Pollen Trapped in Pitch Tracks Repairs Made to Ancient Ship - Archaeology Magazine

Pollen Trapped in Pitch Tracks Repairs Made to Ancient Ship - Archaeology Magazine

STRASBOURG, FRANCE—According to a statement released by Frontiers, the protective coatings on a 2,200-year-old Roman shipwreck found off the coast of Croatia were made of pine tar, or pitch, and a mixture of pine tar and beeswax. Beeswax was added to heated tar to make a mixture known to Greek shipbuilders as zopissa, which is more flexible and easier to apply. In addition to analyzing the chemical makeup of the coatings on the ship, archaeometr…