Vasa rope fibres?
Hello, I was wondering if someone could confirm the material that made up Vasa ropes, and perhaps give me more details on what we know about where it came from. I am researching historic/traditional ropemaking and thought these might be some very good archaeological bases. I searched the collections but nothing came up when I searched 'rope...?'
Thank you!
Thank you!
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Almost all of the rope found on Vasa is made of hemp. Commercial records of the period indicate that most of the hemp made into rope in northern Europe came either from the Baltic or Russia. Sweden purchased most of its hemp in Riga (now in Latvia). We have a considerable amount of rope surviving from Vasa, from sail twine up to anchor cables, all of which was studied by Ole Magnus, a Danish hand ropemaker. This material will be published in the next volume of our scientific monograph series, but I can answer specific questions on this forum.
With best regards,
Fred