Welcome to WOODAN Caskmarks, your premier destination for exploring the fascinating marks on casks from the late medieval and early modern periods. At WOODAN Caskmarks, we aim to preserve and share the rich historical significance encapsulated within these marks, which tells stories of craftsmanship, trade, and cultural exchange spanning centuries.

The project was born out of a curiosity about the use and significance of marks found on casks in archaeological contexts. As we delved into this subject, we realized the immense value in documenting and disseminating these marks to a wider audience. Thus, WOODAN Caskmarks was established with a mission to collect, curate, and distribute examples of these marks, ensuring their preservation for future generations to appreciate and study.

The primary aim of the online database is to catalog the marks on casks from archaeological contexts dating from 1300 to 1800. Initially focused on the Netherlands, the project's first objective was to compile cask marks from sites within the present-day Netherlands. However, our vision extends far beyond these borders. The casks bearing these marks are tangible archaeological evidence of trade networks that manifested both interregionally and internationally. To understand the use and significance of these marks, it is essential to include material from outside the Netherlands as well. WOODAN Caskmarks aims to encourage archaeologists, historians, and other enthusiasts from various countries to share cask marks through this portal.

Marks on casks provide an opportunity to bridge the gap between archaeological and historical disciplines. These marks are frequently documented in various archival sources, such as notarial records, guild archives, toll records, and ship logs. To enable comparison between marks from archaeological contexts, we have begun inventorying marks on casks from archival sources. However, the number of marks recorded in archival sources is extensive and continues to grow as more archives are digitized. Consequently, the database currently represents only a fraction of the total material available in archival sources.

WOODAN Caskmarks was initiated through a collaboration between Jeroen Oosterbaan's PhD project and the WOODAN foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting appreciation for wooden artifacts and traditional crafts. The WOODAN foundation is represented by Stephan Nicolaij, Jelte van der Laan, and Silke Lange. Stephan Nicolaij is also responsible for the technical setup of WOODAN Caskmarks. The development was conducted in consultation with the workgroup cask marks, which includes Petra Doeve, Kirsti Hänninen, Leendert van der Schee, Caroline Vermeeren, Tamara Vernimmen, Yardeni Vorst, and Frits Vrede. The development of Woodan Caskmarks has been supported by a grant from the Samenwerkende Maritieme Fondsen.

Join us on this captivating journey as we try to grasp the use and significance of marks on casks. We aim to continuously expand the database with marks from both archival sources and cask marks that will be discovered during archaeological research. Together, let's capture these intriguing marks on casks.

Explore! Discover! Preserve! Share! Welcome to WOODAN Caskmarks!

For more information please contact us by email