Hi Mark, both William and Reynir tell me that in all the saga accounts they have read where arson was involved the fires were all set at the front door as they did in their experiment. They don't recall ever reading of someone pouring any type of accelerant down the "chimney" or smoke hole to ignite further the internal hearth/hall fire. Hope that answers your question!
Also, just a note that you asked "If" it has a chimney or smoke hole. All of the Viking Age housing recreations that I've ever seen have one or both. There was a definite need for a way to exhaust smoke out of the house with fires that were generally open and in the middle of the central hall/living area. But as William notes in the interview, where archaeology of Viking Age housing sites is concerned, the higher off the ground you get the more uncertain we are of exactly the configuration of such things.
Hi Mark, thanks for the question. I'll ask William and let you know. In the interview Reynir mentioned that they could have used some type of accelerant such as oil but they chose not to because everything ignited so well without it.
I think there would be some value in determining if this turf clad wood frame type of building is survivable in the US. I read in the Biography of Dick Preneke, that even in Alaska a live turf roof took constant watering to survive the summer.
Hi Matthew, thanks for watching and the comment. I'm familiar with that book; my husband is a Preneke fan. It's a good question and I would guess it would depend on the types of plants you used. I know where I am in the Pacific NW what constitutes a "native" or "drought resistant" plant is changing with climate change. As for the Iceland house in the story, it's very interesting that the spot where they burned the house and Alaska are at the same latitude (roughly 65 degrees N), and yet the climate and microclimate is very different. ~Terri
My wife teaches elementary school history. One thing she points out with the Pilgrim migration is that they came from places farther North, yet due to oceanic currents, they were overall warmer climates. The North American winters caught them quite off guard. I’m also familiar with the writings of Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Bay Colony that mention how quickly the colonists found the traditional building methods of their homelands didn’t cope well with the New World climate. In particular daub wall in-fill and thatched roofs. And as you astutely point out, nothing about the global climate is static. Southern New England is now more like the Mid-Atlantic was 50 years ago.
In the end, when we conduct experiments and come away with more questions than answers, I feel better about the work. If you end with definitive simple answers you are either not asking hard questions or only seeing elements that support your already made up mind.
Totally agree. As a historian I definitely subscribe to the concept that good history should raise more questions than it answers.
To your climate comments...just a couple days ago a friend who lives south of Boston sent me a video of people coming upon a couple rattlesnakes while on a hike nearby. Since I come from a state (Oregon) where those exist only on the drier, hotter side of the state, I was quite surprised they would be found in New England. But as you say, here as well on the west coast the situation is the same where my climate in northern Oregon now is more similar to what northern California was 50 years ago. We know for sure thanks to climate science that peoples of the past, including during the Viking Age, were dealing with similar climatic issues and changes, albeit not as intensified by industrial processes of the last 200 years as we are facing.
If it has a chimney or hole for smoke any literature in sagas of pitch or fat being put down the chimney onto a little fire?
Hi Mark, both William and Reynir tell me that in all the saga accounts they have read where arson was involved the fires were all set at the front door as they did in their experiment. They don't recall ever reading of someone pouring any type of accelerant down the "chimney" or smoke hole to ignite further the internal hearth/hall fire. Hope that answers your question!
Also, just a note that you asked "If" it has a chimney or smoke hole. All of the Viking Age housing recreations that I've ever seen have one or both. There was a definite need for a way to exhaust smoke out of the house with fires that were generally open and in the middle of the central hall/living area. But as William notes in the interview, where archaeology of Viking Age housing sites is concerned, the higher off the ground you get the more uncertain we are of exactly the configuration of such things.
Hi Mark, thanks for the question. I'll ask William and let you know. In the interview Reynir mentioned that they could have used some type of accelerant such as oil but they chose not to because everything ignited so well without it.
I think there would be some value in determining if this turf clad wood frame type of building is survivable in the US. I read in the Biography of Dick Preneke, that even in Alaska a live turf roof took constant watering to survive the summer.
Hi Matthew, thanks for watching and the comment. I'm familiar with that book; my husband is a Preneke fan. It's a good question and I would guess it would depend on the types of plants you used. I know where I am in the Pacific NW what constitutes a "native" or "drought resistant" plant is changing with climate change. As for the Iceland house in the story, it's very interesting that the spot where they burned the house and Alaska are at the same latitude (roughly 65 degrees N), and yet the climate and microclimate is very different. ~Terri
My wife teaches elementary school history. One thing she points out with the Pilgrim migration is that they came from places farther North, yet due to oceanic currents, they were overall warmer climates. The North American winters caught them quite off guard. I’m also familiar with the writings of Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Bay Colony that mention how quickly the colonists found the traditional building methods of their homelands didn’t cope well with the New World climate. In particular daub wall in-fill and thatched roofs. And as you astutely point out, nothing about the global climate is static. Southern New England is now more like the Mid-Atlantic was 50 years ago.
In the end, when we conduct experiments and come away with more questions than answers, I feel better about the work. If you end with definitive simple answers you are either not asking hard questions or only seeing elements that support your already made up mind.
Totally agree. As a historian I definitely subscribe to the concept that good history should raise more questions than it answers.
To your climate comments...just a couple days ago a friend who lives south of Boston sent me a video of people coming upon a couple rattlesnakes while on a hike nearby. Since I come from a state (Oregon) where those exist only on the drier, hotter side of the state, I was quite surprised they would be found in New England. But as you say, here as well on the west coast the situation is the same where my climate in northern Oregon now is more similar to what northern California was 50 years ago. We know for sure thanks to climate science that peoples of the past, including during the Viking Age, were dealing with similar climatic issues and changes, albeit not as intensified by industrial processes of the last 200 years as we are facing.
This is so hot…. 🪭