Hurstwic: Preliminary Experiment number 4

In preparation for Hurstwic's Fire Festival in July at Eiríksstaðir, we have conducted a number of preliminary experiments. This video is a progress report, detailing one experiment and what we learned from that experiment.
We are using experimental archaeology to investigate the common Viking-age battle tactic of attacking an opponent by setting fire to his longhouse. The nuances of this kind of attack are described in this video:
• Hurstwic / Eiríksstaði...
For the preliminary experiment described in this video, we built, instrumented, and burned a structure in the lab of the Fire Protection Engineering Department of WPI. We built the door, door frame, and the framing structure through the turf passageway behind the door to test how the fire spread from the outside to the inside of the door and then on to the door framing material and along the passageway to the first room of the house, the anddyri.
We also tested the survivability of someone standing behind the door as the fire was set who, according to literary sources, might be trying to extinguish the flames, or to negotiate the safe release of the some of the house occupants.
The Fire Festival is a festival of experimental archaeology, which will be held at the center of experimental archaeology in Iceland: the reconstructed Viking-age turfhouse at Eiríksstaðir on July 5-7, 2024. More information is on the webpage for the festival.
www.hurstwic.com/fire/
#hurstwic #eiriksstadir #viking #firefestival

[@frankhunt9193]

This is so interesting! I wish we had this project back when I was at WPI!

[@sheep1ewe]

This was genuinely interesting! In modern reconstructions, Viking houses does not often hawe chimneys (however, i think some, but not all, of them actualy had wooden or hide chimneys at least in the north in order to keep more of the warm air inside during the winter season but not hawing to breath smooke it ojne needed to stand up, in a small shed where people mostly sat down inside that does not seem to had been a big deal with the smooke collecting under the rooof, but i imagine it was in a large house because in historical times foresters, coalers, hunters and other such cabins had a wooden hood chimney to avoid breathing in too much smooke, while the Finish "Ria" did just had a small hole under the roof), so i think this pattern could probably be applied to a larger structure. For an arson situation i think this is probably as it was, but for a accidental fire i see as shown here that one could if one where laucky had a opportynity to escape by crawling on the floor as in a modern emergency excersise. I wonder how much of this could also be applied to a tent fire in a hide tent, housefire seem to had been relatively rare by accident, but tentfire caused by dry padding from vegetable material on the floor seem to had been even more feared among people who lived nomadic life, like the Same people, so they newer let small children alone in the tent for that reson if it could be avoided. Jusat my spontanuos taughts, i realy look forward to follow those experiments!

[@fabilichusaquaman4263]

A big defence they could use inside is have alot of water ready. To throw up on roof and true cracks around the top of the door. And it could keep the fire low for a longer time at least.

[@thorleifr]

The sources suggest that instead of water, they used readily available mysa (sour whey) to attempt to extinguish the flames from the inside. It is something we will be testing at the Fire Festival, and is discussed in this video:
ua-cam.com/video/H-hUxbpFjqM/v-deo.html

[@Sir-Cyr_Rill-Nil-Mill]

you have 6 minutes to not die by fire. [?!]

[@sheep1ewe]

It is usualy the smooke that kills people whan one does breath in the combination of carbon monoxide which permanently block the red blood cells from taking up oxygen and carbondioxide which make one dizzy and sleepy so if it happens in the night, many people just newer wake up in a fire because of that even if their body survive the heat from the fire it self.

[@sheep1ewe]

But, yes, from what i could see here it seem to had been possible to get a few minutes crawl out on the floor if one was awake and alert in case of an accidental fire where the door is not blocked.

[@Sir-Cyr_Rill-Nil-Mill]

@@sheep1ewe ayyy that. it reminds me of the [ROFLMAO] with Calvin & Hobbes meme, & someone changed it to [rolling on floor on fire...throw a wet blanket] {ROFOF}

[@sheep1ewe]

​@@Sir-Cyr_Rill-Nil-Mill "A fire! Oh, Boy! Can't wait! When do they pass out the Gasoline? Oh, in the fireplace."