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Logboats at Springfield

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Archaeology Collection

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Logboats at Springfield

A watercolour painting by Andrew McGeorge, 1847, showing two logboats found at Springfield.

The boat on the left (Springfield logboat no 1) was found in the autumn of 1847 during work to widen the River Clyde and build Springfield Quay. It was in a layer of sand around 5.2 metres deep "nearly opposite the western termination of the Broomielaw Quay." The boat was made of oak and was over 3.4 metres in length. It is now in the collections of the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and has a calibrated radiocarbon date of 1161 AD.

The boat on the right (Springfield logboat no 2) has been identified as the one found in October 1848 "opposite the well-known dock of Mr Napier" (Robert Napier leased the Lancefield Engineworks on the north bank of the river). The recorded date of discovery may not be correct however, as this watercolour is dated 1847. This boat was found in the same layer of sand as boat no 1, was also made of oak and was 5.9 metres in length. The holes along the side may have been used to attach an outrigger or washstrake. It is now in the Hunterian Museum.

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums

Keywords:
archaeology, Broomielaw Quay, canoeing, canoes, Hunterian Museum, logboats, radiocarbon dates, River Clyde, Robert Napier & Sons, Royal Museum of Scotland, shipyards, Springfield Quay, watercolour paintings



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