Mussel shells...

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

falling rain

Native
Oct 17, 2003
1,737
29
Woodbury Devon
billycan said:
As toddy said, limpet shells really are excellent as a bearing block, their very smooth and polish well and are tough enough and plentiful for single use.

Muscle shells can be used to make a nice hand warmer. If you find one that is empty but still complete,. i.e two halves still together you can put an ember/cramp ball and pack with grass etc and close up to keep your hands warm on a cold day. The bigger muscle variety are better.

Nice tip billycan. I've never thought of that before.

I believe the fire kit RM used was a replica of one found with Oetzi the ice man. And is assumed the shell was part of the kit as it was in the same pouch. He could have been carrying the shell for other reasons. Just because it was in the same pouch dosn't mean it was part of the fire kit, although it could have been for any of the reasons already mentioned. :dunno:
 

Marts

Native
May 5, 2005
1,435
32
London
Yep. No mussell shells of any type.

His equipment consisted of:

An axe - carefully smoothed elbow-shaped yew-wood haft approximately 60 cm long. The axe blade is 99.7% copper

A dagger - a small triangular flint blade and an ash wood handle. Its triangular sheath-like scabbard is made of bast. A leather eyelet on the side presumably allowed the sheath to be attached to the belt, so that the dagger could always be drawn easily.

A retoucher - made of a piece of stripped lime-tree branch and stag-antler splinter insert. The tool was used for the precision work in the production of the flint implements which the Iceman carried in his belt pouch.

A backpack - a nearly 2 m long hazel rod bent into a U-shape and two narrow wooden slats. The overall find indicates that the pieces of wood form the frame of a backpack. Numerous bits of hide and clumps of hair suggest that a leather bag was fastened onto the carrying frame.

A net - a rough mesh was made of lengths of grass and the net was probably used to catch birds although nets were also likely used for taking small land prey like Hares

2 birch bark containers - In one of the two containers were maple leaves and, embedded in these, spruce and juniper needles as well as charcoal fragments. This proves that the Iceman always carried the embers from his last fire with him on his way up into the high mountains.

A quiver - a rectangular, elongated chamois hide bag with a hazel reinforcement.
It contained two arrows ready for shooting and twelve unfinished shafts. The two finished arrows have flint heads embedded in their notch, glued with birch tar and bound on with string.
The remains of a three-part radial fletching made of feathers which had been fixed with birch tar and a fine thread were also preserved. In the quiver were also four tips of stag-antlers tied together, two animal sinews and a string made of vegetable fibres wound into a ball. The string must have been up to 2 m long and could have been the string of the bow.

A bow shaft - 1.82 m long bow-stave made of yew-wood . The bow bears signs of being worked on and is clearly an unfinished, not yet functional piece. Neither the grip nor the necessary elements at the bow ends to attach the loops of the string are present. As we all know courtesy of Chris Boynton it's made of the poorest part of a yew tree.

A tassel with a pierced stone disc on - the disc has a hole through the middle and is threaded onto a leather thong. This holds together a bundle of strips twisted into a spiral that together form a sort of tassel. This was likely used for clothing repairs.

Polypores - two strips of hide onto which two round fragments with a hole in the middle were strung.
Tests have shown that they were birch polypore -Interestingly scientists have focused on the medicinal qualities of polypore rather than additional uses that the bushcraft fraternity are aware of - such as as a strop and coal extender.

A pouch on a belt - formed from a piece of sewn-on leather. The little pouch contained five items including a scraper, a drill, a flint flake and a bone awl.
A black mass that was identified as a variety of tinder plants and fungi filled most of the bag. (n.b. I find quite a bit of dispute over the make up of the plant and fungi material - the museum where his remains are calls it Touchwood)


There's also his clothing and the flint arrowhead found in his body probably doesn't count as part of his kit ;)


Sources:

http://www.archaeologiemuseum.it/index_f.html
http://www.gla.ac.uk/Acad/IBLS/DEEB/jd/otzi.htm - interesting archaeobotany report on the plant materials
my head :rolleyes:
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
I emailed Woodlore the other day and this is their reply - Straight from Ray Mears I might add!!

"Hello Greg

Thank you for your e-mail.

I have spoken to Ray about the mussel shell today, and he says that it was
only found in a few kits, and not all of them, but it would have been used
for holding the tinder.

I hope this will conclude your quest."
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
Stickie said:
'Studies of Neolithic fire-lighters from grave finds have shown that these may consist of as many as six items in varying numbers and combinations. A complete set …consists of: a piece of pyrites; a flint core; one or two flint blades; a bone implement; a shell and the tinder.

Shells of river molluscs … so far have been found in only four Neolithic fire-lighting kits.

To protect … (the tinder) … from damp it is advisable to collect the tinder in a little dry bowl – which is evidently what the mussel shells were for'

from 'The Man In The Ice' by Konrad Spindler

Nice one Stickie!!:)
 

BMFHL

Member
Feb 9, 2007
21
0
43
Dublin
i agree with andy bell. mussel shells were common in neolithic fire kits, according to konrad spindler of 'the man in the ice' book on otzi.
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
In my Medieval fire kit I often use an oystershell probably for the same purpose.

I don't think it's just to hold the tinder somewhere dry, because when you blow into the ember and flax bundle the shell concentrates the air flow so you get a more efficient ignition.

Just my thought on the matter.
 

dommyracer

Native
May 26, 2006
1,312
7
46
London
Greg said:
So are we happy now to say that the mussel shells were used to hold the tinder!

If so we can put this one to bed.:)

Just to tie this back to the original post, I noticed whilst flicking through Ray's 'Bushcraft' book that there is a pic of a fire kit containing a mussel shell, and the caption says it was used to hold the tinder material...
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
dommyracer said:
Just to tie this back to the original post, I noticed whilst flicking through Ray's 'Bushcraft' book that there is a pic of a fire kit containing a mussel shell, and the caption says it was used to hold the tinder material...

Hi Dommyracer may I refer you to post #24.:)
 

dommyracer

Native
May 26, 2006
1,312
7
46
London
Ahh I missed that.

Ah well - that was nice of them to ask Ray and mail you back though. props to woodlore though.
The way that some people talk about Ray you would have thought the answer would be "The answer is in Ray's book, it'll cost you £15 will find out"
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
dommyracer said:
Ahh I missed that.

Ah well - that was nice of them to ask Ray and mail you back though. props to woodlore though.
The way that some people talk about Ray you would have thought the answer would be "The answer is in Ray's book, it'll cost you £15 will find out"

Ummm!!:lmao:
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE