Bronze Age Nordic bow found

[Straelbora]

Don't know if this story made it here yet:

http://thornews.com/2013/11/10/the-breh ... w-1300-bc/

[Brownno]

Wow what is very cool. I kinda wonder if anything from us will be found like this bow?

[Elleth]

Interesting!

I can't tell from the article and the comments seem divided: which side is the belly? Is it recurved, or more of a deflex design?

Also Browno - ha! I wonder about that to sometimes.

"Can you believe it? In the late material era, humans were so bored with their success that they played in their remaining wild areas with ancient-to-them technology - because they said it was more fun that way! What loons! "

[Greg]

It originally appeared to me to be a recurve. There are two clues...number one, the second photo, which details the limb tips, shows a small hook carved into the lower side of the tip, suggesting a string nock.



In addition, it appears to have semi-static tips, as the cross-section is D-shaped in the center, and triangular at the tips, using this rigid spine to stiffen the tips, which I find fascinating.

However, in the comments beneath, there's a bit of debate on which way it was strung. If it weren't for that little notch, I would have said I figured it was a reflexed bow that was left strung for a few hundred years before the string rotted away, etc...but until I can see it in person to see which sides the flat and D cross-sections are on, we may never know.

In that image above, you may also notice (on the side OPPOSITE the "string nock" that may or may not actually be a string nock), there is a splinter lifting along the curve. Splits don't lift on the belly of a bow, because that's where compression is happening. I think this lends more credence to that being the back of the bow, and the curves being a result of string follow...for what it's worth.

[Brownno]

Greg that makes a lot of sense. And I agree with you on it being a recurve bow.