An international team of blacksmiths forged a Viking Age ship anchor this month using bloomery iron and experimental archaeology techniques in northern Denmark [1, 2].
The project allows researchers to test and demonstrate ancient ship-building methods to understand how these vessels were constructed over a millennium ago [3, 4].
Working at the Aggersborg Viking fort, the team replicated processes used more than 1,000 years ago [1]. The group included makers from Darlington and Stockton in the UK, as well as Shropshire blacksmith Rowan Taylor [1, 2].
To achieve authenticity, the smiths used bloomery iron, hammers, and bellows to shape the metal [5]. The resulting anchor is intended for use on a reconstructed Viking ship as part of a broader experimental archaeology project [3, 4].
Rowan Taylor said, "It's a dream work trip" [1].
The collaboration focused on the physical demands and technical precision required by ancient metallurgy. By using only the tools available during the Viking Age, the smiths could identify the specific challenges faced by early maritime engineers, a process that provides more insight than modern digital simulations [3, 5].
“"It's a dream work trip."”
This project represents a shift toward tactile, experimental archaeology where the goal is not just to observe artifacts, but to recreate the labor and technical failures of the past. By replicating the forge process at Aggersborg, researchers can validate theories about the durability and production speed of Viking maritime hardware, providing a physical benchmark for the scale of ancient industrial efforts.
