The Ravning Bridge (Danish: ''Ravningbroen'') was a former 760 m long

timber bridge A timber bridge or wooden bridge is a bridge that uses timber or wood as its principal structural material. One of the first forms of bridge, those of timber have been used since ancient times. History The most ancient form of timber bridge is ...

, built in

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in the 10th century during the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period The ...

. Located 10 km south of Jelling near the village of Ravning, it crossed the meadows of Ravning Enge at Vejle River. Until the Little Belt Bridge was constructed in 1935, it was the longest bridge in Denmark.

Discovery and dating

In 1953, big shaped oak timber was found near Ravning at the south side of the Vejle River Valley. An amateur archaeologist, K.V. Christensen, heard about the findings, and measured the timber. Later more timber was found where ponds for

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were constructed, this time at the north side of the valley. K.V. Christensen concluded that the timber probably was from a bridge and wrote an article about that in 1959. Later the mire in the river valley sank as the result of

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...

and

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a ...

of Vejle River, and the top of some of the bridge posts came over the ground surface. Now the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøge ...

became involved. A piece of oak was dated by

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was de ...

to year 980 with an uncertainty of 100 years, and it was decided to make an excavation which started in 1972. The National Museum made

dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and at ...

analyses of samples of the timber from the bridge. The conclusion was that the timber was felled in the 980s, probably in the first half of the decade. The end date of the interval has been questioned by another dendrochronologist who concludes that the date cannot be stated more precisely than "after c. 980 and before c. 1010" Oak pillar from the Viking bridge across Ravning Enge 979-980 A.D. - VIKING exhibition at the National Museum of Denmark - Photo The National Museum of Denmark (9081544395).jpg, Oak post from the bridge at National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen

Construction and purpose

The Ravning Bridge is thought to have been built in the

around 980 AD, as ordered by King Harald Bluetooth, who also built the Viking ring castles. Like these fortresses, the Ravning Bridge was in use for a short time. The bridge, 5 metres wide and almost 760 metres long. was built with oak timber. The spans were 2.4 m long and 5.5 m wide. The bridge had 280 piers consisting of four vertical posts placed at a distance of 1.2 m, and two smaller slanted post at the ends. The vertical posts were square with sides of 30 x 30 cm and up to 6 m long. Over the vertical posts were placed 5.5 m long, 25–30 cm high and more than double as wide horizontal girders. The girders were connected by longitudinal beams on which the deck of the bridge was built. The deck area covered 3,800 square meters, and it is estimated that more than 300 ha of oak forest was felled to construct the bridge. The purpose of the Ravning Bridge has been much debated, but later excavations in 1993 and 1996 revealed that it was used both as a trading bridge and a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

for ships. In the Viking Age the water levels were higher in the Vejle River Valley and ships could navigate further inland and so dock closer to the important royal seat of Jelling. The width of the bridge allowed two trading wagons to pass each other.

References

External links

* Project page at the

The bridge over Ravning Enge
* Brochure from the Danish Agency for Culture
Ravning Enge
(in English, German, and Danish) Archaeological sites in Denmark Former bridges Harald Bluetooth Wooden bridges Bridges in Denmark Buildings and structures in Vejle Municipality Viking buildings and structures Bridges completed in the 10th century Listed bridges in Denmark Wooden buildings and structures in Denmark Former buildings and structures in Denmark