Many people would not have looked twice at the rusting skeleton of a barge that had been poking from the ground at an industrial estate near Inverurie for the last 30 years.
But the unassuming structure – measuring around five metres by one and a half – represents something significant enough that it has been pulled from the mud for six months of conservation work ahead of a museum exhibition.
The effort on Saturday was the culmination of much hard work by a team at the Garioch Heritage Centre, led by project coordinator Joan Bruce.
She was first alerted to the history behind the boat by fellow member Marc Falconer, who had spotted a Facebook post about it.
The story centres on a canal that linked Aberdeen and Inverurie in the first half of the 19th Century, running through the heart of an area rich with industry.
Star exhibit
Though it lasted barely 50 years before being replaced by the railway, the waterway played an enormous role in expanding paper-making, granite quarrying and agriculture in central Aberdeenshire.
The cast iron barge that was sticking out from the undergrowth at Kirkwood Commercial Park is believed to be the last existing boat that worked on the canal, and can be dated back at least 150 years.
Mrs Bruce said: “I want to use the boat as a starting point for telling the story of transport, through showing the canal boat in its cleaned-up form, possibly giving it the context of a picture of the canal basin.
“Because it was such an important part of enabling the agricultural industry, the granite industry and the paper industry to start developing much more, and then of course the canal route was used directly for the railway itself.”
Ultimately, the barge will become the centre of an exhibition on the upper floor of the heritage centre, located in Inverurie.
Monumental effort
However, before it gets there, it had to be removed from the ground where it had been sitting since being dredged from the canal bed more than 30 years ago.
This was the operation that took place on Saturday morning, involving a crane and several members of the local Garioch Rugby Club.
Mrs Bruce said: “There were people going down over the last couple of days assessing how they might lift it.
“When I spoke to (Aberdeenshire Council archaeologist Bruce Mann) and said he needs to tell us what to do, he said, ‘What you need’s a rugby team of strong guys who are used to working as a team.’
“He was half-joking, and I said, ‘Are you serious?’ and he said, ‘I am actually, that would work.'”
She called in former Heritage Centre committee member and rugby club honorary president Jim Black to lend a hand.
Mr Black said: “We thought that the rugby club might like to get involved and provide a few bodies to try and help lift it.
“The guys have said there will be a number there.”
He added: “The important thing is that we try and keep the boat intact so we can get it up to our museum in a good condition. It’s amazingly well preserved.”
Future steps
In the end, it was the crane that did most of the hard work, and the boat has been transported to a premises provided by local businesswoman Heather Watt, where it will be conserved, assessed and stabilised by experts.
Mrs Bruce said: “We’re hoping in the spring that we can have that ready to have some sort of a launch of the initial stage of this rethink of the upstairs gallery featuring the barge.”
She thanked Kirkwood Commercial Park for their support and assistance in getting the rare artefact out of the ground there.
The park’s site manager Graeme Sutherland said: “We are delighted to support Garioch Heritage Centre by donating this unique artefact.
“It means we have been able to play a part in conserving the history of the Garioch for future generations to enjoy.
“By telling the story of transport, we can get a better understanding of how its development affected the life and work of the people of the area.”