Page 49 - J. C. Turner "History and Science of Knots"

On Knots and Swamps 37

Tybrind Vig (West Fynen). Andersen 1980, 1985,1987.
A submerged settlement plus garbage dump, on the coast of west Fy-
nen, now 3 meters under water, of late-Mesolithic (Ertebolle) date. A
large number of objects of wood and bone were found, including pieces
of textile (the oldest known so far in Europe) in needle-binding tech-
nique. Also found was a bone fishhook with a 5 mm long section of the
line still attached, tied on the front of the hook by a clove hitch. The
material of the line is sinew, gut or something similar (Andersen 1980)
(Fig. 3).

,1.

Fig. 3. Tybrind Vig knotting
Source: Andersen, S. H. 1980, p. 10, fig. 5

SITES WITHOUT KNOTS BUT WITH KNOTTING MEDIUM
STILL PRESENT

Bokilde Mose (North Coast of Als) Bennike et al. 1986
A piece of rope was found around the neck of one of two Early Neolithict
skeletons, an adult man (the one with the rope) and an adolescent boy.
Presumably the rope had been used to strangle/hang the man. It is
braided with three braids, but no knot is preserved. The material is
vegetable, but a closer identification is impossible.
Dejro (iEroskobing) Skaarup 1980
A submerged site, the garbage dump of a Ertebolle-period coastal set-
tlement. Among others, a wooden float was found, with part of the
fishing line still attached which was apparently made of spun plant-
fibre. No knot can be observed.
Kongsted Lyng (South Zealand) Mathiassen 1942; Becker, 1947
An Early Neolithic handlejar, found in a bog as an offering. A piece of
rope still ran through two of the four ears, but no knot was preserved in

tEarly Neolithic: in Denmark between about 6000 and 5500 B.P..