Wooden fishing boats at risk
Shipbuilding is a centuries-old craft. The introduction of other materials in the industry, such as polyethylene or fiberglass, has marked the beginning of the end for wooden shipbuilding. Less and less wooden boats are built, and those that still survive are often abandoned and left to be destroyed. Therefore, the last wooden fishing vessels have become a cultural asset of high value and provide valuable evidence of the Mediterranean maritime culture.
Due to a misinterpretation of a European Union directive that aimed at preventing overfishing and protect fishing stocks in the Mediterranean, hundreds of fishing boats have been decommissioned and destroyed, since the 1990s. This resulted in an irreversible damage of maritime cultural heritage.
In Cyprus, this EU directive was first implemented in 2013, as part of the Operational Programme for Fisheries and Aquaculture 2007-2013. Over 120 traditional wooden boats were completely destroyed using excavators. This was a significant number considering that only a few hundred such boats existed on the island. In 2015, a new decommissioning program was introduced, condemning approximately 120 more vessels. However, this time, the Cypriot Department of Fisheries and Marine Research decided against destroying all vessels and allowed some to be preserved for exhibition, display, and educational purposes. The preserved boats were mostly transferred to coastal municipalities and communities, where they were showcased in schools, public squares, and roundabouts.
In 2015, Constantinos Nicolaou, then a student of the University of Cyprus, recorded 97 wooden boats from all around the island, registered for subsidized decommission. MARELab requested the preservation of six of them, as representative examples of the four main boat types built in Cyprus: Botis, Liberty, Trechantira and Passara.
These vessels found temporary refuge in the premises of the University of Cyprus, where a collection of rare objects and tools related to local traditional shipbuilding and fishing were also stored. This collection facilitated the comprehensive documentation and study of the boats by maritime archaeologists and students of the University of Cyprus. By doing so, MARELab’s team tried to attain a comprehensive understanding of the vessels, not only by preserving the technical expertise and knowledge inherent in their construction, but also by gaining insights into the historical context surrounding their creation and use.
During the Mare Cyprium project, the six boats were recorded using photogrammetry and used in the developed digital media application, resulting in a 3D catalogue of the collection with supplementary information regarding each boats’ type, biography and basic dimensions. The application provides users with the ability to inspect each 3D boat model, both externally and internally and appreciate its construction.
Discover more about these fishing boats, and learn about the unique characteristics of the botis, liberty, trechantira and passara types, through the Cypriot Fishing Boats application:
By 2023, weathering had taken a toll on these boats, already out of the water for 8 years. Well aware that it was imperative to ensure that the six boats of our collection are preserved for future generations, the second phase of their preservation plan was initiated. Thanks to the generous initiative of Island Oil Ltd, with the collaboration of the Tsavliris Cultural Foundation, the boats have been transferred to the company’s maritime premises in Limassol, where they were fully repaired and maintained. In parallel, systematic efforts to find hosting institutions to adopt the boats began to bear fruit. Schools, companies and museums have expressed interest to each host one of the boats, committing to their proper shelter and maintenance in the future.
Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry was used to document and create digital 3D reconstructions of the six boats. Simply put, this technique uses a set of photographs and metric references to generate accurate metrical 3D models of objects or scenes. Through sophisticated software analysis, common features or points that appear across multiple photos are identified. Based on the identification and recognition of these points and features, the software digitally reconstructs the 3D shape and structure of the object or scene.
In archaeology and maritime archaeology, photogrammetry is used to record sites and artefacts, conduct site monitoring, and has become an important tool in the archaeologists’ toolbox. Compared to more traditional recording techniques, photogrammetry is a much easier, faster and affordable way of obtaining a highly accurate, measured record.
Photogrammetric models not only serve as a valuable digital archive, preserving detailed records of archaeological sites and artefacts for future generations, but they also offer immersive visualizations. These visualizations enable researchers and the public to virtually explore and engage with sites and objects, even if they are physically inaccessible.
Software
All the photogrammetric models were processed using Agisoft Metashape, and then imported into Autodesk Maya where each 3D scene was created and then exported as a gltf file. Verge 3D and Adobe Dreamweaver were used in tandem to create the final interactive application. The shipbuilding line drawings were digitised using Adobe Illustrator.
Given Verge3D’s reliance on WebGL for rendering 3D graphics within web browsers, we highly recommend using Google Chrome for the best viewing experience when interacting with Mare Cyprium’s 3D web applications.
Acknowledgements
Constantinos Nicolaou
Konstantina Xanthopoulou
Further reading
Damianidis Κ. 1998. Greek Vernacular Boatbuilding. Αθήνα, Πολιτιστικό Τεχνολογικό Ίδρυμα ΕΤΒΑ, 2nd Edition (in Greek).
Useful links
