ANCIENT SYMBOLS FOR A NEW INITIATIVE

Dhakira Center for Heritage Studies at NYU Abu Dhabi initiated a project of "experimental archeology" to re-create a Bronze Age watercraft using techniques hypothesized from archaeological records. Collaborating with Goffredo Puccetti, we deisgned a logo for this project. The design expresses some of the unique intangible characteristics of The Ancient Boat Lab, including the experimentalism, the sense of discovery through creation, the “detective work,” and the connection of modern day making to ancient human craftsmanship.
 
Our particular inspiration was the bitumen fragments holding impressions of woven reeds and ropes that gave the team a key to understanding how these Bronze Age watercraft were constructed. We found it inspiring that such a small, easy to overlook fragment could serve as the foundation of understanding of construction technique, materials, and history of these watercraft. The final design combines the idea of bitumen fragments and contemporaneous watercraft symbols to suggest the pieces of archaeology that were the foundation of this project. The organic shapes refer to the handmade nature of both the original boat and the re-creation.