The dugout boat from Broksø

In the Stone Age water offered the easiest means of moving around. The land was covered with extensive forests and bog and marsh areas, which made travelling on foot difficult. The boat was therefore one of Stone Age man’s most important tools. We know only of canoes made of hollowed-out tree trunks, the so-called dugout boats, but perhaps vessels were also made from other materials like bark and skin. The dugout boat could be used for sailing and fishing in coastal areas and on inland lakes and water courses. Besides being a method of transport, dugout boats were also used as coffins for the dead on their last journey.

The boats of the Stone Age hunters were made of limewood. In the Neolithic period alder, lime and oak were also used for dugout vessels. The dugout boat from Broksø at Holmegårds Mose, southern Zealand, is from the Early Neolithic period, c. 3500 BC. The canoe, which is 3.8 m long and 0.55 m wide at the stern, is made from the trunk of an oak tree. It has been cut out using axes and wedges. In the stern is a row of holes for the fastening of a wooden plate - a so-called bulkhead.