Re: Hvitramannaland 7 days sailing from Vinland
- From: prd <X_header@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 13:44:05 GMT
In sci.archaeology message news:dog88f$scf$1@xxxxxxxxx by "Uwe
Müller" <uwemueller@xxxxxxxxxx> . . . :
[Ingerspam distributrion cut]
>> How about collecting storing wood (and 'vines') to
>> provide Greenland and Iceland with dry timber and
>> firewood? There was certainly a need for that.
>>
>> They slept the night through, and on the morrow Leif
>> said to his shipmates, "We will now divide our labors,
>> and each day will either gather grapes or cut vines and
>> fell trees, so as to obtain a cargo of these for my
>> ship." They acted upon this advice, and it is said that
>> their after-boat was filled with grapes. A cargo
>> sufficient for the ship was cut, and when the spring
>> came they made their ship ready, and sailed away;
>> and from its products Leif gave the land a name, and
>> called it Wineland.
>>
>> "Saga of Eric the Red"
>> http://www.bartleby.com/43/1.html
>
> Would it have been worthwhile to found a permament, undefended
> non-agrarian settlement, to have provisions shipped across
> 1400km, just to obtain timber and wine (and there is more to
> winemaking than collecting and fermenting grapes)? The cutting
> of timber to fill a ship is one thing, to cut enough to build
> three big halls and have a smelting site supplied with charcoal
> would be quite another thing. Are (or were) there sources of
> timber and grapes near LAM?
>
> And it would leave the workshops and storage areas unexplained.
>
> If we presume the three halls were existing at the same time,
> how many men would/could have lived there? Living conditions in
> the Hansekontor in Bergen would seem to have been somewhat
> similar, but the combinatin of workshops is AFAIK unique.
There is a presumption in that quotation that they were refering to
grapes specifically, they could have been gathering any edible
vegetation, potentially for animals also, and there are a number of
grape shaped berries that thrive in that part of the country.
Lets think about the problem, they live in a place with almost no
edible vegetation (for humans), they come across a place with edible
vegetation, although many not all that palitable they can cook or
preserve. This is going to be a seasonal crop, if they hit it over a
couple of seasons then it will be depleted a couple weeks a year and
annual yeilds may have declined. The timber they can get anywhere. In
terms of shops, why not build the shop on the ships, that way they
can be moved as resources are depleted. If they deplete the
vegetation and start moving inland from the port, they are at further
distance from their ships and cannot make a hasty retreat if
attacked.
In answer to Peter's question, find an island far enough offshore the
natives aren't aware of or do not frequent, build a shop and
storehous on that island. then make short trips back and forth to the
felling area, You don't need to haul all timber on the boat, timber
floats, simply rope it and haul the logs in tow. This gets rid of the
problem of exposing oneself. When you get to your processing island,
make a small channel into the island average depth of 3 of 4 feet,
the length of the tallest tree, with a shallow bank on one side, when
you get the tree up the channel leverage up the shallow side, then
process it. The processed pieces can be stored and retrieved safely.
.
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