The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #95778   Message #1866937
Posted By: Bunnahabhain
23-Oct-06 - 11:51 PM
Thread Name: BS: The remains of 'Old Ironsides' ?
Subject: RE: BS: The remains of 'Old Ironsides' ?
Wood, under the right conditions last for thousands of years. Waterlogged soils, such as bogs or estury mud have preserved whole Roman ships, and stone age artifacts of all sort.

Or if a builiding is kept up, the wood in that will last just as well. So long as the roof and footings are sound, so it stays dry. There's a lovley old timber walled church in Essex, which is probably the oldest timer building in Europe, and the main structure dates to either about 845 CE, or about 1050 CE.

The design of the japanese temples, to enable them to withstand so many yeras of earthquakes and typhoons is amazing.