Log boats make a splash again after 3,000 years for heritage project finale

Volunteers from Stanwick Lakes have dedicated more than 800 hours to the National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported project to create the boats using ancient techniques and tools they had made from scratch.

It culminated on Sunday, July 21, when the boats were launched onto the water, cheered on by onlookers as volunteers put their creations to the test. It is believed to be the first time in 3,000 years that log boats have made a return to the waterways.

The hard work paid off as the boats remained watertight and were successfully navigated across Solstice Lake. They were joined by a Viking Karve Longship, coracles and the Northants Fire and Rescue crew to form a celebratory regatta.

Set against a backdrop of the Visitor Centre and the sacred Bronze Age Round Barrow, it was the perfect setting for the celebration of a modern-day project to bring ancient stories to life.

Becky Gill, Stanwick Lakes’ Heritage Manager, said the Bronze Age plays an important part of Stanwick Lakes’ 10,000-year history, so when the National Heritage Lottery Fund awarded funding to enable the team to promote the site’s heritage, the Bronze Age seemed the perfect story to share.

She said: “We wanted to tell this story through the people who lived 3,000 years ago, to explain how they would have lived and travelled along to river to trade with other settlements. We set out to re-enact this with the help of people living and volunteering today, in the same location as our ancestors, using the same techniques and tools.

“Two years and 800 hours later, thanks to a group of volunteers with dedication, commitment and passion, we achieved it. Not only that, we proved that when a group of people get together with determination and a purpose, they can build not only lasting friendships, learn new skills and empower themselves to drive a project – as our ancestors would have done – but they can also build boats that float.

“It’s an amazing story and achievement by an incredible team which I am so proud of.”

Volunteer Aidan Phillips, a firefighter who is also an amateur archaeologist, has been involved in the project since its inception and has spent two days a month on site since last May working on the boats.

He said: “I could have spent every day there – it was that enthralling and absorbing. We burned the logs to form the shape of the boat, and as a firefighter, to see how fire could be used for your benefit was fascinating.

“The boat launch was emotional, it really was exceptional.”

The boat project has been supported by Dr James Dilley, an experimental archaeologist and flintknapper specialising in the Stone Age and Bronze Age. He brought his experience in making replica boats and tools to the project.

Speaking after the boat launch, Dr Dilley said: “It’s incredible as someone so used to making prehistoric tools to see them being used on a large and successful project.

“There were moments during the event when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up at the realisation we were the first to make and pilot Bronze Age craft in the River Nene basin for 3,000 years.

“Stanwick Lakes and the team involved are now a part of the story that tells of a prehistoric landscape filled with ritual monuments and Bronze Age settlements like Must Farm.”

Also attending the event were archaeologists from Cambridge Archaeological Unit who excavated the Bronze Age site Must Farm near Peterborough, known as ‘Britain’s Pompeii’ as it is home to some of the most well-preserved settlements.

The Big Bronze Age Boat Build project is part of a wider programme exploring this era, which launched after Stanwick Lakes received a grant of £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible thanks to National Lottery players.

The log boats will now be on display at Stanwick Lakes for visitors to view.

Stanwick Lakes, located near Rushden in the heart of the Nene Valley, is accessed off the A45.