Hurstwic's video: Hurstwic and Eir kssta ir Fire Festival: Science

In order to test the commonly-used Viking-age battle tactic of burning down the longhouse, we plan to conduct a wide range of tests using sophisticated scientific measurements in a public festival of experimental archaeology in July. Several Viking-age house structures will be built, instrumented with measurement apparatus, and then burned. We will be joined by a team of graduate students from the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at WPI. Their instrumentation will allow us to gain a deep understanding of how the fire moves through a Viking age turf house, and the nature of the conditions for the people inside the house as the fire spreads. These data will provide new knowledge that is of interest not only to Viking nerds like us at Hurstwic, but also to archaeologists, museum professionals, building and insurance organization, and fire protection professionals. The testing will occur on July 5-7, 2024, at a public festival at Eiríksstaðir in Iceland. We hope you will join us in this adventure. More information about the event is on our fire festival webpage: https://www.hurstwic.com/fire/