Dendroarchaeology of Shipwrecks in the Iberian Peninsula: 10 Years of Research and Advances

In the Iberian Peninsula, tree-ring research on shipwrecks started in the 2000s by the authors with the aims of identifying shipwrecks as Atlantic–Iberian-built vessels, studying the organization of timber supply, and refining our understanding of the development of shipbuilding along the Iberian–Atlantic coast during the Early Modern Period. This article compiles the results and observations gathered in the period 2009–2019 through dendrochronological analysis of 23 shipwreck assemblages found in the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere. Only three of these shipwrecks (Triunfante, Magdalena, and Bayonnaise) had been previously identified and had a known ship history, including date and location of construction. The rest (Barceloneta I, Newport, Ribadeo, San Sebastián, Matagrana, Punta Restelos, Arade I, Ria de Aveiro F and G, Barreiros, Belinho, Delta I, II, and III, Cee 1 and 2, Yarmouth Roads, Emmanuel Point II and III, and Highbourne Cay) had less precise dating based on historical information, construction features, archaeological context/artifacts, and/or radiocarbon dates. Our results demonstrate an almost-exclusive use of deciduous oak (Quercus subg. Quercus) in structural hull elements until the mid-eighteenth century and suggest a transition from differentiated selection of trees based on growth rates in the fifteenth century toward an indifferent selection in subsequent centuries due to availability of raw materials and technological advances. Our findings are discussed in the context of shipbuilding and seafaring in the Early Modern Period.