aister Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 whilst i am sitting home off work fed up with a sore back i thought i would share some photos with you on what we have been doing at work this last while, i am saying last while but really this is our third summer on it. its a reconstruction of a viking long house or should i say an archaeologists interpretation of what a long house should look like. there are quite a number of them been excavated in unst, the most northerly of our isles. none of us have done anything like this before, 99.9% of the work has been done with chainsaws, it has been a steep learning curve for us all but has been very enjoyable (most of the time). hope you like the photos. this is the first frame going up. this is all the frames up with the purlins on, hard to see clearly for our scaffold close up of purlins with a brace heavy beams for support (dont think they are needed honestly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 the rafters all meeting at the top. more rafters on the "back porch" the peak on top is the chimney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) the rafters all meeting at the top looking from inside. the sarking mostly on the front. earth and turf to go on top of the sarking. Edited June 29, 2012 by aister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RED BEARD Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 looks like a very rewarding project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newarcher Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 that is fantastic is it going to be a live in project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Wonderful, what a beautiful building. So its walled with stone, I had the impression (wrongly) that they were all wood but it may be a local thing/variation. Amazing to see it come to life. In Norway they have a collection of Viking houses in a village but I dont think they have a Hall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxnet22 Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 very good an interesting project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikky Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 i could quite happily see out the rest of my days living in that,fantastic project mikky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nial Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Brilliant, certainly beats sitting in front of a computer all day. :( Is using chainsaws not cheaping? I presume with the effort they'd have to put in to build one they'd expect it to last a while. Does the soil and grass on the roof not rot the sarking? You say it's the archeologists interpetation. As the person working with the wood is there anything you'd have done differently? Nial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Wonderful, what a beautiful building. So its walled with stone, I had the impression (wrongly) that they were all wood but it may be a local thing/variation. Amazing to see it come to life. In Norway they have a collection of Viking houses in a village but I dont think they have a Hall. the ones excavated in unst all had stone walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Brilliant, certainly beats sitting in front of a computer all day. :( Is using chainsaws not cheaping? I presume with the effort they'd have to put in to build one they'd expect it to last a while. Does the soil and grass on the roof not rot the sarking? You say it's the archeologists interpetation. As the person working with the wood is there anything you'd have done differently? Nial. yes using a chainsaw is cheating, but think on it like this, this is our THIRD summer cheating :lol: there was supposed to be birch bark inbetween the soil and the sarking, we are going to put some around the bottom where you can see it sticking out a bit, but further up the roof there will be a modern breathable building paper. none of us thats working on it thinks it would have been done the way we are doing it. IMO i think that the vikings would have dragged their boats up, turned them over and built a wall under it around the gunnels. the long houses that they have excavated in unst and other places, all have big pad stones in a line up the middle (for posts holding up the keel) and the external wall is usually boat shaped (built up under the gunnels). there is so much wood in this building that we had to get sent up from the mainland because there is no trees in shetland and it was no different when the vikings were here. in turning their boats over and building up under them they would have had a home within a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 here is a couple more. this is one of the boys finishing a mortice and tenon for one of the main frames. closer view of the main frames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ack-ack Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Sweet Jesus, that is an absolutely beautiful structure in settings that could not be more fitting. I'm blown away. I think you have the life that I was meant to get. Wanna swap? Was it you that made the Viking boat a while back Aister, or am I getting confused? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Sweet Jesus, that is an absolutely beautiful structure in settings that could not be more fitting. I'm blown away. I think you have the life that I was meant to get. Wanna swap? Was it you that made the Viking boat a while back Aister, or am I getting confused? it was yes. here it is before the paint. and here it is finished ready for the kids to play in. (personaly i think they ruined it by painting it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ack-ack Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) and here it is finished ready for the kids to play in. (personaly i think they ruined it by painting it) I thought so. Quite a craftsman. Good skills fella, mucho respect :good: EDIT - totally ruined it, may as well have been hotched up from hard board Edited June 29, 2012 by ack-ack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Scholl Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 That's cool. Too bad there haven't been any Vikings in England since Stamford Bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 A lot of the Viking houses were made out of turf. I love the viking history and definitely have viking blood. The only thing that suprises me about Shetland is how any Vikings ever landed there, looked around and thought "Mmmm, nice! think we will stay here" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 That's cool. Too bad there haven't been any Vikings in England since Stamford Bridge. We have never left, the vikings settled the whole of the eastern side of Britain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alendil Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 That is owsome If You need resident vikings ( for fewe weeks) Me and my Wife are doing living history since 14 years we are russ vikings. so if You need hel let me know (i am handy witch chain saw ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thats a fantastic bit of work. I've not been to Shetland but was again in Orkney last week, loads of ruined croft houses all seem to follow the same,"long house " design. Keep up the good work. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Makes me want to rape and pillage just looking at that. Lovely project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thats a fantastic bit of work. I've not been to Shetland but was again in Orkney last week, loads of ruined croft houses all seem to follow the same,"long house " design. Keep up the good work. Blackpowder I have always wondered who owns the ruined crofts, the previous occupants or a landlord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted June 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 I have always wondered who owns the ruined crofts, the previous occupants or a landlord. land lords as far as i am aware Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.