Under the Sea.: Predicting 16th to 18th century shipwrecks in the waterscape of Walcheren based on historical sea charts and geomorphology

From 1585 to 1800, Walcheren was a major destination for international sailing ships in the Netherlands, as it was home to the headquarters of the VOC Chamber of Zeeland. In that time, many ships found their end around Walcheren. One of the many causes was the surrounding waterscape, which was and still is very dynamic and rapidly changing, because of which ships would run aground and eventually wreck. However, as they were also buried quickly by the sedimentation, a lot of shipwrecks has been preserved until today. As the currents of the estuaries around Walcheren have moved over the past few centuries, the protective sediment layers on top of the shipwrecks is being eroded, uncovering the shipwrecks. On top of the seabed, the shipwrecks are exposed to decay and erosion, and thus archaeologists need to act quick. One of the approaches to proactively locate the shipwrecks before it is too late, is the creation of prediction maps. This research has studied the changes in the...Show moreFrom 1585 to 1800, Walcheren was a major destination for international sailing ships in the Netherlands, as it was home to the headquarters of the VOC Chamber of Zeeland. In that time, many ships found their end around Walcheren. One of the many causes was the surrounding waterscape, which was and still is very dynamic and rapidly changing, because of which ships would run aground and eventually wreck. However, as they were also buried quickly by the sedimentation, a lot of shipwrecks has been preserved until today. As the currents of the estuaries around Walcheren have moved over the past few centuries, the protective sediment layers on top of the shipwrecks is being eroded, uncovering the shipwrecks. On top of the seabed, the shipwrecks are exposed to decay and erosion, and thus archaeologists need to act quick. One of the approaches to proactively locate the shipwrecks before it is too late, is the creation of prediction maps. This research has studied the changes in the morphology of the waterscape of Walcheren from 1585 to 1800, based on historical maps and bathymetrical reconstructions. These were combined with historical data of shipping routes and average drafts to create so-called risk areas that ships, if they were to sail into it, had a high a likelihood of running aground and consequently wrecking. Based on the reconstructed and modern bathymetry, this research analysed the change in the waterscape from 1585 to the present. Based on this information, a prediction map was created, predicting areas in which shipwrecks are most likely to have been preserved. Both this preservation prediction map and the risk area prediction map were tested by overlaying them with contemporarily documented shipwreck locations. The results showed that the vast majority of documented shipwrecks was located in the predicted areas of both maps, proving their accuracy.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Under the Sea. Predicting 16th to 18th century shipwrecks in the waterscape of Walcheren based on historical sea charts and geomorphology