How did medieval pilgrims avoid the great geographical accidents on the Camino de Santiago? Archaeologists have discovered for the first time the remains of a medieval ship that would have been based in Ribadeo. The boat would have been used to cross the estuary between Galicia and Asturias instead of going around Vegadeo due to the absence of bridges.
It is a longitudinal piece of wood carved in the shape of an L, which was deeply embedded in the sediment. As reported by the Galician Ministry of Culture, it was built between 1050 and 1260 to cross from Vegadeo to Ribadeo, two neighboring towns separated by the estuary, long before the first bridge was built in 1863.
The port of Ribadeo was the way of entry for pilgrims due to its connection with San Julián or Hospitalario and the creation of a hospital to serve them. In the Legend of Saint Julian, written around 1260, Julian appears as a pilgrim to Santiago and other holy places after escaping from his house in Angers. Precisely at this moment corresponds the dating obtained by the carbon 14 analyzes carried out.
The located piece would have been carved “with adze-type metal tools”, from “a single trunk of carballo wood”, probably from the area, in one of the riverside shipyards in the region. It measures about 7.27 meters in length, with curved corners, and a thickness of wood that varies between 6.3 and 5.6 centimeters. Archaeologists also point out that the boat allowed animals and passengers to be loaded.
Experts conclude that this type of boat would not be too different from those used at the same time to cross the great rivers of northern Europe, after all, that’s where the pilgrims came from looking for Saint Julian.
