The Hárbarðr / Hrafn Casket

[Wayland]

Well, the school holidays wouldn't be the same without at least one project on the go.

The casket I've constructed here is based upon one that was found during the excavations of Hedeby.

Intriguingly, the original was found with it's lock plate missing and weighted down with a stone at a location that would have been the bottom of the harbour. I love the story that brings to mind and I've hankered for a Viking age chest with a plate lock for some time now so it was a natural choice for me.

I'm going to carve it up a bit, like I did with my Wayland Kista a while back and when it is finished I'll oil and tar it again so it will look a lot darker. The box section is made from oak planks and the lid is carved from a half trunk of Maple I think, it's been stained to blend it in a bit better with the box.

 

[bopdude]

Very nice indeed it will take on a whole new look once antique'd look forward to the pictures.

 

[Tengu]

Yes, there is a story to that, I am sure

Why were chest tops humped? Flat would be easier to use as a table or sit upon.

Early chests might be carved from a whole log, that much I know

 

[Fadcode]

There are a lot of theories regarding dome topped chests,
1. They are said to have originated from hollowed out tree trunks in the middle ages.
2. They were used by Captains who would stack their rolled up charts on top of the clothes, hence in the lid.
3. They were used to house things that would not be needed on the sea voyage, and the dome top stopped other goods being stacked on top, leading to the chest being damaged.
4. They stopped people sitting on them, and the dome also helped the rain/water to flow off them better.

And no doubt a lot more reasons.

If you think that water, rum, whisky, meat, biscuits and lots of other goods, were always carried in barrels, you could ask yourself what happened to the barrels when they were empty, could the ships carpenter have used the coopered wood for the top of a box, hence a dome shaped trunk., and a dome shaped top is a lot stronger than a flat top, especially if the trunk is empty.

 

[Janne]

A dome is stonger than a flat surface, much stronger.

I sit on a domed surface a lot, it is comfy.

Weiland, nice project and thanks for the link to the old project!

 

[Wayland]

I'm not sure why they domed the top really, it seems to be something that evolved but no one really knows why.

Most of my boxes are flat topped with lids that can be lifted off, even when things are on the top. I find that very practical but most boxes that have been found had hinged lids. I also find it useful to have handles at the ends, either rope or forged, but again most of the boxes found do not have these features.

It's not because they didn't know about such things, they presumably did not want them which illustrates the fact that our mindset is very different from theirs.

 

[Wayland]

Here is a quick view of the inside of the lid. It was a real swine to carve out, maple is very hard stuff it seems.

The straps and hinges are currently held in place with small screws so that I can dismount them for the carving work.

When it is complete they will be riveted through with roves for a more authentic and permanent construction.

 

[Wayland]

For reference I have found a drawing of the original box for comparison.

 

[Muddypaws]

Looks great! Bet your arms ached after hollowing out the lid.

 

[Wayland]

I must admit to resorting to a chainsaw disk on my angle grinder for some of it.

Life's too short...

 

[Tengu]

Its a nice box. How heavy is it?

Odd that they dont have handles on the ends...From what I have seen of viking artefacts they did like practical ones.

If you are going to be lugging it around you will need handles.

And a means to lash it down. Dont tell me they did not mind a big chest cutting loose in a heavy sea.

Or was it a stay at home box?

 

[Janne]

Edit: Got it!

I guess they lashed it down ( if ship bourne) with ropes over it, but as far as I know none of the Norse era ships found had any fixings in the ship itself, for fastening things.

If you could not carry it easily, then maybe it was not meant to be carried!

A piece of inhouse furniture.

 

[Wayland]

I suspect it was a stay at home box really.

Having said that, remarkably few seem to have had any sign of handles at all. It's a matter of some debate amongst re-enactors at the moment because most of us do prefer to have handles for practical reasons.

They did have sea chests but this is about half the size I would think of as practical for a real "half room" sea chest and I would prefer more clearance on the bottom if I was going to stand it on a deck which is occasionally awash with water.

 

[Janne]

Have you thought about replicating the Mastermyr tool chest, chest and tools and all?
You seem to be skilled enough. Multiskilled.
Or as we Fifth Element lovers say, Multipass!

Now I might be wrong here, memory is like the average older man, but I do not recall they ever found any chests in the ship burials?
Or did they?

 

[Robson Valley]

Thanks Wayland. I feel an aura of great age just to look at your replications.

I have heard and seen the handles on the ends to be called "chest beckets."
There are some YouTubes describing replication.
Woven of organic materials (leather, etc) , I can believe their rapid decomposition when submerged.

Maybe every chest was really full of gold and jewels to be buried on some forsaken tropical beach?

 

[Janne]

I have searched and searched and searched.....
No luck.
Yet!

 

[Wayland]

Have you thought about replicating the Mastermyr tool chest, chest and tools and all?
You seem to be skilled enough. Multiskilled.
Or as we Fifth Element lovers say, Multipass!

Now I might be wrong here, memory is like the average older man, but I do not recall they ever found any chests in the ship burials?
Or did they?

I have a tool box, very roughly based on the Mastermyr box with lots of tool that I use for my silver-working display.

There were definitely chests in the Oseberg burial, possibly the ones belonging to the people being buried. There were pieces of at least 6 chests found.

The other chests would probably have been taken home by their owners as they were full of their own possessions

 

[Wayland]

Thanks Wayland. I feel an aura of great age just to look at your replications.

I have heard and seen the handles on the ends to be called "chest beckets."
There are some YouTubes describing replication.
Woven of organic materials (leather, etc) , I can believe their rapid decomposition when submerged.

Maybe every chest was really full of gold and jewels to be buried on some forsaken tropical beach?

The problem is that even beckets need something to fasten to and there are no signs of that on many of the chests found.

I usually just drill a couple of holes which is within the technology but not represented in the finds of this period.

 

[Janne]

A soft bag is much easier to stow than a hard chest. The hull planking was surprisingly thin, and there was not much of a flat deck anywhere.
I had a good look inside the ships displayed in Oslo a couple of years ago, and if they carried a full crew, they were cramped.
A chest takes space.
A soft bag can be used to sleep on.
What would you take with you, travelling from Western coast of Sweden to Ireland?
A change of clothes. Your shield, your weapon, helmet, war jacket, be it leather of metal.

I imagine only a very few chests were onboard.

 

[Wayland]

The equipment you mention there would fill most chests without even considering food.

I have only sailed longships on open sea a few times but rowing them out of the wind shadow of the fiords was heavy work, best done from a steady seat. The crews I have worked with all favoured a sturdy chest for the job. Good for stowing your gear and easy to move when needed to adjust the trim.

Although there is a camber to the deck, in practice it is flat enough. Remember, the Oseberg and Gokstad ships had been underground for nearly a thousand years. The deck planks were loose for shifting the ballast so they were free to warp in all that time.

The hull planks are thin but that is because they are split along the grain which makes them actually stronger, more flexible but lighter than the sawn planks that are usually used in ship replicas these days.