Newsletter

Maritime Archaeology

No. 22 • Summer 2007 from Denmark

A daring voyage. Havhingsten fra Glendalough sets sail from Roskilde to Dublin,
1 July 2007 (www.havhingsten.dk). Photo: Werner Karrasch.
N0. 22 • SUMMER 2007
CONTENTS:
One step at a time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Timber, Trade and Tree-rings . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Viking Age Iconography
and the Square Sail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Between sea and land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Gåsehage. A threatened wreck-site
of the early 18th century . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Modelling Fetch using GIS . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Birger Thomsen 1945-2007. . . . . . . . . . . 26
Just published:
ISBN 978-87-85180-47-6
Published by the Viking Ship Museum in Ros-
kilde.
DKK 299 / EUR 40
2
One step at a time
The Maritime Archaeology Programme at
the University of Southern Denmark is in
full development. The first students came
in September. The first semester passed as if
in a split-second, while we were still flesh-
ing out the curriculum. In January, the Zea
harbour-project and its director Bjørn Lovén
formally joined in, and in April, our team
was extended with Jens Auer, who left a
post at Wessex Archaeology. Jens is a diving
archaeologist with extensive experience. He
worked in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and
led many operations for Wessex in British
and Irish waters. The second semester passed
in no less of a whirlwind, with a seminar on
18 April as the programme’s official start. And
now the third semester is already imminent!
Sponsorships from Bauer and MacArtney
underwater technology mean great support,
as our two-year programme includes profes-
sional diving qualifications for those who
want that option.
In all this activity, one step at a time, the
production of this newsletter got delayed
to the moment we go off on fieldwork: in
Greece, in England and locally on the west-
coast of Denmark. In fact there is more than
enough to report on. As can be seen on the
last page, all Danish museums with maritime
archaeological activities and responsibilities
have now joined in and all contributions
come from different parts. Thanks to the
delay, however, the cover can display the
most spectacular of experimental projects:
Havhingsten fra Glendalough departing for
its trip to Dublin and around the British Isles.
Inside, you will find young researchers and
leisure archaeologists alike, who present their
work or critical opinions. On a sad note,
Jan Hammer Larssen commemorates Birger
Thomsen, who quite suddenly passed away.
Thijs J. Maarleveld
Timber, Trade and Tree-rings

On 9 July 2007, a PhD-thesis entitled Timber, a EU-funded project concerned with the
Trade and Tree-rings. A dendrochronologi- reconstruction of climate from tree-rings. I
cal analysis of structural oak timber in was very kindly given permission to use this
Northern Europe, c. AD 1000 to c. AD 1650 dataset for my research.
was defended at the University of Southern The study is divided into three parts;
Denmark. The study has been three years in methodology, a series of case studies, and a
the making and has dealt with refining the discussion of the results in terms of the trade
method by which the origin of oak timber of oak timber. The majority of the case stud-
can be determined. The basic dataset for the ies are of the dendrochronological analyses
study consists of individual measurements (dating and provenance determination) of
for oak, from both living trees (covering oak from ancient shipwrecks.
the last c. 200 years) and from timber from
historic buildings and archaeological sites. Methodology
This data has been accumulated by dendro- The identification of the origin of oak timber
chronologists working in northern Europe. from shipwrecks had been carried out before.
It was assembled during the 1990s, through However, it had been limited to a very wide
The B&W1 wreck from Copenhagen during excavation. The building of the ship was dated
dendrochronologically to c. 1564, while an extensive rebuilding phase took place in c.
1608. Most of the ship’s timber grew in Lower Saxony or The Netherlands, but timber from
Scandinavia and the Lübeck region was also utilised. Photo: Christian Lemée.

3
Map showing the result of the provenance determination of the Kolding cog. The map shows
the correlation between the tree-ring curve for the Kolding cog timbers and a network of site
chronologies. The circle size is determined by the t-value achieved. Note that all the high
t-values appear with site chronologies from southern Jutland. Map: Aoife Daly.

regional level at it used a network of large
regional master chronologies. The aim of the
first part of the study was the development of
a method by which the provenance of tim-
ber could be identified to a more local level.
The method developed moves away from
the building of large regional master chro-
nologies. Instead, tree-ring measurements
are grouped within a single site, resulting
in a network of ‘site chronologies’, as an
alternative to the larger master chronologies.
These site chronologies theoretically consist
of trees from the locality in which the build-
ing or the archaeological site is located, and
is based on the assumption that timber from
the local area was used in these construc-
tions. The problem of using this structural
oak as the basis for the provenance determi-
nation tool is that these timbers also have a
history, and we do not know how far these
structural timbers might have been trans-
ported before they ended up in a historical
building. The strength of keeping the tree-
ring data separate in site chronologies is that
timber in the dendrochronological dataset
remains isolated in small groups, allowing
the identification of building timber which
is not of local origin.
Each site in the dataset is also connected,
by its geographical coordinates, to a geo-
graphic information system, so that any
analysis can be readily plotted on a map,
allowing an immediate visual representation
of the results. This is essential not only in
the interpretation of the results, but it is also
highly illustrative, allowing a wide audience
to readily understand the results.
The living tree portion of the dataset
was used to test the methodology where
the geographical parameters are already

4
Map showing the result of the correlation between the main group of timber from B&W1 and
site chronologies from northern Europe. The spread of high correlations between the ship’s
timbers and sites in Lower Saxony and The Netherlands possibly reflects the diversity of
sources of timber that were used in the Dutch-built ship. Map: Aoife Daly.

known. A method was finally arrived at, that the circle on the map represents the t-value
the region of origin of oak could be tested achieved.
at three levels. The first, widest level uses a
network of master chronologies. The second Case studies

level is where oak is tested with all the site
chronologies. The third level test is where
the oak tree-ring series is tested with all indi-
vidual trees in the dataset. All these results
are mapped, so that for each construction
being tested three maps are produced.
The test that is mapped at these three
levels is to see how similar the tree-ring
curve, from a ship for example, is to each
chronology or tree in the tree-ring dataset.
The similarity is measured by a correlation
statistic (t-test) and the higher the result, the
more similar the ship’s tree-ring curve is to
the curve it is being tested against. The map
of the results then shows the t-value between
the ship and each chronology. The size of
To demonstrate the applicability of the meth-
odology a number of shipwrecks and barrel
finds were selected. The earliest of these
case studies are a group of barrels found
reused in wells in the town of Ribe, in west
Jutland, dendrochronologically dating to the
early 8th century AD. The tree-ring meas-
urements from all three barrels match well
together and an average of the three barrels
matches best with a chronology from up the
Rhine River in the region of Mainz. Transport
of goods took place in the 8th century down
the Rhine River, contained in oak barrels.
These products must have been shipped to
Ribe from the southern North Sea coast.
Medieval ‘cogs’ make up the largest

5
The timbers of the Kolding Cog were raised in March 2001, after the hull was dismantled
under water. The keelson comes up upside down and is immediately rinsed by Kristiane
Strætkvern of the National Museum's Conservation Department. Photo: Line Dokkedal.

group of shipwrecks that are included in
the case studies. Discussed chronologically,
each cog wreck that has been analysed
dendrochronologically is tested using the
three levels developed in the methodology.
The earliest is the Kollerup cog, from north-
ern Jutland, Denmark, dating to the 1150s,
while the most recent is the NZ43 wreck
from The Netherlands, from the early 15th
century. Very good results are achieved for
some wrecks, while less strong provenance
can be identified for others. The varying
success of the determination can mostly be
ascribed to the fact that too few samples are
analysed from a ship, or that the tree-ring
series derived from the ship are too short. As
we move to the later medieval period how-
ever, we encounter increasingly ships that
are built of timber from a variety of sources,
and the provenance determination becomes
more complicated. First it is necessary to
look at the composition of the ship, in terms
of how similar the tree-ring series from each
sample are to each other. This gives an indi-
cation of how homogeneous the timber for
the ship is. Was the ship built of a supply of
timber felled in one area, or was the ship
built of timber from a variety of sources? If
the tree-ring series from the timber in the
ship form a single group, then we can sur-
mise that the timber is from a single source.
If on the other hand the material indicates
several groups, then the groups can be kept
separate, and an average tree-ring curve for
each group can be made. Each group might
represent a different timber source. It is pos-
sible then to test the region or area of origin
of each group.
Timber trade
In the analysis of the Kolding cog, made of
timber felled in winter 1188-89, a single
group is apparent in the material analysed.
An average of 13 samples was made, and

6
the provenance determination was carried
out using the test at the three levels, as
described above. A clear indication emerges
that the timber had grown around the region
of Lillebælt, as the ship’s tree-ring curve
matched best with timber from the town of
Haderslev, in southern Jutland.
The analysis of a much later ship, the so-
called ‘B&W1’, found in Copenhagen har-
bour in 1996, gives a quite different picture.
Here the correlation of the tree-ring curves
from the 28 samples analysed from the ship
indicate that we are dealing with several
timber groups. The ship was built from oak
felled in around 1564 and was modified
extensively with timber felled in c. 1608.
One main group can be defined, while
three smaller groups are also apparent. This
can indicate several sources for timber for
the building of the B&W1 ship. The test of
the provenance of the timber for these four
groups indeed indicates that several diverse
sources of timber are incorporated in this
ship. Details in the construction of the ship,
as observed archaeologically, indicate that
the ship was built in the Netherlands. The
largest group identified dendrochronologi-
cally, it could be shown, grew in the Lower
Saxony region or in the Netherlands. Of the
three smaller groups one matched best with
material from Lübeck, while the other two
indicate a Scandinavian origin. It is clear
with this example that, for the late 16th cen-
tury, a much more complicated picture of
the timber supply for shipbuilding emerges.
Another ship from this period though, the
Bredfjed ship, dating to c. 1600, indicates a
very homogeneous timber supply, so a neat
chronological difference in timber resource
availability does not emerge. Rather, what
we see is that specific regions suffer from
a reduction in their timber resource, neces-
sitating import of timber from timber rich
regions. In other regions, it seems, timber
availability is not an issue. For the building
of the Bredfjed vessel, timber is available in
a nearby forest. For most shipbuilding that
takes place on the Dutch coast, of which
B&W1 is an example, timber from diverse
and distant locations had to be imported.
The picture of the timber supply for the
northern European region, over the period
being studied, is the topic of the third sec-
tion of the thesis. It integrates the historical
and the archaeological record. The fact
that building timber can have been trans-
ported, from near and far, has implications
for the results emerging in the case studies,
and indeed for the whole development of
a methodology which relies on data from
historical material which has it’s own, often
untraceable history of transport. This has
to be taken into account when interpreting
the results of a provenance determination
analysis.
When looking at the northern European
timber trade, it is necessary to differentiate
between different timber species and differ-
ent specialised timber products. While an
increase in the transport of conifer species
for structural building uses can be seen over
the period, the usual transport of oak is in
the form of specialised panelling and plank-
ing. Transport of large structural oak is the
exception, not the rule. Taking the analyses
of shipwrecks, where many samples are
dated and the provenance of the timbers are
identified; a description of the transport of
timber specifically for shipbuilding is pos-
sible.
Of course, we are dealing with dendro-
chronologically dated material. This means
that the analysis of the northern European
medieval oak timber trade has a chronologi-
cal framework. Unlike the ships, that frame-
work is watertight!
Aoife Daly
7
Viking Age the hull and sail and rigging. While these
Norwegian vessels – 750 years younger than
Iconography the Viking ships – have become the princi-
pal material for reconstruction of the Viking
and the Square Sail Age sail, the iconography of the Viking Age
has ended up in a subordinate role. Several
researchers have pointed out that this devel-
opment is problematic and needs further
The interpretation of iconographical infor- investigation. The design of the sails of our
mation in technical terms is not without modern replicas simply does not correspond
problems. In the research traditions that lay visually with the iconographical evidence of
at basis of present-day ‘reconstructions’ of the Viking Age: the depicted sails are gener-
ships from the Viking Age, the iconographi- ally low and extremely wide, while the sails
cal material plays a relatively modest role. reconstructed are quadratic or even upright
Nevertheless, the reconstructions are based rectangular. Erik Nylén has pointed this out
on a variety of methods and approaches. repeatedly and the festschrift entitled Klink
This is partly due to the technological com- og seil that was produced in honour of Arne
plexity of these vessels, and partly due to Emil Christensen, contains a range of articles
factors of preservation. While the hull itself discussing this matter. In this contribution
can be more or less preserved, the sail and to the Maritime Archaeology Newsletter, I
rigging no longer exist. As a consequence, would like to present some of the research
present-day reconstructions of the rigging that resulted in my master’s thesis at the
and the Viking Age square sail are prima- department of Prehistoric Archaeology at the
rily based on ethnographic evidence. The University of Copenhagen. It is an analysis
Nor-wegian square rigged vessels of the of iconographical material in relationship to
19th century are dominant in this approach. rigging and concentrates on the Gotlandic
They share a number of technological fea- picture stones and the reconstruction of the
tures with the Viking ships, both regarding Viking ship’s sail.
Note the difference in
the sail's aspect radio:
a) a warship, depicted
on the Gotlandic pic-
ture stone Riddare,
Hejnum parish, dated
to c. 750-900; b) a
Norwegian square rig-
ged vessel from the
19th century; c) the
reconstruction of the
11th century warship
Skuldelev 2, launched
as full scale replica in
2004. (Lindquist 1941,
fig. 80; Andersen &
Andersen 1989, fig.
65; S. Nielsen del. in:
Vinner 2002, p.36).

8
The material and the objectives of the study
The ship iconographic material from Scandi-
navia covers motifs originating from a
number of rune stones, graffiti, Hedeby
coins, textiles and several of the well-known
Gotlandic picture stones. A detailed and
systematic iconographical analysis of this
material’s technological potential has hith-
erto not been carried through. The absence
of an iconographical analysis is the more
notable since recent research showed that
Sune Lindqvist’s classical chronology of
the Gotlandic picture stones, regarding the
dating of the period with detailed motifs
of sailing ships (period C/D), should be
abandoned. On the basis of Lisbeth Imer’s
research, this period should be dated to 750-
1000 AD, in particular to the 9th century.
The motifs depicted ought therefore to be
analyzed in direct connection to the ships of
the Viking Age.
Dataset and analytical description
The examined iconographical material cov-
ers a selection of 36 Scandinavian motifs
depicting vessels with sail. 26 motifs origi-
nate from the Gotlandic picture stones, three
from Swedish rune stones, four from graffiti
and three motifs derive from Hedeby coins.
The latter three motifs are a representative
selection among the c. 23 known Hedeby
coins depicting ships. All motifs are gener-
ally dated to the Viking Age – the picture
stones: 750-1000; the rune stones and the
graffiti: 800-1050; the coins: the first half of
the 9th century. Each motif is analyzed to
the background of the following aspects and
attributes:
• general description of the ship and
scene (morphology of stem/stern, sail-
ing direction, equipment, placing of
rudder, direction of waves, wind vane);
• rigging and sail (position of the mast,
description and number of stays,
shrouds, sheets, braces, bowlines,
crow’s feet/network beneath the sail,
ornamentation of the sail, the aspect
ratio of the sail and of the mast/yard);
• crew (number of visible crew members
on board and their possible weapons
and/or equipment).
The table on p. 10 presents the scores.
Analysis and results
The analysis emphasizes several interesting
points. For one thing a large proportion of
the motifs depict warships, which is stated
by the presence of offensive weapons and/or
shields. For another the sails are generally
low and wide. Their rectangular shape has a
height /width ratio of 1:2.
Moreover, the so called crow’s feet in the
sail’s under leech make technical sense, but
the mysterious and much discussed network
seen beneath the sail on a few picture stones,
does not. The fact is that this network only
appears on picture stones from Northern
Gotland. It is consequently suggested that
this is a local, stylistic feature instead of a
technical one. The alternative would be a
very local type of rigging, with parallels in
neither other Viking Age iconography nor in
ethnographical source material.
Elements such as the direction of waves
and wind vanes indicate that these vessels
were generally depicted as running before
the wind. The fact that the sail’s tack is never
seen fastened to the hull side supports this
idea.
Regarding the use of perspective, it seems
that no three-dimensional effects were em-
ployed. Instead a distorted perspective is in
use: the sail is seen from behind, while the
hull is seen from the side.
A technological development in the sail
design is not perceived. Medieval iconogra-
phy confirms that the low and wide sails are
common throughout the Viking Age. This
design is probably to be seen in direct con-
nection to the long and slender warships.
An essential unknown factor though, is
the question of scale. On the picture stones,
it seems as if ‘horror vacui’ has induced the
artists to force and/or stretch their motifs.
9
 Name Sail: Vessel type Crew: Crow’s Tack Sheet Braces Bow- Shrouds Fore- After- Mast Dating

10
aspect visible feet line stay stay placing
ratio /est.
Gotlandic picture stones
Alskog Tjängvide I 1:2,4 warship 9/18 4 2 X C 10th cent.
Alva Bopparve 1:1,3 warship 3/6 0 ? 9th cent.
Ardre VIII 1:2 warship 6/12 5 1 X C 10th cent.
Bro Eriks I 1:2 ? ?/? ? X X ? c. 750-900
Buttle Änge I (ship 1) ? warship? 1/12 ? ? 9/10th cent.
Buttle Änge I (ship 2) 1:2,2 warship? 2/18 ? C 9/10th cent.
Fröjel Botvatte 1:1,9 warship? 3/? 1 6 X B 9th cent.
Garda Bote 1:2 warship 4/8 0 X X C 9th cent.
Halla Broa III 1:2 ? 5/10 3 X X B 9/10th cent.
Halla Broa IV 1:1,9 warship 7/20 2 (?) X X 2 X C 9th cent.
Halla Broa IX 1:2,3 ? ?/? ? C c. 750-900
Halla Broa XVI 1:2,3 warship? 6/12 1 2 X A c. 750-900
Hejnum Riddare 1:1,8 warship 13/26 11 (net) X X X X A c. 750-900
Hejnum Rings 1:2 ? ?/? 3+ (net) ? 9th cent.
Klinte Hunninge I 1:2,3 warship 7/14 1 X? 2? X X A 9/10th cent.
Lärbro St. Hammars I 1:2 warship 10/20 8 (net) X X X 1 X C 10th cent.
Lärbro St. Hammars III 1:1,6 warship 7/14 6 (net) X 1 X C 9th cent.
Lärbro Tängelgårda I 1:1,6 warship 9/18 6 (net) X X X X A 10th cent.
Lärbro Tängelgårda II 1:2 warship 9/18 11 (net) A 10th cent.
När Smiss I 1:2,2 warship ?/12 0 X X A c. 750-900
Stenkumla Forsa I 1:2,6 ? ?/? ? 1 X C c. 750-900
Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III 1:2,2 ? 2/4 2 X X A after 750
Stenkyrka Smiss I 1:2 warship 11/30 11 (net) 3? X A 10th cent.
Tofta Dyple 1:2 ? ?/? ? X B c. 750-900
Väte Gullarve 1:2,1 ? ?/? ? X X ? c. 750-900
Väte Mölner 1:2 ? ?/? ? X X C 9th cent.
Rune stones
Ledberg 1:2,5 warship ?/14 0 1? 2 X A 11th cent.
Sparlösa 1:2,5 ? ?/26 0 2 X C 9th cent.
Stratomta 1:3,5 warship? ?/? 0 X C 11th cent.
Hedeby coins
Spangereid 2 warship ?/14 0 2 X C c. 825
Flokerudstorp 1:2,2 cargo carrier? ?/? 0 2 X A c. 825
Birka 526 1:3,2 cargo carrier? ?/? 0 3 X C c. 825
Graffiti
Gauldalen (ship 1) warship? ?/? ? 2 2 X A 11th cent.
Gauldalen (ship 2) warship ?/18 ? 2 X C 11th cent.
Karlby 1:1,6 ? ?/? 0 X B after 800
Löddeköpinge ? ?/? ? 3 X ? 9th cent.
 In general, I conclude that the source
material is reliable. One reason is the very
specific maritime details shown in the motifs,
another is the fact that the low and wide sail
design is confirmed by independent sources
– monuments, coins and graffiti – geographi-
cally covering a large part of Scandinavia
and covering the period 750-1100.
Implications
The analysis shows that a specific class of
ships from the Viking period is consistently
depicted in a way that is not reflected in
most present-day reconstructions of Viking
ships, or in the ethnographic reference mate-
rial that was used for them: Norwegian
square-rigged vessels from the 19th century.
The Norwegian boats share a number of
technical similarities with the Viking Ships,
but also visually differ from the iconography,
due to their high, narrow and trapezoid sails.
Left: A schematic overview of the results,
based on Kastholm Hansen 2006 and in
prep. Abbreviations, mast placing: C=centre;
A=ahead of centre; B=behind centre.
The problem may be that the major present-
day tradition to reconstruct the Viking Ship’s
sail, has its starting point in wreck 3 from
Skuldelev. The ethno-archaeological method
that had been successful in that instance has
subsequently been applied to the construc-
tion of a large number of Viking Ship repli-
cas of widely different age, vessel type, prov-
enance and state of preservation. Skuldelev
no. 3 is of course unique, regarding traces
of the rigging – the precise position of mast,
tack and sheet is known. This high degree
of preservation is not known from any other
Viking Age vessel. In most wrecks, the only
trace of rigging is the mast step, and thus it
is in fact not possible to determine the length
of the sail. However, Skuldelev 3 is also dif-
ferent from other Viking age ships we know,
‘Imme Sleipner’ – the hull is not an exact re-
plica, though, but a combination of the Kval-
sund Boat and Oseberg Ship, rigged with a
square sail reconstructed on the basis of the
Gotlandic picture stone Riddare, Hejnum
parish, dated to c. 750-900 (Vadstrup 1993,
p. 76).
11
in being a small cargo carrier from the 11th
century. As such, it is certainly different from
the class of ships most prominently depicted
in the iconographical material.
Alternative ‘reconstructions’ have been built
and rigged at the start of the 1980's. These are
the Krampmacken in Sweden and the Imme
Sleipner in Denmark. In many ways, these are
experiments to test the iconography. Whereas
a number of successful experimental archae-
ological projects and trials have supported
the dominant tradition of present-day recon-
struction, these two ships show that it is also
possible to use a square sail with an aspect
ratio of 1:2 (h/w) on a Viking Ship. It is quite
effective when running before the wind, but
not effective at all beating against the wind.
It may also be assumed, as I do in my thesis,
that the low and wide sail has an impor-
tant advantage over a higher and narrower
‘Norwegian’ sail. On the long and slender
warships, it is essential to have a low centre
of effort, i.e. a theoretical point, where the
wind force hits the sail. Otherwise the ship
might become unstable and risk to capsize.
The low sail’s primary disadvantage is lack of
effectiveness when beating against the wind.
Trials with warship replicas suggest though,
that also with a higher sail, this particular
vessel type is not very effective when tack-
ing. This applies for instance to the Skuldelev
5 replica Helge Ask. Rowing, or waiting for
fair wind, seems to be the plausible solution
when heading directly against the wind.
Conclusions
The analysis shows that the majority of the
ship motifs examined should be considered
as fairly reliable source-material regarding
parts of Viking Age ship technology. Most of
the vessels depicted are warships with low
and wide square sails. This should be taken
into consideration when trying to recon-
struct. It is quite clear that any such attempt
needs to consider both primary and second-
ary sources and analogies. Any reconstruc-
tion bears the risk of confusion between
evidence and interpretation. Primary source
12
material, however, should be leading. The
iconographical material is primary source
material and should not be rejected in favour
of ethnographical analogies. My research
underlines the thesis that Nylén and others
hold that perhaps we should perceive of the
sails of Viking Age ships in a more complex
way than has been usual so far. I suggest
that the long and slender warships were
equipped with low square sails, and that
these specialized vessels were not primarily
constructed to tack against the wind.
Ole Thirup Kastholm
References
Andersen, B. & E. Andersen 1989: Råsejlet
– Dragens Vinge. Roskilde.
Arisholm, T., K. Paasche & T.L. Wahl (red.)
2006: Klink og seil – Festskrift til Arne
Emil Christensen. Oslo.
Imer, L.M. 2004: Gotlandske billedsten –
dateringen af Lindqvist gruppe C og D.
Aarbøger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og
Historie 2001, pp. 47-111.
Kastholm, O.T. 2006: De gotlandske billed-
sten og rekonstruktionen af vikingeskibe-
nes sejl. Unpublished Cand. Mag. Thesis
in Prehistoric Archaeology, University of
Copenhagen.
Kastholm, O.T. in prep.: De gotlandske
billedsten og rekonstruktionen
uktionen af vikin-
geskibenes sejl. Aarbøger for Nordisk
Oldkyndighed og Historie 2005.
Lindqvist, S. 1941: Gotlands Bildsteine I.
Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets
Akademien. Stockholm.
Nylén, E. 1986: Thee “Krampmacken” Project.
I: O. Crumlin-Pedersen & M. Vinner
(eds.): Sailing into the past. Proceedings
of the International Seminar on Replicas
of Ancient and Medieval Vessels, Roskilde
1984, pp. 104-113. Roskilde.
Vadstrup, S. 1993: I vikingernes kølvand.
Erfaringer og forsøg med danske, svenske
og norske kopier af vikingeskibe 1892-
1992. Roskilde.
Vinner, M. 2002: Vikingeskibsmuseets både.
Roskilde.
Between sea and land
Marine-Arkæologisk Gruppe in Fredericia is
a group of diving recreational archaeologists
that has contributed to the development
of maritime archaeology in Denmark in a
very special way. It is best known from the
Tybrind Vig project, the excavation of a sub-
merged Ertebølle site on the western shore
of the island Funen, that it undertook under
the supervision of the Prehistory department
of the University of Århus. The discovery of
that site and the excavation campaigns in the
late seventies and eighties may have been
the reason for the foundation of the group,
but it has certainly not been the group’s only
activity. More than thirty years later the same
Marine-Arkæologisk-Gruppe Fredericia sur-
veying on Brandsø. Photo: Hans Dal.
group members are still active. The system
of heritage management has evolved during
that time. Procedures for reporting, deci-
sion-making and cooperation that include
the maritime areas have been developed.
This meant new relations between museum
and heritage authorities and professional
and recreational stakeholders. Roles may
have changed, but the Marine-Arkæologisk
Gruppe continues its valuable contribution:
survey of unexplored areas and monitor-
ing of changes in the environment. Unlike
most other recreational groups they con-
centrate on Prehistoric remains rather than
shipwrecks. This contribution reports on
survey and discovery around the island of
Brandsø.
Brandsø is a little island in the Lillebælt.
13
It has a surface of just about 206 ha. Some
of its Prehistoric monuments have been
known since time immemorial. Other sites
are discovered just now. The largest monu-
ment on the island is ‘Svenskehøj’. It is a 20
m longbarrow with two chambers that lies
at an elevation of 8,4 meter above sea-level.
Thanks to a painting by Dankvart Dreyer
another monument, however, is much bet-
ter known. It is the socalled ‘kæmpehøj
on Brandsø’, a dolmen with a topstone of
around 3 meters and a barrow with a diame-
ter of 14 meters. In historical documents the
island was first mentioned in king Valdemars
inventory of around 1200 AD, where it is
listed as Øbranzø. It belongs to the county
Frijsenborg & Wedellsborg and it has been
used for agriculture, forestry and the nursery
of Christmas-trees. In 2004 a reconstruction
project was started with the aim to safeguard
the island’s wildlife and ecology. Ecological
The trunk well on Brandsø. Photo: Svend
Amlund.
14
hedges and demarcations between plots are
established for that reason.
The island has undulating barrier beaches
in the west and a raised bog of up to 4 m in
thickness in the central part. In the east there
are deciduous forests on clayey topsoil. In
1656 Swedish troops invaded the island
in order to use it as a way station during
the campaign towards Funen over the ice-
ridden Little Belt. When cholera pestered
Europe in the 18th century the island was
declared a quarantine station for travelers.
They had to stay on the island for twenty
days and nights before they could travel
on. The island is presently uninhabited, but
previously it had a small community with a
school farmhouses and homesteads.
A visit and a find
Marine-Arkæologisk-Gruppe visited the
island during a sun-drenched weekend in
September 2006. They were asked to carry
through a survey of the shallow seabed
surrounding the island looking for oak tree-
stumps. In this task the group cooperates
with the tree-ring laboratory in Moesgård.
Submerged tree-stumps from documented
locations are much sought after for the
creation and refinement of tree-ring curves,
especially in order to fill a gap in the mas-
ter chronology for the period around 4000
- 3600 BC. During this visit the group only
found one trunk along the western side of
the island and besides that a few scattered
worked flints. It was not a great success.
When all the diving gear was packed and
ready it would still be another 1,5 hour
before Wedellsborgs ferry could collect it.
What can a diver do if he cannot survey
under water? Well, at least he can look
around on land...
Two members of the group went to the
beach barriers to examine the place where
the submerged trunk had been found. Two
others went southwards along the beach
The dolmen (runddysse) on Brandsø. Photo:
Hans Dal.
towards the south point of the island. At the
waterside some worked, but water worn
flint was found, including flakes and a core-
axe. Then suddenly, around the area where
the shore turns into a sand beach and is
just 1-1.5 m high, a dark round circle was
observed. Was it a tyre? A bicycle wheel?
No, it was wood! It is a well made of an
oak trunk. It measures around 72-74 cm in
diameter and sticks out of the beach-plain
with just a few cm. It therefore shows up
as a dark ring of 5-7 cm width and it is
flooded by occasional waves, bladder-weed,
sand and gravel. The find was immediately
documented in photographs and reported
to Odense Bys Museer, as Brandsø is under
their heritage competence.
Origin and use of the trunk well
In order to say anything useful about the well,
we should know its age. So, one of the group
assisted the keeper of the museum, Karsten
Kjær Michaelsen, who visited the find in
October and took a sample for radiocarbon
15
16
dating. At that occasion it was once more
established that the well was not stave-built
as had been suggested, but that indeed it
was a hollowed oak tree trunk. Nobody puts
a well on the waterside, as it should collect
freshwater. The aerial photograph seems to
support the idea that the well was made at
a reasonable distance from the coastline, as
it suggests that the shore is presently erod-
ing. The vegetation behind the embankment
consists of bushes and little trees alternating
with meadows and stops short at the bank.
If the well was made before erosion, then
we should add at least 1 m to its present
height. The expectation was that possibly it
could be an Iron Age or a Bronze Age well.
The results, however, showed that the well
is much younger. It dates from in between
1400 and 1600, so the case was referred to
the museum’s medieval archaeologist.
Other such wells in Denmark
Unlike the Brandsø well, most similar wells
that have been documented, date from the
Bronze Age. One example was even found
in a similar environment. It is actually a little
spring in the beach of the western coast of
Samsø, close to the hamlet Pillemark. The
spring is confined by a hollowed out oak
trunk of ca. 80 cm diameter, that only raises
a few cm from the beach. The site is called
Ilsemade and it is subject to many folk-tales
about a sacred spring. In 1967, the well and
spring were excavated by J. Troels-Smith of
the National Museum’s scientific depart-
ment, who proved that the trunk had no
roots, as he could pass his hand under its
sides at a depth of around 90 cm. In the
well’s filling several modern coins were
found, some bone and shards of drainage
piping. Clearly, it had recently been cleaned.
The more surprising was the C14 date of a
sample of the tree: it had grown more than a
thousand years before our era, at the end of
Left: Aerial photograph of Brandsø. Photo:
Frijsenborg & Wedellsborg Skov og Land-
brug.
the early Bronze Age.
Another well-known trunk well was
found in 1903 in the neighbourhood of
Budsene on Møn. But in this case we are
dealing with an alder trunk that was dug into
a low-lying part of the terrain. Remarkably it
contained the bones of cattle, sheep, horse,
pig and dog, as well as large Bronze brace-
lets and belt decorations, all dating from
the younger Bronze Age. A similar find was
made in 1942 in Smederup south of Odder
in Jutland. This well again was made in a
wet depression. In this case the round well
was constructed of solid oak staves. It was
partly filled with stones and the remains of
at least 14 pots. Like the Budsene well, it is
interpreted as a sacrificial well. It dates from
the early Iron Age, a couple of centuries later
than the Budsene well.
Although we had set our hopes that
perhaps the Brandsø well would also have
had such a sacred or sacrificial function,
this seems to be unlikely in view of its late
date. Completely different questions arise
now: for which inhabitants would it have
provided drinking water? Can that be recon-
structed? Let us wait and see what theories
will develop. Anyway, Marine – Arkæologisk
- Gruppe has offered to assist in an excava-
tion if that is decided to, for once as rubber
boot archaeologists, rather than rubber suit
archaeologists.
Svend Amlund
Marine-Arkæologisk-Gruppe
Fredericia
17
Gåsehage. A threatened wreck-site
of the early 18th century
Repeated investigations of the wreck-site off
Gåsehage during the years 2001-2006 have
shown that some 30 cm of the upperparts
have been lost during that period. The site
as a whole is threatened by strong erosion.
When discovered, the wreck was very well-
occurred as a result both of macro- and of
micro-organisms. In order to understand
that process, Moesgård Museum has carried
through a monitoring program since 2001.
Investigations 2001-2006

preserved. The site lies southeast of Ebeltoft.
The sea in that area is notorious for its strong
currents and many a ship has come to grief.
The ’Gåsehage’-wreck was actually the
first archaeological wreck-site to be report-
ed in the area. This was in 1989 when
B. Nielsen found the wreck while diving.
Since then many other wrecks have been
recorded. This is mostly the result of the
tenacious surveys of the sportsdiver and rec-
reational archaeologist M. Vendelbjerg and
his prolonged ‘Århus Bugt’-project. In 1990,
the National Forest and Nature Agency
investigated the site in cooperation with
the Danish Sportsdiving Association, the
The aim of research from 2001 through
2006 has been to document and access the
condition of the wreck by monitoring expo-
sure and decay. The picture that emerges is
one of rapidly accelerating decay as soon as
wooden remains are uncovered, whereby
the anaerobic condition in the sediments
with low oxygen content is exchanged for
the aerobic flow of oxygen rich water in the
strong currents around Gåsehage. In order
Changes in sediment level 2001-2006.
Level
Sediment Timber

museum in Ebeltoft and Moesgård Museum. 1300 cm

An auger, sacks with grain and matting

were among the most notable finds. The
ship was assessed as an oak-built vessel
with flush-laid planking from the start of the
18th century. It had been around 20 m long
and 5 m wide. The cargo defined it as a 1990-1991

freighter. During the yearly field-course that

was organized by the Agency in 1991, the
site was investigated again. This time limited
14-12-2001
18-12-2003
1400 cm
excavation took place. Wooden ladles with
markings, leather seaman’s boots, clothing 10-10-2006
Deposited sand
and clay pipes added to the find material 2002-2003 Sediment

of grainsacks and matting. The presence of

10-10-2006 level forward
14-12-2001

such personal belongings indicates that the 18-12-2002

ship was abandoned in a hurry.
The dynamic currents cause intermittent Scour
Sediment

deposition and erosion. In some years the

level aft
14-12-2001

wreck has therefore lain exposed, whereas

in other years it remained covered. When 1500 cm

it was exposed, considerable decay has 1990-1991

18
to assess wood-decay, a controlled penetra-
tion method is deployed, in which a specific
steel probe is pressed into the wood under
a given and preset pressure, after which
the penetration depth can be measured. A
detailed description of the method is avail-
able in report no. 6 in the series Konservering
og naturvidenskabelig afdeling of 2004.
Assessment of sedimentary conditions around
the wreck
At inspection in December 2006, the Gåse-
hage wreck was partly covered in sediment.
Only the tops of vertical timbers and some
horizontal planking and ceiling were expo-
sed. Timbers and planking that had been
recorded previously were missing.
The surface of the surrounding sand
bottom consisted of white sand with a few
small stones close to the wreck. The stern
part protruded most from the surroundings,
to a maximum height of 50 cm, whereas part
of the bow had been ripped of the wreck
in such a way that the remains of the stem
were fully covered in sediment. The sedi-
mentation level amidships showed a slight
deepening of around 10 cm. The estimated
sedimentation level on the sketch shows a
rise of about 10cm in the 2006 investigation.
It can be assumed that the sediment level
is slightly above average, considering the
observations at the measuring points and the
progressing decay. In general, the sediment
level around the ship as measured in 2001-
2006 seems to be unchanged as compared
to the level of 1990-1991.
Assessment of the condition of wooden parts
The investigation of 2006 results in a divi-
sion of two vaguely distinguishable zones
of decay of the exposed vertical timbers,
whereas the investigation of 2001 result-
ed in three sharply defined and distinct
zones. All the surfaces of wooden parts
have now degraded through vigorous mac-
roscopic decay by marine borers. It should
be remarked that this destruction strongly
stimulates total degradation as the many
holes and tunnels exponentially increase
the exposed surface of wood structure. This
means that the negative influence of micro-
scopic organisms such as fungi and bacteria
is also given a boost.
There are fewer barnacles since the inves-
tigation of 2001. The exposed wood is both
soft and perforated and provides less solid
footing as a substrate. There are no areas
where wooden parts have been freshly
exposed. Just like in 2001, the condition of
the stern part is best. Along the ship’s sides
one can observe advanced degradation.
Both sides look tattered and ragged. Decay
progresses quickly. The wood structure is
highly degraded. It has a low solid matter
content. All exposed and accessible parts
are visibly ruined. There are no accessible
parts with original tool marks. The Mast
amidships is clearly eroded. During the
period 2001 through 2006, some 8-10%
of the upperparts of wreck have been lost.
Unlike in 2001, no previously unseen parts
had been uncovered and so no ’fresh’ wood
had been exposed.
Probing
The probing series to test resistance and
penetration of the wood was planned to be
executed uniformly. It was attempted to get
four to seven probings of the original wood
surface at a preset distance of 10 cm. In
2001, an in-between distance of 6 cm was
used. Position of the probing and the wood
species were recorded. In 2006, the number
of probings was limited by the advanced
degradation of the wood. Only eight of
the 15 series that had been recorded as A
through O in 2001 could be repeated as a
result of increased decomposition. At posi-
tions D, E, F, I, J, L and O the planks and
timbers had been teared to such extent that
the measurements had become impossible.
The penetration depth at the 8 predefined
measuring areas was generally very deep.
The wood had decayed so much that the
penetration depth regularly exceeded the
instrument’s measuring range. This is in stark
19
20
 C Conclusion
D A
The observations and measurements provide
us with a consistent picture of the conserva-
B

N tion condition of the Gåsehage-wreck. It

indicates a range of environmetal factors
that further degradation. Since 2001, some
E
Section AA
30cm of the upperparts have been lost.
Moreover, the state of preservation of the
I
J exposed wood surfaces has changed from
H being well-preserved to strongly degraded
with a high level of probe penetration. The
G
documented process confirms degradation
or formation processes as we know them.
Wooden wreckage that protrudes from the
Section BB

sand bottom breaks down from top and sides

F

after which it fractures. As a consequence

K wreckage becomes dispersed over a larger
area and it will disappear after a winter-
L
storm. The registered decay helps to predict
that large pieces of wreckage will break
loose. The exposed parts will disappear as
N a result of the dynamic currents in the area.
M
O We may hope that the present sea-bottom
conditions are relatively stable, so that the
sediments will continue to be at the present
Visible wreck parts and the position of the level. The wreckage at this level will then be
probings. Drawing: Claus Skriver. covered by some sand. All exposed wood
will disappear in a few years. Any research
of the wreck should therefore be undertaken
contrast to the 2001 results. Penetration was as soon as possible.
then generally very low in the vertical sides.
That indicated that the wood was still in Protective covering of the wreck

good condition. The tables show where the
strongest decay occurred: the sides and the
upper parts. If we compare the penetration
at the investigations in 2001, 2002 and 2006
we can see that the surface-degradation has
significantly changed over a relatively short
period of five years. Stable surfaces with a
few millimeters penetration changed into
strongly degraded wood with a soft surface.
Top left: Timbers and planking. Photo: Claus
Skriver.
Bottom left: The mast stump is attached by
organisms. Photo: Claus Skriver.
During the excavation in 1991 part of the
wreck was uncovered. Sediments where rem-
oved from the wreck and its surroundings.
After the campaign the area within the
wreck was covered with sandbags. At the
2001 inspection some destroyed and worn
sandbags were observed (presumably these
were of polythylene). At later inspections no
traces of sandbags were seen. Presumably
some are still buried. If only a future cover-
ing of wreck-sites in current ridden channels
would be possible! Experience in Denmark
and abroad to trap sediment with plastic net-
ting or artificial sea-grass shows that direct
protection of degradable organic materials is
possible. Experiments with different systems

21
 mm penetration
Cm A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
above
ground-
level
0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

10 10 10 12 20 10 20 7 5

20 20 10 15 20 17 20 10 20

30 20 20 12 40 100 80 15 30

40 20 10 12 80 15 >100

50 30 20 >100 30

60 >100

Fig. 7. Sedimentniveauet er ved 2006 undersøgelsen hævet ca.10-15 cm over bundniveauet for 2001 og 2002 undersøgelsen. 2006
Top table: Summary of measurements in mm penetration
2006. The sedimentation level in the 2006 Series A A A
investigation is raised appr. 10-15 cm above cm above ground-
level
2001 2002 2006

the ground-level for the investigations in 0 2 4 -

2001 and 2002. Thus, the 2006 measure-
ment points start at the 10 cm measurement 6 2

points. Measurements for D, E, F, I, J, L, and 10 6 10

O, could not be carried out as timbers and
planks were missing at these positions on the 12 5

Gåsehage wreck. 18 5

Right table: Comparison of measurements 20 5 20

of resistance and penetration in succesive 24 6

years. In 2001, the distance between each
penetration was 6 cm. This was changed, 30 5 5 20

and from 2002 the distance deployed is 10 36

cm. 40 6 20

in the area around Gåsehage would give a 50 5 30

solid basis to decide on what works best. 60 5 >100
Such experience can than be applied to
other wreck-sites under conditions that are 70 12
similar to those at Gåsehage. Fig. 6. Indstiksmålinger for måleserier A er i tabel samlet for 2001, 2002
Jesper Frederiksen
Claus Skriver
References
Manders, M.R. & Th.J. Maarleveld, 2006: Moesgård Museum. Indstiksmåling af
Managing the Maritime Heritage under nedbrydning i marint arkæologisk træ.
Water. The Choices We Face. Proceedings Konservering og naturvidenskabelig afde-
of the National Service for Archaeological ling, rapport nr. 6, 2004.
Heritage in the Netherlands 46, pp. 127- Moesgård Museum. Gåsehageskibsvragets
139. tilstandsrapporter 2002-2007.

22
Modelling Fetch using GIS
The ocean is a highly dynamic environment,
a simple fact which has tangible impacts,
both on the maritime communities which
lived at the sea and by the sea, and on the
maritime archaeologists who try to gain
knowledge about these communities, their
lives and implements. As such it is important
to develop and have access to basic data on
the dynamics of the oceans. The following
is a presentation of the development of GIS
based calculation of wind-wave fetch in the
Danish waters.
Data and methods
Fetch is the length of open water over which
the wind can generate waves. It is an impor-
tant factor in understanding wave height,
coastal erosion and longshore drift. These
basic factors are important to maritime life
A section of the map showing the layout of
points.
and maritime material culture, both in the
past and in the way they are handed over to
us. Having data on fetch is therefore useful.
Producing a GIS layer of fetch is a matter
of measuring the distance from any given
point on the sea surface to the coastlines.
To define the coastlines the Digital Chart of
the World (DCW) was used for all countries
surrounding Denmark. This map collec-
tion is in a nominal 1:1,000,000 scale,
and is the best available public domain
GIS coverage of the world. To better model
the details of the Danish coastline how-
ever, this area was replaced with a coastline
in scale 1:25,000, digitized by Danmarks
Miljøundersøgelser (The Danish National
Environmental Research Institute).
Points were laid out in a regular hex-
agonal grid, the hexagonal format chosen to
ensure that each point had an equal distance
to all neighbours. On the open waters the
distance between points was 10 km, while
it was set to 1 km within the nearest 5 km of
23
the coastline. This gave a total of more than
21600 points, all set by a small MapBasic
macro to automate the process.
To measure the distance from each point
to the coastlines, lines were drawn from
each point in eight directions with 45° incre-
ments. The length of each line was set to
1000 km. Using only eight lines to cover the
entire compass, the result is admittedly only
a proxy, but it was estimated that the mar-
ginal effect of adding more lines was rela-
tively limited, and that the chosen resolution
would give a sufficiently close estimate to
the real values. An important consideration
here was the sheer amount of data. This
resolution gave almost 173,000 individual
lines to start with, and during the process of
calculation, the numbers exceeded 1 mil-
lion, making processing very slow.
24
Finally the ‘compass’ lines radiating from
each point were cut along the coastlines.
As coastlines tend to be complicated across
the entire 1000 km of each line, this gave
many large and small pieces of lines, which
is why the number of lines rose dramatically
during this process. In the end only those
sections of the lines which were in contact
with the original points were retained, leav-
ing the original number of c. 173,000 lines.
Summary statistics on the length of these
lines were updated to the points, and the
results for maximum fetch interpolated to
a continuous surface with a resolution of
100 m.
The model of wind-wave-fetch. Bright red
eqauls > 1000 km.
Results
The resulting GIS-model immediately shows
the impact of fetch in shaping the Danish
archipelago. Where fetch is high, the shore-
lines are linear, while the meandering coast-
lines and many smaller islands are found
where fetch is reduced. The potential impact
on maritime culture from this relation is per-
ceptible, and indeed the known medieval
harbour sites and towns of the area are all
found in sheltered areas with low fetch.
Using the model
The model of wind-wave fetch has bear-
ings on at least two analytical directions
in Maritime Archaeology. First, it is a basic
variable in describing the environmental
dynamics of the ocean, and as such it is
important for understanding and modelling
processes of wreck preservation and dis-
covery. This research path was also touched
upon by David Gregory in the previous
issue of this newsletter. Secondly it can be
used as a variable in understanding the
Maritime Cultural Landscape, as the map
shows important aspects of conditions on
the shore, and indeed basic conditions for
navigation and the location of safe anchor-
ing and landing sites.
As an example of the first use, a pre-
liminary attempt to model ship preservation
was made as part of the course in IT and
remote sensing on the Master programme in
Maritime Archaeology at the University of
Southern Denmark. Continuing the thoughts
of Muckelroy of shipwrecks and environ-
ment, and applying more modern techniques
of predictive modelling, the students com-
pared four environmental variables (fetch,
salinity, sediment type and sea-bed profile)
to the presently known wooden wrecks
older than 1850 in Danish waters. Using
wreck sites, discovery is used as a proxy for
preservation, and acknowledging that there
is not a linear relation between the two, a
model was made using Dempster-Shafer
theory, as the purpose of the exercise was
more to train the technique than to complete
a full study. Nonetheless the model did seem
to give a general indication of the preserva-
tion of shipwrecks, as the observed/expected
ratio of wrecks rose exponentially with
higher values on the model. On the highest
values on the predictive map, wrecks were
overrepresented by a ratio of 5:1, while the
lowest values had a ratio around 1:10. This
gives an inkling on the feasibility of such
studies, and that more detailed GIS-based
studies on the relation between environmen-
tal conditions and wreck preservation are
probably worth while.
Bo Ejstrud
Left: A predictive model of wrecks in Danish
waters. Bottom: The relation between model
values and observed/expected ratio of known
wrecks. An exponential curve is fitted.
25
Birger Thomsen 1945-2007
On March 16, maritime archaeologist Birger
Thomsen died – all too soon. A virulent
cancer put a sudden stop to an active and
committed life in Danish maritime archae-
ology. With a background as historian and
ethnologist Birger was employed by the
Conservation Authority (later the Forest and
Nature agency) in 1983. His job included
protection at sea, which included to explore
and record sites in Danish waters. In prac-
tice, he concentrated on historical wreck.
Birger’s name will remain associated with
that pioneering work. With great dedication
he contributed to the creation of the so-
called FREDSØ-register, a nation-wide data-
base on cultural remains on the seabed. The
register contains information that is impor-
tant for professional maritime archaeological
work, both in the office and at sea. Adequate
26
survey, reliable position fixing and ade-
quate recording were the factors that Birger
stressed in its creation: if we are to deal with
heritage in relation to developments and
planning at sea in a professional way, then
the information should be correct and posi-
tion coordinates should be traceable and
convertible. The FREDSØ-register allows
one to combine information gathered in the
field with archival data such as the archives
dealing with loss at sea. In many instances it
has been possible to identify shipwrecks in
that way. It was a specific and really good
tool. When the Forest and Nature agency
transferred its competences and registers to
the National Museum is was decided not
to continue with the FREDSØ-register, but
to integrate information in DKC, the central
register of cultural-historical values. The
format was different and not particularly
suitable for maritime information. Data was
taken out of context and the conversion
of geographical positions to UTM co-ordi-
nates introduced so much uncertainty in
the register that it severely undermined its
professional usefulness. That was a great
disappointment for Birger.
Trips with the dory, the Terne, the Ryle,
the Havterne and a wide variety of inflat-
able dinghies became one of Birger’s trade-
marks. Everywhere in Denmark positions
were taken and checked, and sites were
surveyed and recorded. Around Anholt for
instance, one of the waypoints that caused
so many to wreck, just like Skagen or Læsø.
It was there that Thomsen was in his ele-
ment, while developing new ways of survey.
Once, for instance I was asked to join him
on Anholt with a pair of Polaroid sunglasses.
Using them, dark patches of sea-bottom
stood out much clearer, which was a simple

but highly effective way of visual survey up
to water depths of 6 m. This did not, by the
way, mean that Birger rejected electronic
survey. He experimented with seismics,
magnetometer and advanced echo-sound-
ers.
Birger Thomsen readily made his exten-
sive knowledge and experience available
to sportsdivers and other players in the sea
area. The trips with Lilla Dan and Fulton
were the platform in which learning, sea-
manship, fellowship and maritime archaeol-
ogy went hand in hand. Those trips were
near his heart – and he led several.
As recently as October 2006 Birger and I
made a trip along the west coast of northern
Jutland in order to assess the protection of 8
historical wreck sites. It was to be Birger’s
last trip – but the commitment, the interest
and the wondering were fully intact. He
simply had to check the positions in the
maritime register in the real world.
During that trip we spoke about Birger
Thomsen’s archive – and where, one day, it
would have to end up, when he would be
ready to sign off. Neither of us knew how
soon that would be. It was Birger’s wish that
Bangsbo Museum og Arkiv would take over
the extensive data material in order that
Danish maritime archaeology will benefit
from it in the future.
Let us cherish his memory
Jan Hammer Larsen
museumsinspektør og marinarkæolog
Bangsbo Museum
Maritime Archaeology
Newsletter
No. 22 • Summer 2007 from Denmark
ISSN 1902-0708
EDITORS:
Thijs J. Maarleveld & Helle Kildebæk Raun
Lay-out: Jens Lorentzen & Ewa Britt Nielsen
DTP: Helle Kildebæk Raun
PRINT:
Athene Grafisk Aps., Albertslund
© Centre for Maritime and Regional Studies
and authors 2006
Maritime Archaeology Newsletter from
Denmark is a continuation of Maritime
Archaeology Newsletter from Roskilde,
Denmark and is published twice a year by:
The Maritime Archaeology Programme,
University of Southern Denmark
at the Centre for Maritime and Regional Studies
Niels Bohrs Vej 9 • DK-6700 Esbjerg
Tel. +45 6550 4177 • Fax +45 6550 1091
e-mail: hkraun@hist.sdu.dk
The Newsletter is supported by:
University of Southern Denmark
Centre for Maritime and Regional Studies
Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet
The National Museum of Denmark
The Danish Institute in Athens
Langelands Museum
The Viking Ship Museum
Ringkøbing Museum
Strandingsmuseum St. George
Bangsbo Museum
Moesgård Museum
Haderslev Museum
In June 2007, students from Esbjerg and Southampton jointly trained in Roskilde. Photo: CMRS.