Ships’ Pumps: From Antiquity to the Early Modern Era

One of the few facts that can be stated unequivocally is that wooden vessels leak. Whether due to a damaged hull, loose caulking between seams, or simply a reflection of the age of a ship, water always manages to end up in the bilge. Sailors on smaller watercraft addressed this issue through bailing, but as ships became larger, the demand for an efficient device eventually produced the ships’ pump. Over most of history, contemporary scholars paid little attention to describing the device and it is only in the last few decades that archaeologists have begun to piece together the various versions of ships’ pumps found on several shipwrecks. This article addresses earlier analyses on ships’ pumps and expands upon the topic with new archaeological findings. It also discusses the relationship between the hull design and where shipbuilders positioned the pumps within the hold.