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Specialist Report
Date 1976
Event ID 928748
Category Documentary Reference
Type Specialist Report
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/928748
This study attempts to interpret the relationship between documentary and archaeological evidence for the excavated wreck of a post-medieval ship of the type that has dominated British maritime archaeology in recent years. The Kennemerland, a merchant ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) left the Texel on 14 December 1664 (NS) bound for the East Indies but aiming to pass north of Britain to avoid naval activity in the English Channel. She struck Stoura Stack in the Out Skerries, Shetland, on 20th December and quickly disintegrated. Only three men survived.
Considerable salvage activity was carried out by local people, but most of their winnings were seized by agents of the Earl of Morton, who claimed possession by virtue of his position as Vice-Admiral of Orkney and Shetland. At the instigation of Charles II, the Exchequer in Edinburgh disputed possession with the Earl, and he was deprived of the goods, along with his position. The king subsequently granted rights of salvage to the Earl of Kincardine and it is the comprehensive records of these extended proceedings (including an inventory of the items thought to be on the ship) that form the basic documentary record for the loss.
Theoretically, the various processes acting on the remains may be considered as either filters extracting material from the assemblage or as scrambling devices rearranging the patterns within it. This paper illustrates the validity and potential of this approach.
(For system outputs, arranged by artifact-type, see tab. 1. For map of the site, see fig. 7).
Summary by RCAHMS (RJCM) Undated
Source: K Muckelroy 1976.
