Hot off the press – “Ballast: Laden with history”

A new book from archaeologist Mats Burström of Stockholm University has just been published in both Swedish and English on Nordic Academic Press. Research presented in the book shows the fascinating afterlife of material such as sand, gravel, stone or rubble, used until very recently to give ships stability. In this richly illustrated book, Mats Burström charts how ballast has …

Ballast: Creating Cultural Connections Across Time and Space – by Mats Burström

Along the shores in Newfoundland there is an abundance of flint to be found although this material does not occur naturally in the area. The reason for the presence of flint is that it was used as ballast by sailing vessels in the transatlantic migratory fishery that started in the beginning of the sixteenth century and lasted for about four …