In New Hampshire's Piscataqua River off New Castle island lie the remains of a small colonial era vessel. The carvel-built hull was fashioned from pine hull strakes and ceiling planking. The frames were made of oak. The remains measure 9.3 meters along the keel, which would have rendered an overall vessel length of approximately 10.6 m. A short (2.5 m) oak keelson contains a mortise close to the craft's midpoint; the mortise is believed to be a mast step. Many similar vessels carried a small foremast as well as the central main mast, but conclusive evidence for a second mast was not found on the Hart's Cove site.

The vessel probably had a long life in the colonies. A patch in the hull planks, shown above, indicates that the craft was repaired at least once. In addition, evidence suggests that several extra frames were fastened to the hull during the vessel's career. These added frames were more roughly fashioned than the original strengthening members, and their limber notches were triangular instead of rectangular like those of the original floors.

The Hart's Cove shallop probably dates to the end of the seventeenth century. Artifacts associated with the wreck included scores of clay tobacco pipes, sherds of North Devon sgraffito ware, bottles, and portions of a Westerwald mug (see images below). An inscription on the mug reads Rex Wilhel..., a reference to King William III of England (William of Orange). William III came to the throne in 1688 as a result of the Glorious Revolution.

All artifactual evidence points to a late seventeenth century demise for the Hart's Cove shallop. However, the currents in the cove introduce new material to the site with every tide cycle. During the third dive of the day during the 1991 field season, the archaeologists discovered a ceramic milk pan in the middle of the site. The pan was fairly large, and certainly was not on the site earlier in the day. On the shallop site, as with all archaeological sites, the position of every artifact must be carefully analyzed before judging whether the artifact truly is part of the site.

Historical Significance:
Far from being a barrier between colonies, the ocean and rivers were the highways down which communication and trade flowed. Small or medium-sized craft like shallops were extremely important in the colonies, but very few vessels dating from this period have been examined in America. Craft like the Hart's Cove vessel were used for fishing in the inshore waters, trading voyages throughout the colonies, defense, and general transportation. The wreck in Hart's Cove offers a tantalizing suggestion of the range of such boats: a lump of coral was excavated from between the floors. Perhaps the coral was brought to New Hampshire in a larger vessel, but it is possible that the shallop had traveled as far south as Bermuda. Craft like this one were the threads that stitched widely-spaced colonies together, and the study of their remains allows some insight into the lives of seventeenth century settlers.

The repairs and modifications made to the hull present information on the economy of the time. While timber was abundant in the Piscataqua region, labor was not. Unskilled labor was necessary to turn timber into lumber with axes, pitsaws, and adzes; semi-skilled or skilled labor was required to fashion raw timber into ships' construction components. Rather than construct a new vessel to replace the worn-out Hart's Cove shallop, seventeenth century shipwrights strengthened her hull with rudely-finished frames. Instead of repairing the hull by replacing all or most of the rotted or broken plank, the craft's owner trimmed it back the barest minimum. He tacked a patch into place without overlapping it to the midpoint of the frame that secured it. Surely this saved money, but it might have compromised safety, too. Was the shallop at the end of a long life when these repairs were made? Was it serving restricted duty in the river, lightering goods from larger vessels instead of engaging in long-distance trade itself? Or, was this standard practice in seventeenth century colonial boatyards?

Shipbuilding was a major component of the economy in coastal colonies. See http://wwwsc.library.unh.edu/specoll/exhibits/shipbld.htm for a brief description of vessel construction in Durham, located upriver from New Castle. Durham sits on the Oyster River, which empties into Great Bay and forms part of the Piscataqua River's estuary.

References:

David C. Switzer, "An Example of a Carvel Constructed Colonial American Shallop-type Vessel," in Reinder
    Reinders and Kees Paul (eds.) Carvel Construction Technique: Fifth International Symposium on Boat and
    Ship Archaeology, Amsterdam 1988, Oxbow Monograph 12 (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1991).