Ballast
Laden with History
Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology, History
| Author: | Mats Burström | ISBN: | 9789188661234 |
| Publisher: | Nordic Academic Press | Publication: | June 15, 2018 |
| Imprint: | Nordic Academic Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Mats Burström |
| ISBN: | 9789188661234 |
| Publisher: | Nordic Academic Press |
| Publication: | June 15, 2018 |
| Imprint: | Nordic Academic Press |
| Language: | English |
In Ballast: Laden with History, the archaeologist Mats Burström charts how ship ballast helped to shape the world we live in. Until only very recently, ships were ballasted with sand, gravel, stone, or rubble to give them stability, and when they no longer needed the extra weight, it was dumped. The result was that huge quantities of ballast were shipped to new places and new continents. Ballast was often reused, sometimes in surprising ways. With the ballast went animal and plant life of all sorts, inadvertently spread to places where they are now so well established that they are thought of as native species. And it was not unknown for ancient artefacts to be found in the ballast too, turning up in the most unexpected places. This is the first comprehensive account of ship ballast, so long overlooked, and now finally recognized for its diverse and exciting history.
In Ballast: Laden with History, the archaeologist Mats Burström charts how ship ballast helped to shape the world we live in. Until only very recently, ships were ballasted with sand, gravel, stone, or rubble to give them stability, and when they no longer needed the extra weight, it was dumped. The result was that huge quantities of ballast were shipped to new places and new continents. Ballast was often reused, sometimes in surprising ways. With the ballast went animal and plant life of all sorts, inadvertently spread to places where they are now so well established that they are thought of as native species. And it was not unknown for ancient artefacts to be found in the ballast too, turning up in the most unexpected places. This is the first comprehensive account of ship ballast, so long overlooked, and now finally recognized for its diverse and exciting history.
