An international team of blacksmiths is recreating a Viking Age anchor in northern Denmark using ancient techniques and bloomery iron.
The project serves as a critical test of experimental archaeology. By using materials and methods available during the Viking era, researchers aim to determine if these ancient processes can produce a functional anchor for a reconstructed Viking ship.
The work is taking place this month at Aggersborg, a Viking Age fort in northern Denmark. The team includes Rowan Taylor, a blacksmith based in Ellesmere, Shropshire, who traveled from the UK to participate in the effort. Taylor said, "It was a dream work trip."
To maintain historical accuracy, the blacksmiths are employing techniques that date back more than 1,000 years [1]. This involves the use of hammers and bellows to shape bloomery iron, a raw form of iron produced in a bloomery furnace.
Working with such materials presents significant technical hurdles compared to modern metallurgy. One project participant said bloomery iron is challenging to use, but it is the material the Vikings would have had.
The effort is part of a broader initiative to demonstrate Viking-era craftsmanship. By replicating the physical labor and material constraints of the period, the team can better understand the engineering capabilities of early seafaring cultures. The final anchor will be used to verify if the reconstructed ship can be moored using authentic historical specifications.
“"It was a dream work trip."”
This project bridges the gap between theoretical archaeology and practical engineering. By successfully forging a functional anchor from bloomery iron, the team provides empirical evidence regarding the durability and utility of Viking Age metallurgy, moving beyond the study of artifacts to the study of the process itself.
