Holmegaard bow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Holmegaard bows are a series of self bows found in the bogs of Northern Europe dating from c. 7000 BC in the Mesolithic age.[1] They are named after the Holmegaard area of Denmark in which the first and earliest specimens were found, and are the oldest bows discovered anywhere in the world.
The shape of the Holmegaard bows is their distinctive feature, having wide, parallel limbs and a biconvex midsection with the tips ending in a point. The handle is deep, narrow and remains stiff while the bow is drawn. The bows are typically between 170 and 180 cm in length and less than 6 cm wide.[2][3] It has been suggested that only the inner limbs of a Holmegaard style bow bend in use,[4][5] but this is incorrect. They instead bend to their tips.[6]
All Mesolithic bows from this area are made of elm, the best European bow wood apart from yew. (Yew spread to modern Denmark only in about the third millennium BCE).[6]
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Use
The Holmegaard bows were initially believed to have been made "backwards", that is with wood removed from the back and the belly made convex.[2] This may be the result of a comparison with the English longbow that has a flat back and a convex belly. Many successful replicas were made in this fashion even though working the back of the bow cuts the wood fibres and endangers it.
Subsequent analysis suggested the back may have instead been convex with the flattened surface being the belly.[6] This is more efficient for woods like elm which are relatively strong in tension. The compression strain on the belly is evenly distributed on the flat surface which reduces string follow.[5] Later yew bows are generally narrower, yew being better suited for narrow bows than elm.[2]
