The Lashings and Knots of the Chau Tan Shipwreck
Dublin Core
Title
The Lashings and Knots of the Chau Tan Shipwreck
Description
The Chau Tan shipwreck is the oldest ocean-going cargo ship yet found in Vietnam dating from around the 8th9th century CE. It provides a unique opportunity to study the construction methods of a lashed- lug ship from that
period. Over 40 of the ship’s timbers were retrieved but unfortunately all the lashings connecting the lugs were
severed during the salvage and no record was made of the salvage. There was still enough in situ ropes to start to
build a small list of the types of simple knots and complicated flat braided lashings that were used in its
construction. For this paper ropes were made using simple technology that may have been available at the time
the ship was built. The two knots used on the Chau Tan ship are widely used, even today. The braided lashings
are a different matter, they do not appear in any maritime archaeology or sailing literature that the author could
access. First the author had to work out how the lashing was tied. It was then tested for strength to try and further
understand it's utility. The results were surprising and emphasised the value of experimental archaeology.
period. Over 40 of the ship’s timbers were retrieved but unfortunately all the lashings connecting the lugs were
severed during the salvage and no record was made of the salvage. There was still enough in situ ropes to start to
build a small list of the types of simple knots and complicated flat braided lashings that were used in its
construction. For this paper ropes were made using simple technology that may have been available at the time
the ship was built. The two knots used on the Chau Tan ship are widely used, even today. The braided lashings
are a different matter, they do not appear in any maritime archaeology or sailing literature that the author could
access. First the author had to work out how the lashing was tied. It was then tested for strength to try and further
understand it's utility. The results were surprising and emphasised the value of experimental archaeology.
Creator
Ian McCann
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
McCann, Ian. 2023. “The Lashings and Knots of the Chau Tan Shipwrecks.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, Ligaya Lacsina, Agni Mochtar, and Pierre-Yves Manguin. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/1941
Files
Citation
Ian McCann, “The Lashings and Knots of the Chau Tan Shipwreck,” Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Proceedings, accessed September 16, 2026, https://apconf.omeka.net/items/show/1941.