Archaeological project maps historic boat sheds on Isles of Scilly

Pilot gigs – lined up here on Porth Conger, St Agnes – helped move goods and save lives for centuries around the Isles of Scilly. Photograph: Tom Nicholson/Reuters

Swift, streamlined boats for centuries helped save lives and move people and goods around the treacherous waters of the Isles of Scilly.

An archaeological project has highlighted just how crucial the agile, tough “pilot gigs” were for islanders by mapping 90 sites of sheds that housed the boats, the earliest believed to date back to the 17th century.