This standard work on marine archaeology (first published in 1987) is now revised and published in paperback for the first time. Professor McGrail provides an authoritative and comprehensive survey of water transport across Northern Europe from the Late Palaeolithic to the later Middle Ages, using evidence of excavations, but also documentary sources, iconographic and ethnographic evidence when available. The result is an authoritative study explaining ancient seamanship and boat-building to the archaeologist and historian.