Ein Einbaumfund bei Forst an der Oberweser 1938

Abstract

"The last discovery of a dugout within the area bounded by the present-day borders of the rural district of Holzminden took place in the summer of 1938, creating a stir in the local press. After finding the dugout on the Holzminden side of the Weser, its discoverer pulled it across to the Hamelin-Pyrmont bank. As a result, two district archaeologists participated in the public discussion, each contributing several newspaper articles. The find was finally put in storage in Holzminden and forgotten in the course of the war. In December 1949 it once again became the subject of a debate, having evidently been burned for heat during a cold post-war winter. An anonymous author blamed the loss on an alleged dispute between the districts of Hamelin-Pyrmont and Holzminden over the rights to the vessel, evoking strong reactions from the district archaeologists involved. The reports as well as statements, photographs and drawings originating in the summer of 1938 provide information on the condition of the lost dugout. The sources also shed light on the state of theory and practice in a field of research that was still in its infancy while at the same time being ideologically overladen. In view of the more recent research carried out by Detlev Elmers and Christian Hirte, the interpretations of the 1930s - according to which the dugout of Forst was used as an independent vessel - can no longer be upheld. On the basis of the more recent studies, the 480-cm-long, 52-cm-wide dugout of Forst is more likely to have been the floating body of a Weser ferry. Yet unlike the other known floating elements of Weser ferries, the dugout of Forst exhibits massive ends, a feature which does not occur elsewhere. Due to the vessel's loss, the questions as to its age and type of wood will remain unanswered." (author's abstract)