Perth city centre road closed for ancient boat trip

THE 3,000-year-old Carpow log boat is about to embark on another journey not by river, but by road.

The waterlogged craft was discovered partially submerged in the mud, sand and gravel of Carpow Bank, at the head of the Tay Estuary, in 2001.

Carved from a single tree trunk, it was an example of one of the first known boats in existence and was radiocarbon dated to 1130-970 BC.

After years of conservation measures, it was finally unveiled to the public in January 2012, taking up residence in a special display at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

Now, however, the Bronze Age vessel is being loaned to the Glasgow Museums’ Resource Centre for the next five years, during which time the museum will launch new exhibitions.

It is now being prepared for travel to Glasgow on Monday and, having once again been split into three sections, it is now being carefully packed for transportation.

Experts will then carefully remove the boat from the museum before painstakingly craning it on to the back of a lorry.

To enable that to happen, Perth’s George Street and Mill Street will be closed for around three hours from 9.30am.