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Maritime Aspects on a Communication Route

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Maritime Aspects on a Communication Route SITUNE DEI 2009 Maritime aspects on a communication route Gunilla Larsson Abstract. This article discusses the maritime as- man on the basis of finds from Volhynia in pects of the trade route between the Vistula and Sigtuna. However, since first proposed, this Dnepr rivers, one of the most important com- idea was disregarded by modern re- munication routes between the Baltic and Black searchers until Wladyslaw Duczko (2004) Sea. Archaeological material, including the re- and Katarzyna Skrzynska-Jankowska mains of ships, from the area is considered and (2006) once again brought it up for discus- the question of whether these reflect cultural sion. contact and influence is discussed. The problem Excavations in the Trädgårdsmästaren of portage is central to the possibility of whether site in Sigtuna have revealed both orna- this route was used. The results of portage ex- ments and boat remains originating in the periments discussed, and the replicas of boats West Slavonic region (Larsson 2007). The from various periods are evaluated in light of importance of the route for the maritime boat building technology, size of ships, and ship contacts of eastern Sweden becomes even portage-adaptations. more apparent when the remains of boats in Prussia and Pomerania are studied, which in he trade route from the Gdansk bay fol- hull shape and construction are similar Tlowed the Vistula River, until the Bug those found in the central Swedish boat- tributary, whereafter it joined the larger burials. Pripyat River, which joins Dnepr River just above Kiev. The abundance of Scandina- Portages along the route vian artefacts along these rivers indicate There are numerous portages along the that this route was more important than the trade route that have been thoroughly ex- more frequently discussed route “from the amined by Skrzynska-Jankowska (2006). Varangians to the Greeks” by way of the As she has shown, they are already known Neva river, Lake Ladoga and Volkhov river. from ancient times. Their importance is es- The importance of the Vistula–Dnepr trade pecially reflected in place names referring routed was first proposed by Holger Arb- to the villages’ positions in relation to the 69 GUNILLA LARSSON portages. There are some villages with tula-Dnepr route, as well as from the Dnepr names like Pod Przewloke which means ‘to to the Niemen. the portage’, and Od Przewloki ‘from the Major drainage projects carried out here portage’. Some settlements are called just during the last centuries have lowered the Przevloka, Przyvloka, Zavolocze and water level to the extent that smaller rivers Wywloka, which all means ‘portage’, and like the Narewka are no longer navigable Przewloczka meaning ‘little portage’. In to- today. Such man-made infringements on the tal Skrzynska-Jankowska documented 31 river systems have fundamentally changed names. the communication situation in large parts Agglomerations of such names are of northern Europe. This must be taken into found in the middle Bug area and between consideration in any reconstruction of water the Narew and Biebrza rivers. The last men- routes and the evaluation of experimental tioned area connected the Slavic and the journeys with Viking ship replicas. Baltic lands by the Vistula, following the Narew and the Biebrza to the Niemen, and Continuity and change thus constituted a trade route from the Ethnical groups and political alliances Baltic centre of Grobina to the Polish lands. along the Vistula River route continuously At Brzesc (Brest), situated where the changed throughout the Iron Age. In Pod- Bug meets another river, which by portages lasie, from the 6th to the 8th centuries the is connected to the Pripyat River, several settlements of the early Slavs extended different types of boats have been found. from the southeast along the river Bug. The Beside the ordinary keeled and clinker built excavations at the stronghold Hacki has re- ships of the Baltic type, both small log boats vealed the continued importance of this and typical Slavonic flat-bottomed ferry- trade route. The artefacts found there indi- boats were also discovered (Lysenko 2001). cate that the system of river routes and The boat remains and oars were preserved portages from the Vistula and the Bug may in the cultural layers of the stronghold, in- have been used (Kobylinski 1989). dicating that boats were brought to the town The Vistula-Dnepr route was one of the to be protected within its walls, in a manner main routes in the early Viking Age be- mentioned in the Norse sagas. tween Sweden and the Arabic world, as Of special interest is the river called demonstrated by the hoards of Islamic sil- Przewloka/Perevoloka or ‘Portage River’, ver coins found along the Bug and Vistula located in the Medieval Polish-Russian bor- rivers. These hoards date particularly to the der zone close to the main water routes. The period between the end of the 9th and the source of this river is a nameless lake clear- end of the 10th century (Tyszkiewicz 1974; ly visible on the 17th century maps as Sar- Perhavko 1983; Losinski 1993). matica Palus/Lacus (Alexandrowicz 1989: The route was not only used for trade, 43, 71; Skrzynzka-Jankowska 2006). To- but sometimes also for military campaigns. day, this is a forested area with wide Grand Prince Yaroslav undertook one such swamps, linking the water systems of Bug, campaign in the 1040’s against the Mazo- Narew, Pripyat and Niemen rivers. It vians, when he, as was the common practice formed an important connection on the Vis- in Rus, attacked them in boats (RPC 1953). 70 MARITIME ASPECTS Fig. 1. Tälja, a reconstruction of the boat from Vik. From the author’s portaging trials in 2001. Photo by Rune Edberg. Fig. 2. Embla, a replica of a boat from Gamla Up- Fig. 3. The pliability of a 10–12 mm thick plank of psala. Photo by Rune Edberg. radially split wood. Photo by the author. 71 GUNILLA LARSSON Trade was flourishing along this water- shipbuilding, an interpretation later also up- route, which created the economic base for held by Indruszewski (2000:196). ports like Truso, Drohiczyn, Brest, Pinsk, Smolarek also stated that clench-nailed Turow, Mozyr, Kiev and Gnezdovo (Ly- ships with flat bottoms and a mast step in senko 1985; Musianowicz 1960; Duczko the main floor timber ‘represent the boat 2004). These trade centres were established building of the Balts, or rather the ancient or expanded from the 8th to the 13th cen- Prussians’. As representative of this type, he turies. Seals found in Drohiczyn prove the mentions from finds from Frombork, trade route’s importance; many of these Bagart and Tolkmicko along the shores of seals were issued by Rus princes (Lewicki Gdansk Bay and the Vistula lagoons 1956). (1991:78) In the early Viking Age another trade However, as I have shown, the flat-bot- route was also used, its location identical tom and a mast stepped in a floor timber are with the famous “amber route” from Roman also typical of boat finds in east Sweden times (Duczko 2004:74pp). The route fol- (Larsson 2007). The clench-bolted Prussian lowed the Vistula, went through the Mora- boats may have been the result of Scandina- va Gate and then along the Morava river to vian contacts, but several may also be inter- the Danube. This route probably has had preted as Scandinavian boats, as boats are greater importance than has previously movable objects, sunken on journeys to the been observed, not least thanks to the access southeast. This may especially the case for to the important commodity salt. finds of boats with both clench bolts and caulking with animal hair. West Slavonic Clench bolts are also found in cultural and Scandinavian traditions layers from the recent excavations in Janow Boats built with treenails instead of clench Pomorski at Elblag (Jagodzinski 1988:7; bolts are connected with the West Slavonic Filipowiak 1994:93). Here there are traces tradition. (For all the characteristics of this from the building of boats with strakes con- tradition, see Crumlin-Pedersen 1969; nected with clench bolts. The material, sim- Smolarek 1969; Slaski 1974, 1978; Fil- ilar to the Paviken material from Gotland ipowiak 1994; Skamby Madsen 1989). (Lundström 1981), is comprised of semi- The use of clench bolts in boat building manufactured iron used for rivets, nails and is distributed primarily in central and south the roves used for clenched vessels. Scandinavia. The limited number of finds in Scrapped clench bolts from ship repairs Russia, the Baltic area and Prussia have of- were also found. Their presence is another ten been discussed in terms of Scandinavian expression of the Scandinavian presence in influence, since they are mostly found in oc- the area, clearly visible in other finds and in cupation layers and burials together with the boat burials, which are not a Prussian other Scandinavian artefacts (Sorokin 1994, tradition. 1997; Larsson 2007). The five wrecks found close to Truso, Smolarek (1969) on the other hand stat- recognised during excavation, were built at ed that these were indigenous craft and least partly with clench bolts (Jagodzinski should be regarded as products of local 1988:7; Filipowiak 1994:93). 72 MARITIME ASPECTS The east Scandinavian / without southwest Scandinavian megin- Baltic Sea boat type hufr, is also typical of the western Slavonic The intense maritime contact between east boats. In this area we still find beams used Sweden and the south and east shores of the as thwarts up to the 11th century. Whereas Baltic Sea have resulted in a boat type in southwest Scandinavia the beam has usu- which shares many common structural ally been sunk down into the vessel to be- traits in construction.
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