Despite centuries of seafaring and excavation in Scandinavia, the Hjortspring boat is the single, complete prehistoric sewn plank ship that has been discovered in the region. About 40% of it was extracted from the bog when it was discovered in the 1920s. Scientists quickly moved to preserve it using alum and polyethylene glycol, which limited the analysis that could be done on the pieces to both date and locate the boat’s origins. In 2024, scientists decided to reexamine the boat, which led to the confirmation of existing theories and new hypotheses, prompting future studies.

When it was first extracted, the boat was believed to be from the third or fourth century BCE due to rock art of boats that were very similar in style to the Hjortspring. Scientists were able to return to the bog where the Hjortspring was first discovered, and they found wood, which was later subject to carbon-dating in order to figure out the time period it originated from. This data supported the previously believed date. Location-wise, the weapons found aboard matched much of northeast Europe from that time.

For decades, these vague theories were all that was known about Hjortspring. However, in 2024, new scientists approached the problem equipped with modern scientific techniques and fresh perspectives to investigate Hjortspring. They looked at caulking and cordage, which had been excavated with the ship, but went unexamined and unpreserved. The cordage used to tie the boat’s planks together was 3D modeled and analyzed using carbon-14 dating. This dating verified the third or fourth century BCE dates previously theorized. Additionally, the cordage was examined for how it was built. The pieces are two strands of thinner rope twisted together. A previously unanswered question about Hjortspring was how and why it had evidence of ropes with a variety of strand numbers. After reexamining the techniques used to construct the boat, scientists were able to determine that any evidence signalling a four-strand rope was actually a two-strand rope. The two strands had been either spliced together to lengthen it or tied into knots, which gave the look of four strands in the imprints it left in caulking material.

They also studied the caulking used to waterproof the boat. Using a special analytical technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, it was determined that the caulking could be made of glycerol, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and maybe lard. To locate the boat’s origin, they compared the mass spectrums of the caulking and birch tar. Due to the lack of similarities between the two spectrums, it was determined that the caulking was made of coniferous tar, likely pine, and fat. The presence of pine narrows the region of the boat down to Blekinge, Gotland, north Poland, or Bornholm. The rock art from these regions matches the style of Hjortspring and continues to support the likelihood of these regions being the boat’s origin. Additionally, a partial fingerprint was discovered in the caulking. Much cannot be gleaned about the person who left the fingerprint, but it is likely they were one of the sailors aboard the ship, not just a shipbuilder.

Even though there were no newly discovered pieces or revolutionary changes, reexamining the Hjortspring boat with current technology and fresh eyes allowed many more discoveries regarding its dating and location. A partial fingerprint was found, and while there isn’t any current information about its creator, it offers an incentive for reexamination. These new findings are crucial to fully placing the Hjortspring in history, but should not be viewed as fully conclusive. Just as Hjortspring’s first investigation was for this study, the findings should be viewed as a starting point and encourage continuous evaluation of old beliefs and new research methods.