Iron Age ghost ship from Poole Harbour revived with a sugar bath

A ten-metre Iron Age logboat dredged from Poole Harbour in August 1964 was conserved in the 1990s using a long sucrose (sugar) treatment and is now on display at Poole Museum.

The Poole Logboat was raised from Poole Harbour in August 1964 and later identified as a large hollowed oak vessel dating to the Iron Age. Local divers recovered a matching bow section a few weeks after the initial dredge, allowing the hull to be reunited. The boat was carved from a single, very large oak and likely served as a heavy haulier around 300 BC. Exposed after millennia in anaerobic mud, it required long-term conservation before it could be shown to the public. Known details: - Discovered by a dredger in Poole Harbour on 20 August 1964. - Divers from the local British Sub-Aqua Club recovered the bow about two weeks later and matched it to the dredged stern. - The hull measures about ten metres and was hollowed from a single oak; it is associated with Iron Age craftsmen such as the Durotriges (circa 300 BC). - Harbour mud preserved the timber by excluding oxygen for over two thousand years. - Conservators kept the boat wet for decades and in the 1990s used a prolonged sucrose (sugar) impregnation to stabilise the wood. - The logboat is now displayed at Poole Museum. Summary: The conservation preserved an important example of Iron Age shipbuilding, with adze marks and repair traces still visible for study and display. Undetermined at this time.