Bulwark: Floating Forts of the Ancient Baltic

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At the very end of the Scandinavian Viking age, a huge wooden castle was built on a lake in the island of Gotland. A large number of houses and other buildings were erected on a vast platform floating in the middle of the water. Around the construction, timber piles were driven vertically into the lake bed forming a pole blockage, a means of defense against encroaching ships.
It is known as "Bålverket" in Swedish, a word which has survived into English as "Bulwark". The Bulwark seem to have been constructed rather quickly, perhaps in just one season. However, the work required a labour force of approximately 38 000 man days, and the amount of necessary wood would be about 25 000 trees. Strangely enough, the Works saw little use, and was seemingly abandoned shortly after construction. But the question remains, as to why, the castle was built.

Sources:
Bålverket - Johan Rönnby
Ship and Society - Gunilla Larsson

Images sources:
By Berig - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Chpagenkopf, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... RonnyKrüger - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... RonnyKrüger - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Edgars Šulcs - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... simka - https://web.archive.org/web/201610171..., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Ivar Leidus (Iifar) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Karl Brodowsky - Eget arbete, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

#history #vikings #vikingage