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In the Hjortspring find, many different parts were found that could not be attributed to being part of the boat or its armament, but probably as tools for use in the boat.We have made copies of some of these. These parts are labelled with a museum number, such as #564 (wooden club).Other parts have been necessary to have in the boat for our own safety.The parts we have made copies of are described here.A more detailed description of some of the parts can be found in the section: Find descriptions. Tools / equipment for use in the boat Parts from the Hjortspring find Øse #552. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Bailer #552 in place in the boat at toft 6. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Bailer, #552, made of linden wood (1) It's so cleverly made that the handle fits perfectly over the rowing bench, as shown in the picture below. Large wooden club #564. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. Large wooden club, #564 (2) Cylindrical head made of oak with a diameter of 95 mm and a length of 100 mm, the two edges slightly bevelled. The shaft is made of ash wood, with a diameter of 25 mm, it is 255 mm long outside the club head and goes all the way through it. The shaft is turned inside the head and secured with a wedge. S-formet værktøj #568. Foto: Ib Stolberg-Rohr. S-shaped tool #568. An example of use. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. S-shaped tool #568 (3) This tool is made from apricot wood - it should have been light coloured hardwood, but the other was available and almost grown to the right shape.The tool is 290 mm in length and 30 mm in diameter at the centre.‘The ‘bone’ at one end has a 13 mm hole in the face, this hole has wear marks - from a string? - on two edges and there is a Ø3 mm hole perpendicular to the large one and tangential to it at the outer edge.In the strong curve at the other end of the tool, there is a Ø5 mm hole from the centre of the curve to the centre of the end face. The tool has a very smooth surface and is oiled (because it looks nice!).The only use we've found for this tool is as a cord tensioner, as shown in the bottom image. This only utilises the largest hole in the tool. It hasn't been used since we came up with one that was simpler and faster to use.No-one has been able to give a sensible explanation of what the tool can be used for Additions we've needed to sail safely in our close waters Bottom plug. Not found, but necessary for us.Poles, 2 pcs. with large bottom plate, necessary for sailing in the muddy waters of Nordborg Lake. There are markings for water depthBoat hook. We use it to be able to dock at a jettyMooring lines, 4 pcs. for the same reason as above, but also to secure the boat at a beachThrowline with monkey fist. Sometimes we need to have a tugboat and this is a good thing to haveTowing rope with towing boom for mounting at the 10th thwart. The towing rope has a crowfoot that is assembled under the keel hornWe have occasionally used a borrowed anchorLife jackets for everyone on board, donated by Trygfonden. Thank you very much!Rudder stick extension to make it possible to sit on the stern thwart to steer the boat with the rudder mounted on the aft keel horn - later decommissioned Spare parts In the find, there were parts that could not be attributed to being part of the boat, for example:Long ash wood list. It is interpreted as a list to repair a possible crack in the boat. One was already used to close a crack.A strand of lime bast cord, 3-stranded. Can be used to repair a broken seam or to sew the above list to a plank. (4)Lump of resin mass, 75x60x35 mm (5)Bundles of cords. (6)This article was put together by Ib Stolberg-Rohr, feel free to write if you have any comments. Notes and references 1. G. Rosenberg, Fig. 38, p. 662. G. Rosenberg, Fig. 35, p. 64, tekst p. 653. G. Rosenberg, Fig. 35, p. 64, tekst, p. 66 4. G. Rosenberg, Fig. 36, p. 64, tekst, p. 665. G. Rosenberg, p. 626. G. Rosenberg, Fig. 36, p. 64, tekst p. 62 Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme. 
Shield, sword and spearheads. Photo: H.P. Rasmussen. Spears and swords The Hjortspring find is a war booty offering, meaning that a victorious army sacrificed the spoils of war to the gods as thanks for the victory. This can be seen in the deliberate destruction of some of the weapons: one sword is bent in an ‘S’ shape and another at a right angle, some lance shafts have been broken. Similar destruction has occurred at the sacrificial bogs in Nydam and Illerup Ådal.In addition to the boat, this consisted of more than 169 spearheads of various kinds. During peat digging in the 1880s, it is said that several pieces of sharp iron were thrown into a nearby fence so that people would not cut themselves when kneading the peat with their feet. There may have been over 180 spearheads (1).There are also 11 swords of varying appearance, but they are all single-sided with a back reinforcement, like a wider rib.Spears and swords can be seen here. Chain mail Ochre-coloured deposits with circular markings were found, which Rosenberg interpreted as traces of chain mail (10 - 12 m2)  (2, 2a, 11).Rosenberg was one of the leading experts on the preservation of iron and metals at the time - he wrote an acclaimed textbook on the subject. A piece of chain mail made from Ø8 mm rings. Photo: Ib Stolberg-Rohr A quote from the Hjortspring find Chain mail (2) A light, ochre-coloured layer of iron rust had been deposited in the core peat over most of an area of approximately 10 - 12 m2, stretching from the end of the bay to the west to approximately 2 m from the edge of the excavation. The peat excavation has probably removed the layer from a similar area, so that the now dissolved iron has been distributed over a 20 - m2 large area.Closer observation of the peat mass, which has been coated with watery, powdery rust, reveals numerous extremely thin and fragile shells of small iron rings, which were undoubtedly originally joined together to form chain mail. The acidic bog water has completely dissolved and washed the iron out of the thin wire rings, leaving only the coherent rust shell that first formed on the surface of the iron. The thickness of the rust layer varied greatly, from a lighter coloured, barely centimetre-thick layer to an approximately 3 cm thick layer of almost pure ochre with fewer plant parts, where the heavy armour has slipped down into depressions on the uneven moss ground.It was not possible to determine in what condition the whetstones had been deposited in the bog, just as it was not possible to determine their number. But it must be assumed that they, like other weapons, were torn before they were deposited. Assuming that the layer extended across the peat trenches within the area where the rust could be traced, and by estimating the area covered by chain mail at 1 m2, one would arrive at a number of 20 - 24 pieces of chain mail.Some samples of rings have been prepared from a 2 m2 peat flake, which was taken up within the team. Most of these have a diameter of 0.6 - 0.8 [cm], some are 0.9 - 1.0 [cm] large, others only 0.4 [cm]. The very small rings may only have included 1 or 2 thread rings, the largest probably 3 - 4. An arched section of rust may perhaps be the head of a nail or hook for fastening rings together.. Despite the above, very confident description of what was found, other, later, researchers have suggested that it is not chain mail, but only ochre deposits.We have not made reconstructions of chain mail. Shields The find contained a large number of shields, in fact the largest total find of shields in European prehistory!Few of the shields are fully preserved, but there was enough material to collect 50 shields, enough for them to be measured. In addition, there were enough fragments to suggest up to 60-80 shields in the find, maybe even up to 100, but no more.All the shields were of the same basic shape. Elongated square to oval with rounded corners (3). The shields are Celtic in shape. The Celts lived east and north of the Alps. This period was formerly known as the Celtic Iron Age, but now the term Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BCE to year 1) is mostly used.The reconstructed shields can be seen here. The army Schematic representation of the army that attacked Als, according to Jørgen Jensen. (6) The number of spears, swords and shields is enough to arm a force of 80 men, or 4 Hjortspring-type boats. Each boat has seating for 20 people, of which 18 are paddlers, 1 is the helmsman and 1 is the skipper - he can be ‘armed’ with a paddle. In our experience, a lookout may be necessary when sailing in shallow water, but whether it's one of the paddlers at the front (10) who has the job or an extra one at the front, we don't know, but it's not a very comfortable place in the boat, there's barely room for a foot in the bottom of the boat and certainly not if, like us, they have a stretch rope mounted in the boat (4).According to the above theory, the ordinary paddlers/warriors each had a lance and a few spears and a shield. The ‘officers’ also had a sword - it may have been the skipper and helmsman (5).This is the most common notion of what happened in those times.Some of the reconstructed spear and lance tips, as well as some swords can be seen here. Another theory often put forward by some members of the Hjortspringbådens Guild is that it was a merchant ship - arms dealers - that got into trouble. Some researchers disagree, but it's a good story! The fact is that nobody knows, there is nothing written down, apart from Tacitus, who in the 1st book of 30: Historiae et Annales, describes the cruel treatment of prisoners of war and their weapons by the Germans (7). Arguments in favour of There are no battle marks on the shields found, except for one where a lance shaft had been driven through the shield plate, but this probably happened during the sacrifice in the bog.Only tools, cookware and personal equipment corresponding to one boat were found. Arguments against I haven't heard one professional archaeologist advocate the idea of a merchant ship, but it may well be true. About weapons in combat Stones for use in slings Many stones have been found in the bog, many of them between the separated boat planks; the boat was lowered lying on one side - otherwise it couldn't be in the bog - and the stones would hold it down. Jørgen Jensen  (8)  mentions the possibility. In Germania Tacitus (9) writes that [...] The footmen also have throwing weapons - each man several - which they hurl enormously far, naked or wearing only a light cloak. [...] he doesn't say what the throwing weapons are, they are probably spears, but they may also have had stones. Bow and arrows No traces of bows and arrows have been found at all  (10). Apparently, these were not used for combat in this part of the Iron Age, but probably for hunting. Was it an ‘ethical’ question? Should you be able to see the ‘whites’ of your opponent's eyes so that it was only ‘honourable’ to fight man to man?  The shields If the shield has been held vertically, you will miss a strap on the lower part of the shields that can go around the forearm close to the elbow. This is to prevent being hit in the head by the upper half of the shield if it is hit hard. It is impossible to prevent this by only holding on to the shield grip.There is no evidence that such an elbow strap existed on the shields and we have not fitted such a strap, except for our reconstruction of shield no. 123, where there was a hole in the shield plate that could have been used for such a strap. There is a strap mounted on the shield in our exhibition.If every warrior is supposed to have a shield, a lance and a pair of spears, how does he hold these spears?Maybe like this: If he is right-handed, he has his shield in his left hand with an underhand grip and his alleged/defence weapon in his right. The warrior must have stood still to throw a spear, with lance and extra spear ‘parked’ in the ground. When he had no more throwing weapons, the lance would have been used in close combat.If the shield was held horizontally, i.e. the shield handle was vertical, you don't have the problems mentioned above. You can hold the extra spears in your left hand, but they will also be vertical. This article was put together by Ib Stolberg-Rohr, feel free to write if you have any comments. Notes and references 1. F. Kaul, p. 222. G. Rosenberg, p. 47 - 482a. J. Jensen, Volume 3, p. 763.  F. Kaul, p. 23 ff.4.  J. Jensen, Volume 3, p. 69 ff5.  J. Jensen, p. 696.  J. Jensen, Volume 3, p. 698.  J. Jensen, Volume 3, p. 689. P. Tacitus,  Section 6.1, p. 9210.  J. Jensen, Volume 3, p. 6811. O. Crumlin, Section 4.3.4 Chain mail coats, p. 153 (7)Publius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56 - 120 AD) In his huge 30-volume work Historiae et Annales, he writes in: BOOK I. - III. Tiberius Nero Caesar in the year 15 (…)Here they were not far from the Tevtoburg Forest, where the bones of Varus and his legions were supposed to lie unburied.61‘In the centre of the plain lay whitened bones, scattered or collected, according as they had fled or resisted; beside them were pieces of spears and limbs of horses, and then human heads nailed to tree trunks. In the neighbouring groves stood barbarous altars, where they had slaughtered tribunes and centurions of the first rank.’(...)The result can be seen at Mosgårds Museeum in the exhibition about Alken Enge (Skanderborg), the sacrifices are from around year 1. Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme. 
Guild sailings
The preparation It wasn't until May 1999 that the boat was ready to be launched. However, planning had already begun in the autumn of 1998. Teachers from a local school, Hjortspringskolen, had suggested that a couple of classes should take part in the celebrations at the official launch. A local theatre enthusiast had volunteered to be the organiser. The guild set up a celebration committee and the planning and preparations began.The main plan was to roll the boat down to Dyvig in a procession, with the performers dressed in Iron Age costumes.The winter was spent sewing costumes for the school classes and for those guild members who wanted to participate in the festivities. Plans evolved and a choir of singers would participate in priest-like costumes. A song was written to an old Celtic tune from the Isle of Man and it was decided to have the goddess Nerthus participate in a two-wheeled cart pulled by four slaves. (White oxen were not available). It is a well-known fact (at least in the parish of Holm, where Lindeværftet is located) that a bog at the northern tip of Als called Hellesø is the place where Nerthus rises once a year with his cart.The front page of the parish magazine shows this. The front page of the parish magazine Holmboen, showing the goddess Nerthus in her cart. 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. 
As mentioned in the section on the organisation of the guild, it was natural to utilise the professional skills and interests of the members. The aim was to gain as much knowledge as possible about the Hjortspring boat, its original shipbuilders and finally, through them, about the community that had created the boat.We were fortunate to have some members who had experience in fluid mechanics, strength calculations and computerised geometry, so already during the preparation of the boat building, the design group started analysing the boat as mentioned earlier. Here we will show some of the calculations that are important for assessing the sailing characteristics. As a starting point, the design team used the drawing that the Norwegian marine engineer Fr. Johannessen had made in connection with the publication of Rosenberg's book about the Hjortspring find. The curve shows the relationship between the amount of water displaced, which corresponds to weight and draught. For example, if the boat is loaded with 2.5 tonnes, it will sink 30 cm. Drawing: HSBL. The wetted surface of the boat, a quantity used when calculating boat speed, was also calculated. The curve shows the relationship between wetted surface and draught. At a draught of 30 cm, corresponding to the weight of 2.5 tonnes mentioned above, the wetted surface of the boat will be 15 m². Drawing: HSBL. By calculating the centre of buoyancy and centre of gravity, the boat's sensitivity to uneven loading was calculated. It turned out that the boat could be expected to be very unstable, a fact that proved to be true in the sailing tests.The power required to propel the boat at different speeds was also calculated. This power is particularly dependent on the wetted surface, its roughness and the length of the boat's waterline. The achievable speed of the boat had been the subject of a heated discussion at a couple of member meetings. Only the president of the guild trusted the abilities of our predecessors so much that he claimed the boat could reach a speed of 8 knots (15 km/hour). A bet was made. However, the calculations could not settle it. Sailing was needed.But back to the calculations. Here we see the power required as a function of speed. At 8 knots, the 20 paddlers need a net power of 2.5 kW or 125 watts each. This equates to 0.2 hp per paddle. Drawing: HSBL. Strength calculations It was also interesting to calculate the load on the boat from the load, buoyancy and wave action. However, a structure as complicated as a boat with its double-curved surfaces is difficult to analyse without using very extensive computer calculations. As we did not have access to a large enough computer, we had to simplify the starting point for the calculations.We therefore considered the boat as a beam tapered at both ends without taking into account that a boat, when loaded, can expand or contract the width of the hull (like a pea pod).The boat is loaded by external forces from the weight of the boat itself, the weight of the cargo (crew with equipment) and finally from the buoyancy forces. The first two act downwards, while the last one acts upwards. These external forces will be in equilibrium. These forces were considered to be single forces attacking the boat from a distance of 1 metre above it.When considering the strength of ships, it is common practice to calculate it in three different modes: It was also interesting to calculate the load on the boat from the load, buoyancy and wave action. However, a structure as complicated as a boat with its double-curved surfaces is difficult to analyse without using very extensive computer calculations. As we did not have access to a large enough computer, we had to simplify the starting point for the calculations.We therefore considered the boat as a beam tapered at both ends without taking into account that a boat, when loaded, can expand or contract the width of the hull (like a pea pod).The boat is loaded by external forces from the weight of the boat itself, the weight of the cargo (crew with equipment) and finally from the buoyancy forces. The first two act downwards, while the last one acts upwards. These external forces will be in equilibrium. These forces were considered to be single forces attacking the boat from a distance of 1 metre above it.When considering the strength of ships, it is common practice to calculate it in three different modes:In still watersRiding a wave amidshipsRiding on two waves with the tops at the bow and stern You use a standard wave with a length equal to the water length of the boat and a height of 1/10 of the wavelength. The boat riding on a standard wave amidships. The resulting forces from weight, load and buoyancy are shown below. It can be seen that in such a wave the boat will be loaded to keel hogging. Drawing: HSBL. For the three load cases, in calm water, with the top of the standard wave amidships and with the two tops of the standard wave at each end of the boat, the tensile, compressive and shear stresses were calculated. The latter were greater at the bottom seam than the seam's permissible displacement when the boat was travelling in standard waves (13 m wave length and a wave height of 0.65 m).Wear and tear on the seam was therefore to be expected when travelling in waves. At the same wave size, the bows would vibrate in the vertical direction with a movement of 30 mm. These calculations do not take into account the expected favourable effect of the tension rope but also the weak sewing seams.We must remember that the calculations are based on the shape of the boat as described by Johannessen. However, Tilia had a slightly shorter waterline due to the more curved keel line. The impact of this change on the stresses was not assessed in these calculations. Fakta Newton, (after Isaac Newton), unit of force in the SI system with the symbol N.The unit newton is derived from the basic units kilogram (kg), metre (m) and second (s) as follows:1 N = 1 kg x m/s²Source: Lex.dk Sources Hvad Haanden former er Aandens Spor.Symposiums: Paper 2: Theoretical Performance and initial Test Results Language The text in this article has been translated from Danish to English using the free DeepL translation programme. 
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