Recreating Sutton Hoo’s ship
Over in Woodbridge, the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company continues to make good progress building the replica of the Anglo-Saxon ship that was unearthed at Sutton Hoo in 1939.
Recent activity has included fixing the stem and stern posts at each end of the keel to complete the ship’s backbone. Each of the five sections of the backbone have been intricately sculptured by volunteers in the authentic Anglo-Saxon manner using axes and connected together using a series of scarf joints that involve woollen fabric and pine tar caulking to make the joints water-tight and wooden trenails to secure the parts.
If you happen to be in Woodbridge and gaze through the door of the Longshed, you will see the backbone and how the temporary black molds, that define the shape of the hull, have been put into place. You can now see just how enormous this ship is going to be.
You can help the project in a variety of ways both financially and in-kind by exploring their website www.saxonship.org Imagine sponsoring one of the ships rivets, or an oar, knowing that you will always own a small part of it.
Picture supplied by Andy Mills