The Thaikkal-Kadakkarappally Boat: an Archaeological Example of Medieval Shipbuilding in the Western Indian Ocean

Abstract

Recent excavations at Kadakkarappally in Kerala, south-west India, have unearthed the remains of an iron-fastened boat, believed to predate the earliest known records for the use of iron in South Asian boatbuilding. The design departs significantly from the traditional view of Indian watercraft, although the use of locally available timber and the suitability of the design for use in the backwaters that characterise the region suggest that it was built and used in India. This is the first excavation of its type to take place in Kerala and contradicts the belief, widely held in Kerala, that the survival of organic remains has been negated by the tropical climate of the region.

Sewn‐Plank Reconstructions of Oman: construction and documentation

“…Evidence in ancient Egyptian sites, such as Wadi Gawasis, Wadi al‐Jarf, and Ain al‐Suhkna, shows that vessels were being fastened with mortise‐and‐tenon joinery and ligatures as well as dowels in the Red Sea (Ward and Zazzaro, ; Pomey, ). The Thaikkal‐Kadakkarappally boat remains, found in the province of Kerala in southwestern India and dated to the 13th century, show evidence of being nailed (Tomalin et al ., ), and two nailed timbers in the al‐Balīd collection have recently been dated to the 14th–15th century, prior to the European entry into Indian Ocean waters (Ghidoni, pers. comm.)…”

The Formation of Chinese Maritime Networks to Southern Asia, 1200-1450

“…In fact, the discovery of a boat in the Thikkal-Kadakkarappally region of Kerala in southern India, tentatively dated to between the thirteenth and the fifteenth century, suggests that the shipbuilding techniques developed by Chinese and Southeast Asians during the Song period may have been transmitted to the Indian coast (Tomalin et al 2004;Nair et al 2004). Similar to the contemporary Chinese ships, the Thikkal-Kadakkarappally boat is flat-bottomed, it lacks a keel, and reveals the use of iron fastenings (Tomalin et al 2004: 259).…”

“…Similar to the contemporary Chinese ships, the Thikkal-Kadakkarappally boat is flat-bottomed, it lacks a keel, and reveals the use of iron fastenings (Tomalin et al 2004: 259). While some scholars (Lin 2005a: 19) have identified it as a Chinese ship, the analysis of the timber indicates that the vessel was built locally (Tomalin et al 2004). Perhaps the Chinese ships frequenting the Indian coast introduced the design to the local ship builders.…”

Building Pâris’ Beden Seyad: a replica of the Omani 19th‐century sewn fishing vessel

“…Arab and Indian boatbuilders would most probably have seen Chinese ships, which had sailed in the western Indian Ocean since the 9th century (Agius, : 77). A nailed‐construction technique was employed in the Thaikkal‐Kadakkarappally boat discovered in Kerala, south India, and dated between the 13th and 15th centuries AD (Tomalin et al ., : 257); however, despite this transition in construction method caused by foreign influences, references to rope‐fastened vessels in the Indian Ocean continue in later accounts by British travellers, traders, and officers. For example, William Daniel, who travelled from London to Surat during the 17th century, records sewn boats in Mocha, Yemen (Foster, : 73).…”