Trade and the Dover Boat

We know that people traded between Britain and continental Europe during the Bronze Age by the foreign materials and objects that have been found in Britain.  The Dover Boat answers the question as to how people travelled between Europe and the British Isles.

Although not all of the Dover Boat has been recovered, it is possible to work with what we have found that a boat made this way could have been able to cross the English Channel. And on calm days, with a strong crew and enough bailers, it could have carried up to 3 tonnes of cargo.

During the Bronze Age, many types of good were being traded.

The Langdon Bay Hoard

A large hoard of metal axes of types made in France was found in the Channel just off Dover in 1974. It looks as if this was a ship's cargo that did not make it across the Channel. This discovery proves that cross channel trade in scrap  metal was taking place at Dover in the Bronze Age. The Langdon Bay Hoard has been kindly lent to Dover Museum by the British Museum

The Langdon Bay hoard on display in Dover Museum