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13 Jan, 09:12

Scientists determine age of northernmost find - Pomors' boat from Novaya Zemlya

In determining the age of a wooden structure, researchers analyze annual rings and compare obtained information with known data that are quite few - each region has its own scales

ARKHANGELSK, January 13. /TASS/. Scientists determined the age of a Pomor boat, found on the Oran Islands of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, a TASS correspondent reported. The ancient vessel was found in 2016, and several attempts to transport the boat succeeded only in 2022 during the Arctic Floating University voyage.

The find was brought to Arkhangelsk on the Professor Molchanov scientific research vessel. Since then, researchers have been working to determine when and where was built the boat, on which the Pomors went hunting sea animals in the very north of the polar archipelago. The Pomors lived in the north of Russia, at the White Sea. The boat - karbas - was not riveted, it was stitched - this is a very old technology to build naval vessels, which has been used for many centuries. (Karbases are sailing and rowing fishing, hunting and transport wooden vessels, common at least since the 15th century till now on the White and Barents Seas.)

"We know the exact age of the boat - the very end of the 17th century, 1691," said Evgeny Ermolov, managing the preservation of historical and cultural heritage department at the Russian Arctic National Park. "It is very highly probable the boat was built that year. The location where the boat was built is the Karelian coast of the White Sea."

It was Ermolov who found the unique artifact in 2016. During a special mission, the expedition managed to transport from the Oran Islands about 70 fragments of the ancient vessel. They had been in a sandy lens, which explains preservation of the wooden parts.

Specialists have found that the boat was seven meters long and about two meters wide. In later terminology, such a vessel was called a "traveling karbas". It was used to bring people ashore from a larger Pomor boat, as well as to hunt beluga whales, walruses and seals.

Explore with care

In determining the age of a wooden structure, researchers analyze annual rings and compare obtained information with known data that are quite few - each region has its own scales. The more growth rings there are in a sample, the better. The research, led by Vladimir Matskovsky, head of the dendrology lab, was conducted at the Institute of Geography (the Russian Academy of Sciences).

"At first, we used a gentle approach, that is, without cutting, we simply cleaned smooth surfaces, where the material was weathered, worn, or jammed. We cleaned the surfaces, photographed, took macro photos, and counted the rings. But that was not sufficient for accurate dating," Evgeny Ermolov told TASS. "Thus, we decided to sacrifice some details, to cut them. So, we picked five samples."

Calculations took about six months - the scientists managed to determine the boat's year of building, as well as where it was built. Most probably, that expedition to the north of Novaya Zemlya could have been sent by the Solovetsky Monastery (the Solovki Islands). At that time it was one of the largest "business entities" in Russia's north-west.

"Sending an expedition to the northernmost part of Novaya Zemlya is quite an expensive exercise. Either those were shareholders, wealthy Pomors, undertaking the costs, or large monasteries could have organized such an expedition. Monasteries have everything for this: resources, money, people, and <...> sales markets," the historian said. "They sailed there to get walrus tusks - almost a semi-precious material that they could sell further on quite profitably."

Further research

According to Ermolov, the age determination demonstrates that by the late 17th century the Pomors were actively fishing and hunting in high latitudes and knew the Arctic very well. "On board the boat were authentic Pomors. Peter the Great traveled to there only two years later," he continued. "They were very distinctive, self-sufficient, economically active people of strong characters. And good navigators they were."

The next stage in work with the find is to reconstruct the oldest Pomor boat.

About the Russian Arctic National Park

The Russian Arctic National Park is Russia's northernmost and largest specially protected natural area that includes the Franz Josef Land Archipelago and the northern part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The national park's territory is one of the most hard-to-reach locations both in Russia and in the world.