The excavations in Nydam Mose in recent years have given rise to renewed interest in the exceptional sacrificial finds from the 4th and 5th centuries which Conrad Engelhardt began investigating in 1859-63. Engelhardt's work came to an abrupt end because of the outbreak of war in 1864. The more systematic excavation-methods used today have thrown new light on this major find. It is now evident, for instance, that the depositing of this material was not the result of one single event; many separate deposits were made, ranging over centuries. The many new finds of boat-segments - boards with lashing-clamps, oars and rowlocks, decorated fragments, a large pinewood rudder - and particularly the identification of Engelhardt's old excavation areas have stimulated interest in the big oak boat from the 1863 Nydam excavation, which is now exhibited in Schloss Gottorf in Schleswig.
Shetelig-Johannessen's reconstruction from 1929 of the oak boat from Nydam (above) and Åkerlund's (below) differ greatly on many important points: the lines of the hull, the interpretation of the bows and stern and not least Åkerlund's hypothetical stretcher-rope. From Shetelig 1930 and Åkerlund 1963.
The Nydam boat forms an important element in our concept of the development of the Nordic vessel from paddle-craft and rowing boats to the sail-borne Viking ships. In the course of time the boat has been the subject of many speculative theories and analyses, and no fewer than three versions of reconstructions have been put forward since the excavation: Conrad Engelhardt's own drawings from 1863, Johannesen's drawings from 1929 of the boat after it had been displayed in Kiel in 1924, and Åkerlund's reconstruction from 1961 with its mysterious stretcher-rope and the suggestion of reversing the stern and bow. In spite of all this there are still many unanswered questions: What is new and what is old? Did the broad boards run in one piece from stem to stern? Can one rely on the structure of the boat as it is now displayed as a faithful representation of the original? How much have the boards shrunk since the excavation?
As a result of these questions, and as a natural consequence of the work in Nydam Mose, the National Museum's Institute of Maritime Archaeology became interested in undertaking a precise measuring-up of the boat, and with support from the Archäologische Landesmuseum in Schleswig the work was begun in the spring of 1995.
This new measuring-up of the boat was approached virtually as if it had been a new find from an archaeological excavation. A total of 19 cross-sections were measured in the boat - one for each rib - and with a superimposed rectangle as a reference-frame each section was measured both from the outer and the inner side. In addition to pinpointing the shape of the boat at the measured points, this provided a precise registration of the width and thickness of the boards, their overlapping and the placing and dimensions of the lashing-clamps. The base on which the Nydam boat is currently displayed supplied the basis for the measurements. Corresponding measurements were taken of the boat's bow and stern, and finally the whole boat was studied at one level, with documentation of cracks and splits, the placing of iron rivets and the distribution of the original wood in relation to what had been added later during restoration of the boat.
One of the 19 cross-sections of the Nydam boat drawn by Christian Lemée and Morten Gøthche at Schloss Gottorf in April 1995. Original areas are hatched, later insertions are dotted. The original ribs are only very fragmentary and their placing is uncertain. For one single cross-section about 250 points were measured; the whole survey involved about 20,000 measurements.
Although the Nydam boat appears so large and gives the visitor the impression of being a whole boat, the detailed survey revealed large sections of the boat as being of wood which had been inserted later. As already noted by Åkerlund, the port side of the boat is preserved right up to the upper edge of the uppermost boards, while the starboard side is only preserved up to and including the fourth board. At the bow and stern the boards are only preserved up to, and including, the second board. The stempost is preserved in its full length, but only the bottom part of the stern is preserved. The ribs, with the exception of the second-end ribs forward and aft, are very fragmentary and their placing is uncertain. The whole ribs with thwarts in the centre of the ship are reconstructions and serve to help maintain the form of the boat. Only in one place in the boat is it possible to identify with certainty a join in the boards; a join about 38 cm long in the garboard on the starboard side. When samples were being removed for dendrochronological dating, however, it was possible to establish that virtually all the boards had their root-ends towards amidships. There had to be joins, therefore, at some point in the length of the boards. On closer examination one can discern, in each board, a defined area which is very badly damaged - in each case about 38 cm long - with a mixture of inserted new pieces of wood and wood re-used from the original timber-material. It was not possible, however, to find a join in the garboard on the starboard side. Repair-patches were also observed over several knot-holes; they had been placed either on the inside or outside and had been fastened on with two wooden nails.
The purpose of the survey was to provide clear and unambiguous documentation about the boat as it is displayed today in Schloss Gottorf. The completed set of drawings will consist of the 19 cross-sections, two longitudinal sections of the port and starboard sides, a plan and elevations of the port and starboard sides. The drawings will be used e.g. in connection with the current work on redisplaying the ship in Schleswig.
With the reconstructions of the five Viking ships from Skuldelev and other similar vessels the National Museum has come to acquire a broad basis of experience in the analysis of ship-finds, and it would be natural to put this expertise to good use in trying to reach a final explanation of the original form and arrangement of the Nydam boat. The many newly-found objects from Nydam Mose will be able to make a significant contribution to this work. Cooperation between Danish and German researchers on the new investigations of the Nydam boat forms a continuation of many years of cooperative work on the Viking ship-finds in Hedeby. This has been exemplary and looks promising for future cross-border joint projects, including the final publication of the Hedeby and Nydam ship-finds in the series 'Ships and Boats of the North'.
Morten Gøthche
Bibliography:
Conrad Engelhardt: Nydam Mosefund. Copenhagen 1865.
Haakon Shetelig: Das Nydamschiff. Acta Archaeologica, vol. 1, Copenhagen 1930.
Harald Åkerlund: Nydamskeppen. En studie i tidig skandinavisk skeppsbyggnadskonst. Göteborg 1963.
Flemming Rieck & Ole Crumlin-Pedersen: Både fra Danmarks Oldtid, Roskilde 1988.
Flemming Rieck: Jernalderkrigernes skibe. Nye og gamle udgravninger i Nydam Mose. Roskilde 1994.