Pollen and shipwrecks

French ecologist Serge Muller of the University of Montpellier II has published a paper in the Journal of Archeological Science entitled, "Palynological study of antique shipwrecks from the western Mediterranean Sea, France." Pollen grains embedded in the resin used to seal the joints between wood on ships can be recovered from shipwrecks and "matched" with local floras to suggest a place of origin of the ship.

This has implications on understanding the distance from the site of construction that these ships travelled, yielding clues to ancient trade routes (which were perhaps more extensive than previously thought).

Links:
Pollen traces shipwrecks' roots - Plants give boats a biological birth certificate from Nature's ScienceUpdate website.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 9:13 PM on February 1, 2004