Knee Deep In the Past

A look at the muddy lagoons of Oman’s shoreline shines a light onto a
rich and successful seafaring tradition that goes back 6,000 years

Oman has rarely been considered one of the great ancient seafaring nations, but compelling new archeological evidence suggests a re-evaluation may be in order. Studies point to a notable history of long distance voyages reaching back 6,000 years, part of trade with civilizations in Asia and throughout the Persian Gulf. But what makes this discovery especially impressive are the simple materials that were used to construct vessels capable of transporting several tonnes of cargo over vast distances: marsh grass and tar.

The port city of Sur still boasts an active shipyard, where carpenters build traditional wooden vessels. Situated near the easternmost tip of Oman, providing it with a direct route to India, Sur’s rich maritime heritage lured nautical archaeologist Tom Vosmer into an ambitious project to reconstruct a life-size replica of a 6,000-year-old reed boat and sail it across the Indian Ocean. At the time Vosmer noted that “The Magan boat project reaches back to the earliest maritime technology used for seafaring in the region, the technology that supported the beginnings of pelagic fishing, of maritime explorations, the development of navigation skills, and the emergence of a trade network linking the great civilizations of Mesopotamia, Dilmun and the Indus Valley.” But, he conceded, the project team was working from meagre direct evidence.

With the support of the Omani government, Vosmer and his team constructed the 15-metre-long reed boat, composed of reed bundles coated with bitumen (a type of tar) imported from Iraq. Employing traditional weaving technology, the work was an exercise in understanding early shipbuilding technology, but the ultimate test would be to sail roughly 1,000 kms between Oman and India, following an ancient trade route. Early tests of the vessel were promising, and with some minor repairs their bitumen-reed boat proved seaworthy.

Last September, the “Magan” boat was ceremoniously launched at Sur. Shortly after its launch, however, the boat began taking on water and sank approximately 15 kms offshore, lost in about 1,500 metres of water. Vosmer blames an undetected leak in the hull. Combined with the heavy seas of the Indian Ocean, where swells breached the boat’s gunnels, there was more water in the boat than the crew was able to bail. The swamped boat began to list and sank soon afterwards. The Omani navy vessel accompanying the Magan was able to rescue all aboard.

While early Omani mariners were evidently capable of completing major voyages, it is likely that much of their ocean travel occurred along coastlines, therefore requiring suitable anchorages that could provide shelter, not to mention re-supply of necessary resources such as fresh water. It was the quest to understand these ancient harbours that brought me to Oman with Eduard Reinhardt, an associate professor of earth science at McMaster University. We would undertake a geological survey of the Sur lagoon in order to shed light on the sea level changes and their effect on the anchorage through time but also the frequency and intensity of storms and typhoons during this seafaring period. Ultimately, it would help answer whether or not this location was a suitable anchorage for mariners thousands of years ago.

Photos by Simon Donato

This entry was posted on Friday, September 10th, 2010 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Field Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Add to del.icio.us.