UK smiths head to Denmark to forge authentic Viking anchor
British blacksmiths will travel to Denmark to forge an eighth-century Viking anchor using ancient techniques, providing a rare practical test of maritime archaeology.
A team of British blacksmiths has been invited to Denmark to forge an authentic eighth-century anchor for a reconstructed Viking ship. The craftsmen will travel to Aggersborg to produce the 10-kilogram, 70-centimetre anchor for the vessel Huld. Rather than relying on modern steel or Victorian wrought iron, the team will use exclusively bloomery iron to replicate the exact materials utilized by Viking smiths centuries ago.
The project is being spearheaded by Jens Olesen, an internationally-recognised bloomery expert. He has enlisted Rowan Taylor, a Shropshire-based blacksmith, to design the anchor. Taylor will be joined by two colleagues from the National School of Blacksmithing at Holme Lacy College: course tutor Mischa Kunkel and technician Ernestas Jakubauskas. The cross-border initiative grew out of discussions at the end of Denmark's historic market season, specifically during the Aggersborg Viking Craft Meeting, where Olesen decided to pursue a larger bloomery iron project.
For European public life and historical research, the project offers a rare departure from theoretical archaeology. Taylor emphasised that the objective is to create a functional tool rather than a static display. "This is such a wonderful opportunity to test some of the observations I have made," he said. "What I'm hoping to see come out of this is that the joinery techniques work, and are accurate, and we end up with a finished project that then is a working object rather than just something behind a bit of glass at a museum."
Fitting the completed anchor to the Huld will allow researchers to gather practical data on ancient maritime capabilities. "Just having this anchor on a boat will allow us to test its capability... we can then compare whatever data comes out of that to the archaeological record and ongoing research," Taylor added.
Taylor, who previously worked with Olesen in Ireland, described the trip as a "dream work trip" given his extensive research into ancient anchors. He noted that this will likely be "the largest object that's been made from bloomery iron since the 19th century." He attributed the invitation to the British team to the quality of domestic craftsmanship, stating that the "UK probably has the best blacksmith training in the world."
