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Extract from the visit report Visit[6] by Jørgen Skawbo (pictured below) to the National Museum on 1 November 1993.Purpose: To measure spearheads and swords and look at details in order to make as accurate copies of the weapons as possible. During the visit, discuss any uncertainties regarding welding or other possible closures of sockets. Together with Flemming Kaul (FK) (the author of ‘Da våbnene tav’), spearheads and swords were removed from the display case and brought to the library. The following numbers were measured (Rosenberg's numbering): Spearheads no. 350, 355, 357, 458. No. 356 could not be taken out immediately due to the way it was suspended, which is why I only saw and ‘labelled’ it. The swords no. 516, 524, and one selected from FK's book on the far right on page 24. No. 515 was on loan to Haderslev Museum.The weapons are very fragile, as there are actually only iron oxides left of the formerly magnificent blank weapons. Therefore, they had to be handled with both hands for support and with full respect for the preservation of every little ‘shell’ on the eggs. To get as many measurements as possible taken with my caliper and ruler, I rotated and tipped the items while they lay on a white piece of paper on the table. Some desired measurements would be ‘pure guesswork’ due to the nature of the surface, so I omitted these measurements and left them to the outcome of the copies, as we - like the Iron Age blacksmith - must accept the result after ‘a job well done’.With a magnifying glass, I searched for the joints of the sockets. I found no signs of joints at all and this could be due to 2 things. The black uneven oxide surface will hide a joint that a shiny iron surface would have revealed as a ‘line’ - or a weld has been made and therefore no visible joint. Ace welding of such thin material (immediately loses the ‘heat of fusion’ - or is destroyed by ‘heat’) is hard to believe in wholeheartedly. Most likely, the joints are either ‘overlapped’ and forged smooth - or made nice and straight and ‘butted’ tightly together and smoothed over a mandrel. A thin wooden handle would crack before a socket would open!The target sketches contain my subjective comments.According to Fl. Kaul welcomes us to visit the National Museum again. He looks forward to seeing the boat sail up Frederiksholms Kanal and dock at the museum.J. Skawbo After the image, examples of the replicas we have made of spears, lances and swords are shown. Jørgen Skawbo, forges the blade on a ‘Hjortspring iron’. Spears and lances Spear classes according to Ships and Boats [3]. Drawing: B. Skaarup, [3] Different researchers have classified spears and lances into different classes, here three researchers are referred to: Spear / lanceRandsborg [1]Becker [2]Rosenberg [7]The image above [3]Short, broad spear head with centre rib, short socket, 5-16 cm long, - 5 cm wide.Type 1AαCLong, narrow spear head, sharp midrib, short socket, 13-29 cm long, - 3.2 cm wide.Type 2BβBLong, narrow bayonet-like, 13-25-43.5 cm long - 2.7-5.6 cm wide. Deep penetration.Type 3 γ Strong, wide lance, 12-36.5 cm long, - 6.2-7.5 cm wide.Type 4CδDStrong, wide lance, 29.5 cm long, - 7.5 cm wide. Copper inlay. Type 4CδA Iron spearheads From the member folder Measurement sketches for spears of different typesA description of our centre rib spearhead manufacturingI have not been able to find any correspondence between our copies and the specific descriptions in Rosenberg, except for the first one, #355.Examples of spears and lances representative of the classes defined by Randsborg are shown. Not all of our copies are shown. Spear of type 1, #355, internal socket. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Type 1 (#355) Has a short broad spearhead with a centre rib and a short to very short socket, the length of the spear blade is between 5 - 16 cm and the width up to 5 cm. The spear has been a throwing spear. We have not made spears of this shape.The one shown differs from the others in the group in that it is very long - almost 30 cm, and 7.5 cm wide. Furthermore, it has an internal socket. It was the only one with a decoration in the form of an inlaid copper band where the spear was widest, the band was 0.3 cm wide and 2.2 cm long and placed on both sides of the socket.See a description of how spears with centre rib were made here. Without rib: 175 mm.Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. With rib: 194 mm Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Type 2 It has a long, narrow spearhead with a, usually, strong centre rib and a short soket, the length of the spear blade is between 13 - 29 cm and the width in the middle of the blade up to 3.2 cm. This shape appears to have been designed for deep penetration, perhaps in chain mail.34 pieces of this type have been found. Lance: 315 mm long. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Type 3 It has a long, narrow bayonet-like lance tip with a, usually, strong centre rib and a long socket up to 12 cm long, the length of the spear blade is between 13 - 25 - 43.5 cm and the width at the base of the blade is 2.7 - 5.6 cm. This shape also appears to have been designed for deep penetration. The lance has been a close combat weapon.8 pieces of this type have been found. Lance, 355 mm long.Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Lance, 315 mm long. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Type 4 Has a powerful, striking, broad lance tip with a, usually, strong centre rib and a medium-length socket, the length of the spear blade is between 12 - 36.5 cm and the width at the base of the blade is 6.2 - 7.5 cm. The lance has been a melee weapon.64 pieces of this type have been found. Deer antler or reed bone spearheads Sheep bone spearhead. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. 31 spearheads made from either antler or bone have been found.There are two designs:With a round base. 5 deer antler spearheads have been found, they are hollowed out for the shaft and have a transverse hole for the locking pin.With three-sided base. 26 pieces found, made from sheep or goat tubular bones. These are cut at an angle to form a sharp point. These also had a transverse hole for a locking pin.The locking pins for these spearheads are made of bone or wood. Shafts A mounted lance with shaft and cross pin. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Broken shafts were found in most of the sockets at the edge of the socket. A few spears had longer shafts, up to ½ m. The diameter of the shaft outside the socket is about 4 mm larger than the diameter of the socket hole at the edge, so there was an edge. We don't know the shaft length for the different types of spears. Throwing spears should probably have a shaft length of about 2 metres if the spear is to have a good flight in the air. The shafts are assumed to be made of ash.Note: The shaft in the picture is additionally glued with resin glue, there is no documentation for this in the find. The spear has been on loan to Danmarks Radio in connection with the programme: The Story of Denmark, where we participated in Episode 2: The Age of Metal. To make sure it didn't come apart, it and the others on loan were glued. Accessories for the spearheads Safety pins for spearheads. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Iron or bronze pin/rivet The pins are 28 mm long and Ø4 mm.They are intended to hold the spear and shaft in place. A hole was drilled through the socket and shaft in the same plane as the spear blade, except in one case, the spear with an internal socket, where the hole was drilled perpendicular to the spear blade. The grooves at the ends of the pins can ‘catch’ the edge of the socket, preventing the pin from slipping out too easily.See an example of the use of the pin in spear-B in the image above.Alle spyd, også dem af ben eller tak, havde et hul til en sådan fastgørelse. Swords Four swords from the Hjortspring find. Drawing: B. Skaarup. [4] Parts of 11 swords have been found, 8 more or less whole and 3 in fragments. All the swords are single-edged with the grip tongue in the centre axis of the sword. The spine was in many cases very wide and the blade hollow-ground, see picture above. A few whole sword scabbards and fragments of a few others have been found. They were made from two thin ash wood plates held together by metal bands.Rosenberg divides the swords into 3 groups: [5] GroupDescriptionThe imageAIncludes 6 specimens. The 3, almost whole, are between 48.5 and 70 cm long and from 1.4 to 2.6 cm wide. The spines are between 8 and 10 mm wide. ABIncludes 2 specimens. One is 31.5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide at the top, bronze bands have been found for decoration at the hilt. The other is a powerful weapon, almost a cutlass, the blade is 28 cm long and 7 cm wide at the root, parts of the hilt have been found. The spine is not as pronounced on these two.B, CCIncludes 3 specimens. They all have flat surfaces and do not have a flared spine. The blades are from 36 to 45 cm long and between 2 and 3.5 cm wide.D From the Member folder Descriptions of the swords found, with comments.Examples of swords are shown that are representative of some of the classes Rosenberg has defined. Type A sword, 625 mm long. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. I have not found a description in Rosenberg that quite matches this sword, the closest one is #517[9] (A in the image above), however, this is 530 mm long and about 18 mm wide, where ours is 625 mm long and 35 mm at its widest point. Sword type A #524, a ‘cutlass’. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Sword #524 Whether it's a sword, a cutlass or a knife for cutting small trees and bushes is difficult to determine[10]. In any case, it's a heavy one. The blade is 280 mm long and 70 mm wide. There were parts of a grip/handle, it was terminated at the blade with a 10 mm wide iron band and attached to the blade's grip tongue with two rivets. The shape of the grip is our interpretation. This article was put together by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., feel free to write if you have any comments. Notes and references 1. KR, p. 262. BC3. SB5, p. 147 4. SB5, p. 1515. GR, p. 406. MM section 6.03.1 7. GR, p. 448. GR, Fig. 24 p. 41, text p. 449. GR, Fig. 24 p. 41, text p. 4010. GR, Fig. 24 p. 41, text p. 42 Kilder KR. Randsborg, K. Hjortspring. Warfare and Sacrifice in Early Europe.BC. Becker, C.J. Die zeitliche Stellung des Hjortspring-FundesSB5. Crumlin-Pedersen, O. et. Al. Hjortspring. A pre-roman Iron-Age Warship in ContextGR. Rosenberg, G. Hjortspringfundet.MM. Member folder Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme.
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Extract from the visit report Extract from Lars Balleby's visit report from the National Museum's department in Brede, 8 April 2010.Purpose: Primarily to investigate whether the shields from the Hjortspring boat curved at any joints and whether the thickness of the shields decreased from the centre towards the edges.In addition, to obtain as much information about the shields and their accessories as possible. I was very well received by the conservators Poul Jensen and Inger Bojesen-Kofoed (IB-K). The latter, who was responsible for the Hjortspring boat and its wooden accessories, had retrieved 10 shields, a box of handles and a few boxes of shield dents from storage. IB-K very much regretted that they did not have the financial means to continue the conservation work that had begun. This was evident in shield no. A1, where the conservation of half the shield had been stopped.Apart from the two shields that had been exhibited at Sønderborg Castle, none of the shields had been completed by the conservators.IB-K had done a great deal of work to be able to help with the requested information, but as neither she nor Poul Jensen were archaeologists, it was limited what additional information they could provide.IB-K also said that it was a lucky time for me, because in a short while all the shields will be transported to an old bunker, as they no longer have storage space for them in Brede. Unfortunately, there is no air-conditioning in the warehouse in Brede and certainly not in the bunker.In general, it is impossible to say whether the shields were originally curved. At the time of recording, they had all been placed on lead plates.Apparently, all the shields decrease in thickness from the centre towards the edges.Due to time and the initial method of preservation, all the figures given below should be treated with caution and can be used primarily as ratios. The following shields were measured: A127a, A105, A37, A119, A64, A120, A1, A121, A85 and one that had no number.This is followed by a series of tables with measurements. [3]Balleby From the Members folder Descriptions and dimensions for shield plates. PDFDescriptions and measurements for shield bosses.The shields shown here are the ones we have completed. There may be more to come, to show other ways of making shields. The first two of the ones shown here are made with one and two pieces of shield plate respectively. We have also found shield plates made with more than two pieces of linden wood[4] and with different assembly methods.We have used shields to practice the technique of working with thin sheets of linden wood. This has resulted in several unfinished shields. They are used in the workshop to show the construction of a shield. Shield with shield boss and grip carved from a piece of wood #127a Front of shield with fixed shield boss. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. Back of shield with fixed shield boss and grip. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. It is the only shield in the Hjortspring find that is made from one piece of wood. the shield measures approximately 800 x 330 mm.Note: The grip on the found shield was across the shield, as on all the other shields, a very vulnerable construction! So here there is a deviation. Shield with separate shield boss and handle Shield plate in one piece of wood Front of shield with loose shield boss and handle. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. Back of shield with loose shield boss and handle. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. This shield is made with the shield plate made from a piece of wood, like most in the group of long, narrow shields - length/width > 2. On this one the ratio is 2:3.The shield boss is glued (with resin glue) to the shield plate and secured with two dowels from the back.The handle is ‘turned’ into a circular groove in the oval hole for the hand. The grip could be secured against coming loose in several different ways:Resin glue in the furrow.A triangular wooden strip glued into the groove behind the handle.Nails through the shield plate and at the edge of the handle ‘’thread stud‘’, see shield #35 below. Principle of loose shield handle. Shield handle mounted. According to Peter Vang Petersen, Curator at the National Museum of Denmark, the shields were covered with rawhide (although we used calf parchment - ‘drum skin’ - for our copy of shield no. 35).The statement came in connection with a lecture, 2009-04-22, about the finds in Nydam Mose, where small remnants of leather have been found on some of the shield boards, which in themselves are too thin to provide any kind of protection (similar to the shields from the Hjortspring find). Shield plate made of 2 or more pieces of wood Shield #35 The painted front of shield #35. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr The painted back of shield #35. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr The shield plate of shield #35 is made of 2 pieces of linden wood joined together with 4 dowels and glued with resin glue.The shield boss is made from a block of lime wood and glued to the assembled shield plate with resin glue and secured with 4 dowels, 2 in each half of the plate.The shield boss is extended with a moulding at both ends, which is cut out of the shield plate.The handle on the back is turned into a groove in the edge of the shield plate, as explained above. As the only shield in the find, this shield has secured the handle with two iron nails that go through the shield plate in such a way that the edge of the handle ends, with a semicircular notch, is blocked from turning. One rivet has a soldered (brazed with copper) iron wire that rests on the other rivet, where it is secured with a binding.The shield is painted, which is not justified in the Hjortspring find. However, people in the Celtic Iron Age were fascinated by patterns, which is why the front of the shield also features two sun symbols - this pattern was found in the bog and was also used for the front support between the horns on Tilia.The shield is covered with glued calf parchment on both sides and with edge stitching outside the shield. A bent strip of parchment is used for the stitching so that there are four layers of parchment. The sewing stitches are of the same type as those used to sew Tilia, i.e. self-locking.The glue is ‘harelim’ (a glue made from the fur and skin of small animals). Both glue and parchment are sensitive to moisture, so the surface is protected by boiled linseed oil (linseed oil varnish), which over time turns into a lacquer-like surface.No skins of any kind have been found in Hjortspring Mose, but the chemistry of the bog does not allow this either. It is fair to say that the shields have little value as protection as they have been found, with a plate thickness of around 5 - 8 mm.The only find of anything resembling a skin covering is a find in Borremose. A reconstruction of a shield with a skin covering like this find can be seen at the museum in Års. The complete description of the production of this shield can be found in the Member folder, section 6.02.4Trials with leather covered shields, conducted by Lejre Test Centre, an extract can be seen here in section 6.02.4.1Trials with bows and arrows, conducted by Lejre Test Centre, an extract can be seen here in section 6.02.4.2 The Roman author Publius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56 - 120 AD):Describes in Germania the manners and customs of the Germanic tribes, a few of which can be related to the Hjortspring find:6,1:(...)Even the horsemen make do with shield and framea[1]. The footmen also have throwing weapons - each man several - which they hurl enormously far, naked or wearing only a light cloak. There is nothing ostentatious about their armour, only that they adorn their shields with the gayest colours [2].(...)6.4:(...)Leaving your shield on the battlefield is a particularly dishonourable act.(...) This article is pieced together by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Feel free to write if you have any comments. Notes and citations 1. Framea is a spear.2. My highlight3. MM, section 6.02.14. MM, section 6.02.5 The shield plate of shield #123 consists of 3 pieces. Sources GR. Rosenberg, G. Hjortspringfundet.PT. Tacitus, P.C. GermaniaMM. Medlemsmappen Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme.
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Our experiences with Tilia based on member sailing and testing in the first 10 years.The report is divided into two periods: The first 4 yearsThe first 10 years Boat condition after 4 years Tilia has participated in many small and large events over the years, both in Denmark and Germany. There have been numerous TV recordings, with broadcasts in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, some of which are occasionally rebroadcast.There has been ongoing maintenance of Tilia, she has even been subjected to constructive changes in an attempt to fill in the ‘gaps’ in the original Hjortspring find.The further life of Tilia is described in:Guild activities In the four years since its inauguration, Tilia has been launched 13 times. When not sailing, it is towed ashore and driven up to the Linde shipyard. Only when sailing for several days does it remain in the water, well guarded even at night.This procedure means that after a period in the shipyard hall, the boat is completely dried out and very leaky. It is sealed, at least to some extent, by filling the boat with water up to the lower seams and keeping the water level there for a few days.In the beginning, the water flows out strongly, but after only 6 hours the water flow subsides. Where holes can still be found, these are sealed with ox tallow. In addition, we have started sealing longer cracks with a mixture of spruce resin and ox tallow in a ratio of 80/20. Over time, all seams will have been covered with a resin layer, bringing the boat closer to the appearance of the original Hjortspring boat when it was excavated.Some long cracks that have appeared in the side planks have been fitted with exterior ash wood mouldings that have been sewn on. Overall, the side planks are the most fragile elements of the boat. Either they are subjected to particularly heavy loads or the side planks are made of particularly poor quality wood. The boat is sealed with resin and painted with wood tar. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. None of the seams have sheered.Handling the Tilia during removal from the trolley and putting it back on the trolley has caused disproportionate loads. A crane arrangement that has been introduced has helped with this load. We must recognise that the alternating drying out and wetting out is partly to blame for the cracking. The boat is tarred on the outside and coated on the inside with linseed oil once a year.She has been in the water for 281 hours, 73 of which she has sailed. In total, she has travelled approximately 300 nautical miles. The first 10 years A small printed booklet of 12 A4 pages has been published about the first 10 years. It is available in PDF format.The publication contains the following sections:Sailing overviewConstructive choicesMaterial choicePaddlingLong distance sailingStabilityBoardingSteeringSailing with Sails The PDF print is divided into two parts:Beskrivelsen, without text on centre pages (page 6 & 7)Midtersiderne (an A3 image) Sources Hvad Haanden former er Aandens Spor. Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme.
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Another research project In Tilia, we have a monument to 12 years of excellent work. This is evident from the many articles, books and films that describe Tilia, her manufacture and testing as a living witness to ancient Nordic society and transport.The exhibition at the Linde Yard with boats, tools, posters, films and lectures is a good tool for spreading knowledge about sailing in ancient times, especially the earliest Iron Age. And finally, through our analysis of every element of the boat and the experience of handling her, we have a unique wealth of knowledge that can lead back in time, to the Bronze Age, to an understanding of Bronze Age ships and transport.Now we have been confronted with an opportunity for a new research project on the use of ships in the Bronze Age, namely participation in a project that will lead to a plausibility study of the use of sails on Bronze Age (and probably Iron Age) ships. A rock carving boat. With sails? Introduction In early December (2005) we were contacted by Boel Bengtsson via Anton Englert from the Viking Ship Museum. Boel has a master's degree in maritime archaeology from Southampton University in England, where her thesis dealt with the rock carvings of southern Scandinavia from a maritime perspective (of course there were also a few pictures of Tilia as part of the illustrations). Boel has a couple of world championships in dinghy sailing and participated in the Olympics in Atlanta.Together with his brother, Bjørn Bengtsson, who also has a number of Olympic races behind him, Boel has done some test sailing in a Canadian canoe equipped with an A-mast and a square sail. Boel in a Canadian canoe, equipped with a sail. Notice that there is a vertical keel in the top of the canoe, similar to the extra ‘steering oar’ found in the Hjortspring excavation. Boel wants to work with us to test Tilia with such a mast and sail to prove, as part of her PhD thesis[2], that Bronze Age boats used sails.Bjørn is the designer in her project. Contacts Boel and Bjørn Bengtsson visited us on the weekend of 10-11 December to discuss a collaboration. From our side, Jørn Anders Jørgensen participated with his experience in sailing Viking ships, Niels Peter Fenger with his knowledge of fluid mechanics and practical experience in sailing and myself with knowledge of rock carvings, project management and sailing.We got to know Boel and Bjørn as very knowledgeable and enthusiastic people. Their ideas about testing Tilia with an A-shaped mast and a square sail sounded interesting and well-founded, and we decided to continue our contacts as we considered the project to be of interest to the guild on the basis of the information.Since then, we have been in intense correspondence about the construction details of rigging Tilia with a mast and sail, partly to outline solutions and partly to get to know each other and our intentions better.Boel has had a meeting with Max Vinner and Erik Jørgensen, Vikingeskibshallen, to discuss sail materials etc. Max would like to participate in some of the sailing events. Betegnelser for rigningsdele. Shipping termsDanskEnglishStagStayBrasBraceRåYardSkødeSheetAgterlig Underlig Forlig HalsTack Status A number of proposed solutions are under consideration. B. & B.'s proposal for the size of the rigging (28 m2, sail) seems to us to put too much strain on Tilia and be too risky, at least initially.Our position is, of course, that the Tilia must not be damaged during sailing, nor should any permanent changes be made to the boat's current appearance.We are about to describe the project in more detail, including the priorities.We have indicated that there could be up to three trials in 2006. However, it is unlikely that it will be possible to complete the sea trials in 2006, which is why there will probably be sailings in 2007 after Tilia returns from Frankfurt am Main on 1 July 2007 as expected.Knud V. Valbjørn Tilia by sail4 to 7 August Rigging On Thursday night, Boel, Bjørn, Vivian (Bjørn's wife), Boel and Bjørn's mother and Bjørn's 1½-year-old child arrived at Fenger's house, where he had offered to accommodate them with his usual hospitality.Friday was spent rigging Tilia with mast, standing and running rigging, mast and ‘belaying pin benches’ for fixing the sheets and necks. Tilia was filled with water to between the lower and upper seams. There was little outflow of water. Mast foot fixation - mast laid down. Belaying pin bench for tack. Launching the boat On Friday we met at 9am to roll Tilia down to the slipway at the rowing clubs. Here, 20 25-litre jerry cans were partially filled with fjord water. We had planned that these 20 cans filled with water would weigh 500 kg. Ballast, but it turned out to be just over 400 kg.With Tilia standing on the trailer and the mast raised, the various jobs on board were reviewed so people knew what was expected and what commands would be used. It was in Swedish (Bjørn was the skipper), so it was hardly understood by the entire crew.Due to unfamiliarity[1] with Tilia's stability under sail pressure and the presence of gusts in the cove, the sail was reefed down, which had a sail area of 15 m2.After the Tilia was launched in the usual manner, the ballast was stowed between the deck beams over the middle 6 metres.The crew boarded the boat.The following took part in the voyages: In Tilia From Sweden: Bengtsson family, 3 people.From Freja Byrding: 2 people. Freja Byrding is the copy of Skuldelev no. 3, which was built at Haderslev Museum and is now located in Hjelsminde.From the Guild: 6 people, two of whom took turns doing the same job. I følge- og slæbebåd From the Guild 2 people. Halliard and tack crew. Full attention. Balast and auxiliary power. Preliminary trials The wind was NNE, probably around 5-7 m/s at a height of 1 metre above the water. The wind direction meant that Tilia could drift outwards to the west without assistance while the sail was hoisted. The voyage began, initially with some anxiety from the crew and accompanying boat crew (fear of the unknown), but soon it was realised that Tilia recovered well and the stability was good, so confidence increased.It should be remembered that Bjørn, as skipper and responsible for the sheets, didn't push the boat at all and showed due and timely care.The boat was sailed back and forth in Dyvig with the wind on the aft tack to half wind. Sometimes the boat came so close to land that the sail had to be recovered and the tugboat had to be mobilised.Already during one of the first trips, a speed of 6.2 knots was achieved (briefly).After a few hours of sailing, we pulled Tilia into the usual berth at the floating jetty in the boatyard. At the rounding of the bridgehead we got too close, so Jørn Anders had to jump onto one of the cross bridges to stop the boat. It didn't work, so he ended up in the water. (The first of two water passages).After lunch, Tilia was boarded again and she was towed backwards into open water, where the sail was set again.After some criss-cross sailing and after repairing the front rudder and agreeing on better communication between the two rudders and the skipper, we paddled out through Stegs Gaf, where the sail was again set for a few longer races out of Stegs Vig. These long runs provided an opportunity to fine-tune the rigging. At the end of the first run and before towing inwards, the mast was slanted more forwards so that the yard was further forward, which gave a better balance between sail and rudder.On these long runs, we experienced sailing with half wind (maybe a little ahead for cross) and no drift, at least in relation to the ground (holding course).We should have painted two figures on the freeboard of Tilia representing two sea marks that we hit on our way inwards through Stegs Gaf. The first was passed without drama, while the mooring chain on the last was caught by the stern rudder. Boel resolutely jumped into the water and got it free. (Water passage 2).After a few small turns inside Dyvig, we docked at the floating jetty without drama this time.Tilia lay unguarded at night (apart from my occasional sharp glance). The sling is taken down. For half wind. Wind astern in. Aft rudder. The front rudder is repaired. Continued sailing on Sunday At 10am, the sailing continued exclusively in Dyvig. A further adjustment of the mast inclination was made along the way. A number of turns were made (from half wind starboard to half wind port and vice versa). The drift during one such reversal (turning with the wind) was measured at 50 metres.No attempts were made to go over the forestay (turning against the wind) for reasons of safety and lack of experience. In fact, the need to be able to walk across the struts was hardly important in the Bronze Age. We must not forget that Bronze Age boats were primarily rowing boats, perhaps as suggested in this experiment with an auxiliary sail.But it must have been wonderful to have such a sail set when sailing northwards up the east coast of Jutland in a westerly wind.Around one o'clock we pulled Tilia to the rowing club's hauling point, where the tow rope was released and the paddlers had to push the boat the last bit up to the towing point. This didn't go so well, and Tilia hit some mooring posts before she finally got her feet under her keel again.The usual hard work of getting Tilia onto the trailer went smoothly, the new roller system works well. Johannes pulled the trailer up to the Linde yard and into the boat hall. We had remembered to put the mast down. Closure This report is based on observations from the escort boat and tug and is also based on a preliminary report written by Boel and Bjørn and a few hundred photos that we have on CD.It would be desirable if a further and more detailed report can take place later.Wind direction and wind speed were measured in the accompanying boat at a height of 1-1.5 metres, rather unsatisfactory. An electronic wind measuring station should be mounted on the Tilia's masthead.Position, time, vessel heading and speed were measured by a GPS on board Tilia. Tilia's course was measured and read on a compass on board.The following week, or rather the following Thursday, Tilia was topped up with water in preparation for a sailing trip on Lake Nordborg. It turned out that the existing crack in the two side boards had propagated further forwards, so ‘the water was pouring out’. It was quickly sealed again and the sailing trip was completed with a largely sealed boat.However, as a result, we had to cancel the planned sail trials for the next few weekends. A continuation of the sailing trials will not be possible until July 2007 due to the Frankfurt relocation.But for now, Tilia needs to be repaired, i.e. the repair strips already sewn on need to be extended. (If we can identify where the cracking stops, we should probably drill a hole at the end of each crack to stop the notching action). It was a series of rich and rewarding days with a lot of humour, but also with great professionalism depending on the skills of the participants. The Guild thanks Boel and Bjørn for the opportunity they gave us to participate in an archaeological experimental project for an expanded understanding of Tilia and Bronze Age sailing possibilities. We thank the crew from Freya Byrding for their professional participation.Knud V. Valbjørn Tilias rig Mastetop med forklaringer. Shipping termsDanskEngelskAgterstagAft stayForstagFore stayRåYardSurring ml. sejl og råLashing between sail and yardLuv mastWindward side mastLæ mastLeeward side mastFald med enkelt blokHalliard with single blockTov-arrangement for fiksering af rå til læ mastRope arrangement for fixing yard to leeward mastAgterlig Snore til indikering af vindretningCords to indicate wind directionBrasBrace Sailings GPS measurements on day 1. GPS measurements on day 2. Notes 1. Fenger's calculations showed that Tilia would only tip at full sail, at 10 m/s and with the crew on the windward side, but still...2. Boel K. Bengtsson defended her thesis on 30 March 2015 at Southampton University:SAILING ROCK ART BOATS - A REASSESMENT OF SEAFARING ABILITTIES N BRONZE AGE SCANDINAVIA AND THE INTRODUCTION OF SAIL IN THE NORTH. Link Sources Nyhedsbrev 2006, nr. 1Nyhedsbrev 2006, nr. 2Nyhedsbrev 2006, nr. 3Jensen, Jens Kusk, Haandbog i Praktisk Sømandsskab, 4. udgave 1924, Høst og Søns Forlag (1978) Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme.
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The weather during the tests in 2000 was not suitable for long-distance sailing. As mentioned, it was very important to clarify the boat's day cruising potential as an input to the archaeologists' assessments of ancient seafaring connections. In connection with an agreement between NMF, NMU, NM and HSBL to jointly write a volume in the series ‘Ships and Boats of the North’ about the Hjortspring boat, a passage had been included about a renewed test, this time with the sole purpose of determining how far a crew could sail the boat in one day.NMF again contacted the dragon boat club Nord, whose crew was willing to retest.In connection with the planning, an agreement was made with DR2 about recordings to be used for a broadcast in the programme ‘Viden om’ about the Hjortspring boat.On Friday 11 May 2001, Tilia, which had been in the water for a few days, was launched in Dyvig. During the winter, the guild had installed new, stronger and wider bottom boards in the boat. Six new, longer paddles had been manufactured for frames 1, 9 and 10. The paddle shafts were also cut oval where the lower hand grips, and they were generally made lighter. Finally, the blade on all paddles had been sharpened.Max Vinner was responsible for coordinating the tests together with Rikke Johansen, also from Vikingeskibshallen. As the trips were expected to take place over open water far from the coast, the guild had entered into an agreement with Jørn and Ulla Jensen, who in their 27' motorboat, Jumbo, would act as escort boat together with a motor dinghy from Dyvig Bådelaug. Jumbo would also act as a platform for DR2's video photographer and reporter.On 11 May, the dragon boat crew arrived, 25 men in total. After the proper weighing, they cast off. On board were all the dragon boat crew, Max, Rikke and two men from the guild. Including large amounts of drinking water (the paddlers were expected to break a sweat), the total weight was 3,023kg. Tour 1 to Barsø On 11 May, Tilia started at 11am, sailed out through Stegs Vig and northwards, east and north of Barsø. The weather was ideal, no wind and clear water. This meant that the results were the best achievable.The pace was chosen to be 52 strokes/minute. On the north coast of Barsø, Tilia entered the beach so the crew could ‘de-water’ and have lunch. The trip continued into Genner Bay, further out and home towards Dyvig. In total, 23 nautical miles were sailed in just over 5 hours.Søren Boisen had brought along a GPS navigator with memory. This made it possible to measure the route of the sailing trip and its exact extent. Tilia on a long trip in Lillebælt north of Als. Photo: K.V. Valbjørn. Tilia on a long trip in Lillebælt north of Als. Photo: K.V. Valbjørn. Tour 2 to Sønderborg The next day, 12 May, Tilia took another long trip, this time south, through Als Fjord and Als Sund. Just south of Sønderborg Castle, we stopped at a small beach to ‘water off’, rest and have lunch. Tilia at anchor just south of Sønderborg Castle. Photo: K.V. Valbjørn. On the return trip to Dyvig, various experiments were carried out to find a method for the crew to rest in turn. It turned out that a frequency where frames 10 and 5 rested for three minutes, followed by frames 9 and 4 and so on, provided a sufficient rest break for each paddler.This meant that each individual paddled for 12 minutes and rested for 3 minutes. According to the theory, this should reduce the speed by 6%. In reality, the speed hardly decreased, as the three-minute break increased the power to grab hold. The crew believed that they could continue for many hours if this method was used.The Dyvig-Sønderborg-Dyvig trip, which was 25 nautical miles, was completed at just under 5 knots. In Als Sund. It could also have looked like this 350 years before the birth of Christ. Photo: Flemming Kaul. The long-distance races were completed with a good and satisfactory result, especially considering that the crew from the dragon boat club were actually sprinters rather than tour paddlers. The two long-distance races in 2001. Drawing: K.V. Valbjørn. Sources Hvad Haanden former er Aandens Spor. Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme.
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