Sagar Has Boat Of Stone That Can Float

Sagar: Would you believe that a boat made of stone can float? Well, such a boat made in the 20th century finds a place in the District Archaeological Museum in Sagar. This 2.5 kg boat floats on water after carrying an additional weight of 750 gm. Archaeological experts attribute this phenomenon to its design.

This boat is a major attraction at the Museum and was donated in 1991 by a person Bhure Khan to the then District Collector Manoj Srivastava. He claimed that it was made by his father. The dimensions of the boat are 30 cm length, 25 cm width and 7 cm height.

The donor had claimed that it floats because of its cutting and design. Bhure Khan said that after the first cut, a special design was given and the boat was coated with clay and baked well. He said that due to its special design, this boat floats despite being made of stone.

The District Archaeological Museum is being run in the historic Dufferin Hospital building. There are many ancient and historical artefacts here. But the majority of the visitors are mostly attracted towards this boat as they are curious about its ability to float despite being made of stone and loaded with an additional weight of 750 gm.

One of the Museum guides Sujit Puri Goswami disclosed, "This boat was donated to our museum about 34 years ago. Its structure is like that of a fully built boat. Its shape is made by cutting the stone from the inside. It is because of its design that it floats in water."

Goswami claimed that when he was posted at the Museum, the boat was there but there was no information about it.

“So, we weighed it and then put various weights of 300 gm, 500 gm and then 750 gm. That was the most it could take as it sank after that,” he added.

A retired Geologist from Sagar University Dr. RK Trivedi explained the phenomenon saying, “The lava of the volcano slowly cools down and turns into rock. Then bubbles emerge on its surface. On cooling, cavities are formed in the rock due to the bubbles and air fills in it making the stone lighter. So, it starts floating on water. We call it pumice stone."

He further stated that sandstone also floats on water. "The scientific principle behind the floating of the stone is that any object whose volume is more than that of water will sink in water but the object whose volume is less than that of water will float on the surface of water," he elaborated.