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New investigations of the Hjortspring boat : Dating and analysis of the cordage and caulking materials used in a pre-Roman iron age plank boat

Fauvelle, Mikael LU orcid ; Bengtsson, Boel ; Pipping, Olof ; Hollmann, Mikkel ; Nordvig Mortensen, Martin ; Toft, Peter ; Ganji, Sahel LU ; Green, Ashely ; Horn, Christian and Hall, Stephen LU , et al. (2025) In PLOS ONE 20(12).
Abstract
The Hjortspring boat is the only intact example of a prehistoric sewn plank boat ever found in Scandinavia. Built from lime wood planks lashed together with cordage, the boat represents the maritime technology used by some of Northern Europe’s earliest seafarers. This article reports new analysis of the cordage and caulking material used in the construction of the Hjortspring boat. We provide the first ever direct date for the boat based on materials from the original excavation finds, with lime bast cordage from the boat carbon dated to between 381 and 161 BCE. We report the results of GC-MS analysis of the material used to caulk the boat, which shows that it was made from a mixture of animal fat and pine pitch. We argue that the use of... (More)
The Hjortspring boat is the only intact example of a prehistoric sewn plank boat ever found in Scandinavia. Built from lime wood planks lashed together with cordage, the boat represents the maritime technology used by some of Northern Europe’s earliest seafarers. This article reports new analysis of the cordage and caulking material used in the construction of the Hjortspring boat. We provide the first ever direct date for the boat based on materials from the original excavation finds, with lime bast cordage from the boat carbon dated to between 381 and 161 BCE. We report the results of GC-MS analysis of the material used to caulk the boat, which shows that it was made from a mixture of animal fat and pine pitch. We argue that the use of pine pitch in the boat’s construction indicates that the boat was not built on the Jutland peninsula and instead came from a region with more abundant pine forests. Based on the dispersal of pine forests in Northern Europe during the first millennium BCE, we propose the Baltic Sea Region east of Rügen and Scania as a likely source for the boat and its crew. We also analyze intact cordage fragments and imprints of cordage on caulking material in order to describe the sewing and rope-making techniques that were used to construct the boat. Finally, we report on the discovery of a partial human fingerprint found on a fragment of caulking material. This remarkable fingerprint provides a direct link to the ancient seafarers who used this boat. Together, these results shed new light on methods and materials used to build Scandinavia’s first plank boats and raise new questions regarding our understanding of early maritime societies in Northern Europe. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Seafaring, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Watercraft, Maritime archaeology
in
PLOS ONE
volume
20
issue
12
pages
17 pages
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:41370255
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0336965
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7d4af3e6-83fd-4508-a8ea-34a984c3a868
date added to LUP
2025-12-11 10:10:13
date last changed
2025-12-12 10:58:16
@article{7d4af3e6-83fd-4508-a8ea-34a984c3a868,
  abstract     = {{The Hjortspring boat is the only intact example of a prehistoric sewn plank boat ever found in Scandinavia. Built from lime wood planks lashed together with cordage, the boat represents the maritime technology used by some of Northern Europe’s earliest seafarers. This article reports new analysis of the cordage and caulking material used in the construction of the Hjortspring boat. We provide the first ever direct date for the boat based on materials from the original excavation finds, with lime bast cordage from the boat carbon dated to between 381 and 161 BCE. We report the results of GC-MS analysis of the material used to caulk the boat, which shows that it was made from a mixture of animal fat and pine pitch. We argue that the use of pine pitch in the boat’s construction indicates that the boat was not built on the Jutland peninsula and instead came from a region with more abundant pine forests. Based on the dispersal of pine forests in Northern Europe during the first millennium BCE, we propose the Baltic Sea Region east of Rügen and Scania as a likely source for the boat and its crew. We also analyze intact cordage fragments and imprints of cordage on caulking material in order to describe the sewing and rope-making techniques that were used to construct the boat. Finally, we report on the discovery of a partial human fingerprint found on a fragment of caulking material. This remarkable fingerprint provides a direct link to the ancient seafarers who used this boat. Together, these results shed new light on methods and materials used to build Scandinavia’s first plank boats and raise new questions regarding our understanding of early maritime societies in Northern Europe.}},
  author       = {{Fauvelle, Mikael and Bengtsson, Boel and Pipping, Olof and Hollmann, Mikkel and Nordvig Mortensen, Martin and Toft, Peter and Ganji, Sahel and Green, Ashely and Horn, Christian and Hall, Stephen and Kaul, Flemming and Ling, Johan}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  keywords     = {{Seafaring; Bronze Age; Iron Age; Watercraft; Maritime archaeology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLOS ONE}},
  title        = {{New investigations of the Hjortspring boat : Dating and analysis of the cordage and caulking materials used in a pre-Roman iron age plank boat}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/235546251/Fauvelle_et_al._2025_-_New_investigations_of_the_Hjortspring_boat.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0336965}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}