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Church Roof Shipwreck - Historical reconstruction illustration based on maritime archaeology

Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Historical reconstruction illustration based on maritime archaeology

The municipality of Almere asked me to reconstruct the shipwreck event of this amazing archaeological find. A pre-fab church roof (before the time of IKEA!) that has sunk to the bottom of the Zuiderzee / Zuyder Zee (Southern Sea), historically called Lake Flevo and later The Aelmere. The Zuiderzee was a bay reachable from the North Sea through the Waddenzee (Wadden Sea), an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. Look at this map made by Johannes Janssonius from 1658 to get an impression of the area.

Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Map of the Zuiderzee (Zuyder Zee) from 1658


The Church Roof: A Medieval Building Package

Plot ZA87 in Flevoland is one of the richest sites in the region of maritime archaeological remains. Alongside several shipwrecks, heavy oak beams were uncovered there on September 1, 1983, when a caretaker plowing the land stumbled upon the material. At first, archaeologists from the Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders (RIJP) (National Office for the Ijsselmeer polders) assumed the oak timbers might belong to a wreck. However, closer examination revealed something quite different: the remains of a church roof.

The structure included at least eighty beams arranged in a framework of approximately 9 by 22 meters, complete with a hexagonal bell tower. Marks carved into the beams by medieval carpenters served as guides for assembling the trusses. This prefabricated construction was intended to be transported and built elsewhere—possibly in Friesland—but never arrived. Instead, the beams sank into the waters of the Zuiderzee, preserved in clay for centuries until their rediscovery. After their discovery all the parts were cleaned, drawn, photographed, and described. The beams were then wrapped up with agricultural plastic and buried again with the surrounding clay soil to preserve it for research at a later date. The result of the initial research: The wood definitely belongs to a church roof and is probably nearly six hundred years old

Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Beams found in the soil
Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Beams found in the soil
Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Beams found in the soil
Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - 3D reconstruction of the church roof by DeroDe3D

Based on its form, the roof would have looked very similar to that of the Grote Kerk (or Sint-Michaëlskerk), a big church in Zwolle (in the middle of the 16th century).

Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Construction similar to that of the Grote Kerk (Sint-Michaëlskerk)
Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Construction similar to that of the Grote Kerk (Sint-Michaëlskerk) - Photo by AgainErick


Search and Recovery

For years, the precise location of the church roof was not precisely known because of insufficient notes and maps. When it was decided to develop the future district Almere Pampus, the question arose whether the church roof was located in that precise area. To confirm this, archaeologists from RAAP (Regional Archaeological Archiving Project) were tasked with finding the church roof again. After many drillings they hit agricultural plastic with the drill. Successfully they found all parts again.

The Mystery of Its Sinking

Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Historical reconstruction illustration based on maritime archaeology

Thousands of years earlier, Almere’s landscape consisted of forests, heathlands, and streams. Rising sea levels gradually transformed it into a marsh and by the Middle Ages around 1350, into the Zuiderzee. This inland sea had become a major artery of commerce, transporting livestock, food, fuel (turf), and building materials such as in this case a prefabricated church roof.

Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Historical reconstruction illustration based on maritime archaeology
Nils Raavé - Church Roof - Shipwreck - Historical reconstruction illustration based on maritime archaeology

How the roof ended up on the seabed remains uncertain. Storms on the Zuiderzee were treacherous, and with over 450 known wrecks in Flevoland alone (there might be several thousands more), it is possible that a ship carrying the beams went down. Perhaps the wood was simply lost overboard during transport, or perhaps the vessel and its crew perished. One day, archaeologists may discover a wreck connected to the church roof, revealing more of its story.

Ongoing Research Questions

The church roof continues to raise fascinating questions for researchers:

  • When were the trees felled that provided the beams?
  • Was the timber oak or another species?
  • Do any surviving medieval churches in the Netherlands have similar roofs?
  • Where exactly were the beams crafted, and to which location were they destined?

The answers may one day provide a fuller picture of this remarkable maritime mystery, enriching our understanding of medieval trade, architecture, and life along the waters of the Zuiderzee.

People involved in the creation of this illustration:

The archeological dig and interview with the archaeologist:

My illustration was also used to give context to this interview with dr. Yftinus van Popta by Omroep Flevoland (regional TV/Radio broadcasting station).

Press coverage:

Credits:

  • The overview photo of the big church, the Grote Kerk (Sint-Michaëlskerk) of Zwolle, comes from AgainErick at Wikipedia.
  • The 3D reconstruction of the church comes from DeroDe3D.

Copyright © Nils Raavé
All illustrations are the property of Nils Raavé and may not be reproduced or used without written permission.