘Bremen sandstone’, which was transported from the inland regions via the Weser to Bremen and from there, on seagoing vessels, found its way as a building material to destinations including the Netherlands, Denmark-Norway, Russia, Batavia and America.
The early modern transport of goods organised using such barges foreshadowed Bremen’s later role as a major hub in the industrial freight and passenger traffic between the inland, the coast and overseas that emerged from the 19th century onwards. The ships are thus key artefacts in a historical narrative of the increasing interconnection of global trade flows and of profound political and economic transformation processes.
As part of the project, the DSM is collaborating with renowned national and international partners, such as the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research, the specialist office for archaeology and surveying Denkmal3D, and the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at University College Dublin, as well as with the State Archaeological Office of Bremen.
Dr. Frederic Theis
theis@dsm.museum
https://www.dsm.museum/en/press-area/green-light-for-the-3d-documentation-of-bre...
Die Weserlastkähne.
Source: DSM / Archiv
Copyright: DSM / Archiv
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists, Scientists and scholars
History / archaeology, Traffic / transport
transregional, national
Research projects
English
Die Weserlastkähne.
Source: DSM / Archiv
Copyright: DSM / Archiv
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