The Speaker at the June meeting was David Pryor from the Sutton Hoo Ship Company based in Woodbridge, Suffolk. He explained his background was in forensic science which had attracted him to this project. The Company was set up in 2017-18 to build a replica of the ship in the Sutton Hoo ship burial using as far as possible the tools which were available to the Saxons who constructed the ship around 600.
All that remained of Raedwald's royal barge was the outline in the barrow excavated by Basil Brown in 1939, but marine archaeologists were able to make a computer model showing how the ship may have looked. It is 90' long and 14'-15' across and was designed for river and coastal water work, not for the open sea. It was probably a working boat used by Raedwald, king of East Anglia from about 599 to his death in 624, and not built specially for the burial.
It is clinker built with 9 planks to each side and would weigh about 6 tons and be propelled by 40 oars. The Nydam boat found in Denmark which dates from about 300 was a useful pattern and the Oseberg ship in Norway has also been referenced. David explained that the planks came from trees donated to the project which had to be split using Saxon methods and which sometimes proved to be unsuitable once split. The Company has planted 20 trees for each tree it has used.
The main tools used were certain kinds of axes, so no lathes or sandpaper to get a smooth finish. The axes had to be specially made for the Company and are very sharp. David brought some to demonstrate along with the rivets which are the sole remnants of the original ship. The rivets for the new ship are wrought iron and have been made from donated items such as iron railings. Strips of wool soaked in a mixture are inserted between the planks to make them watertight.
The Company hope the ship will be completed in 2027 and then have its trials on the water. In the meantime the Company can be visited at Woodbridge. The talk aroused much interest and there were many questions.
The Society next meets at the Chapelfield Way Community Rooms on September 10 when Subscriptions, now £12 per year, will be due.
Mary Dicken