| 1. |
- Almevik, Gunnar, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Att bygga en kyrka i trä
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bebyggelseshistorisk tidskrift. - 0349-2834. ; :74, s. 48-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The medieval corner-joint timber church at Södra Råda in Sweden was destroyed by arson in 2001. The building, which dated from the early 14th century, was one of the few extant cornerjoint churches in Scandinavia from this period. The National Heritage Board, which owned the church, began a complete reconstruction of the building “as a pedagogical example to enhance craft practice and historical knowledge of medieval churches”. The reconstruction began in 2006 and is not yet complete. The article details and analyses the results from a decade of building reconstruction. The aim is to shed light on the building processes and carpentry techniques that were used to build a corner-joint church in the early 14th century. The research focuses on historical techniques, materials and tools. How many trees were used and what was their quality? How much material and labour were expended on various parts of the timber structure? The project has also provided opportunities to discuss the construction context of the original building. Who built the church? What knowledge and skills did they have? How was the building conceptualised and how was this information communicated? How were people and materials organised during the building process? The reconstruction is both an arena and a method of research. The research process is shaped by a dialogue between the interpretation of source material and reconstruction practices. The source material comprises extant Swedish medieval timber buildings; tools and building components in museum collections; and written sources and contemporaneous illustrations of buildings and builders. Our empirical study follows a paradigm of clues, making the best of situations where source material is scarce, and its results yield hypotheses for craft-based reconstructive experiments. The reconstruction is designed as a hypothesis-driven deductive experiment, yet enactment sometimes provides unexpected affordances. Enactment through craftwork, in an environment similar to that experienced by medieval workers, without modern equipment or tools, reveals what is possible, impossible, labour-intensive, difficult or feasible when building a corner-joint church such as that at Södra Råda. The research has revealed characteristics of medieval carpentry and building techniques. The results also allow insight into the extensive labour that was required to obtain and prepare the various timber building materials. The roofing: rafters, boards and shingles were cut using cumbersome, labour-intensive methods. Most of the labour, two-thirds of the total, was expended on the roof. Logs for the walls were hewn into timbers with a rectangular cross section and sharp edges. These timbers meet end to end, forming a flush, ninety-degree angle at the corners of the building. This characteristic, common to all medieval corner-joint churches in Sweden, contrasts with secular timber buildings of the same date, which were built of logs with a rounded profile. At Södra Råda, the use of sharp-edged timbers up to 11 metres long calls for very skilled carpentry. Yet this part of the work has consumed a relatively small amount of construction time.
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| 2. |
- Almevik, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Att bygga en kyrka i trä
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bebyggelsehistorisk tidskrift. - : Föreningen Bebyggelsehistorisk tidskrift. - 0349-2834 .- 2002-3812. ; :74, s. 48-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 3. |
- Almevik, Gunnar, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Conservation Theory for Enhanced Craft Practice
- 2016
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Ingår i: Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions – Anamnesis, diagnosis, therapy, controls. Van Balen & Verstrynge (eds.). - London : Taylor & Francis Group. - 9781138029514
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To improve conservation practice, heritage conservation as a professional field needs to gain a better understanding of how different forms of expertise and skill coalesce in their material interventions in heritage objects (Jones & Jarrow 2014). Among the actors involved in conservation, the craftsman is the one who spends most time on site, close to the source material, and whose innumerable decisions have the greatest impact on the final result (Almevik 2016). Nevertheless, the craftsman is often reduced to a means of production, and is thus detached from the historical inquiry, the design and the structural analysis. This inconsistency is poorly explored in previous research. Taking off from a case of heritage conservation of a medieval corner-timbered tithe barn, this paper explores what an enhancement of craftsmanship in the conservation process implicates in terms of conservation theory. The questions for this paper are: How may craftsmanship be enhanced in the conservation process? What does augmented involvement of craftsmen implicates in terms of conservation theory? Furthermore, arguing that contemporary heritage conservation has to take on a community-based approach to support local heritage values: How may craftsmanship be used in participatory and community-based methods? The research questions have been investigated through the conservation of a 13th century corner-timbered tithe barn in Ingatorp, Sweden. Until recently the barn was an anonymous building used for storage of equipment. A dendrochronological analysis dated the building to 1229±10 years. This makes the tithe barn the second oldest preserved wooden building in Sweden. The research method is practice-led and experiential, using the restoration prac-tice as an arena for inquiry and the methods of practice as methods of inquiry (Almevik & Melin 2015). Concepts and perspectives are influenced by semiotic pragmatism and environmental dynamics and focused on contemporary theory of conservation (Sully 2015, Silberman 2015). The research reveals how the craftsmen’s perception contribute to the forensic building investigation to outline of a buildings history and to obtain a thorough understanding of the structural behaviour of the built cultural heritage. The conclusion underpinned by theoretical inquiry and experimentation in this case is that it is possible to enhance craft practice in all steps of the conservation process, and that doing so is productive in regard of aesthetic, historic, scientific and social heritage values.
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| 4. |
- Almevik, Gunnar, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Ingatorp. A corner timbered tithe barn from the 13th century
- 2013
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Ingår i: Poster at the conference: Church Archeology in the Baltic Sea Region, Turku University, 13.08.26-28.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ingatorp church, in the province of Småland in the south of Sweden, is recognised as a high standard art deco church. In the outskirt of the churchyard stands a corner timbered shed that has been dated by dendrochronological analysis and C-14 to 1219-1239. This building is one of the oldest wooden buildings in Sweden beside the timbered church in Granhult.
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| 5. |
- Almevik, Gunnar, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Traditional Craft Skills as a Source of Historical Knowledge : Reconstruction in the Ashes of the Medieval Wooden Church of Södra Råda
- 2015
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Ingår i: Mirator. - 1457-2362. ; 2015:16:1, s. 72-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article concerns the reconstruction of the medieval corner timbered church of Södra Råda that was burnt to the ground in an act of arson in 2001. The reconstruction was initiated by the Swedish National Heritage Board to gain knowledge of the culture and craftsmanship of wooden medieval buildings. The theoretical focus of the project is founded on the combination of sources and the utilisation of the methods and potentials of craftpersons. The reconstructive experiments are informed by a methodology where the present maker’s attentiveness and embodied skills disclose new information on historical working procedures, intentions and affordances. The article also presents results that bring new light on the oldest corner-timbered church buildings in existence.
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| 6. |
- Almevik, Gunnar, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Traditional craft skills as a source of historical knowledge Reconstruction in the ashes of the medieval wooden church Södra Råda
- 2015
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Ingår i: Mirator. ; 16:1, s. 72-102
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In November 2001 the medieval church Södra Råda burnt to the ground in an act of pyromania. The church had a log timbered structure dating to 1320 and world famous wall paintings by Master Amund from 1494. Among Sweden’s 3400 churches and chapels, only 10 medieval corner timbered churches remains. Hence, the Swedish national heritage board initiated a process, still ongoing, proclaiming that the church should be reconstructed “as a pedagogical example to enhance craft practice and historical knowledge of medieval churches”. This paper investigates the new findings on medieval wooden church building as well as the methodology in full-scale reconstruction, using craft skills as means of interpretation of historical knowledge. The reconstruction functions as a trans-disciplinary laboratory, testing findings from archaeological excavations, archive studies and in-depth survey and dendrochronology analysis of the remaining medieval wooden churches.
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| 7. |
- Edvardsson, Johannes, et al.
(författare)
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How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication
- 2021
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Ingår i: Forests. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4907. ; 12:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A significant part of our cultural heritage consists of wood. Research on historical wooden structures and artefacts thereby provides knowledge of people's daily lives and the society in which they lived. Dendrochronology is a well-established dating method of wood that can also provide valuable knowledge about climate dynamics, environmental changes, silviculture, and cultural transformations. However, dendrochronology comes with some limitations that end users in cultural heritage sciences must be aware of, otherwise their surveys may not be ultimately performed. We have drawn attention to studies in which dendrochronological results have been misinterpreted, over-interpreted, or not fully utilized. On the other hand, a rigorous dendrochronological survey may not respond to the request of information in practice. To bridge this rigour-relevance gap, this article has considered and reviewed both the dendrochronology's science-perspective and the practitioner's and end user's call for context appropriate studies. The material for this study consists of (i) interviews with researchers in dendrochronology and end users represented by cultural heritage researchers with focus on building conservation and building history in Sweden, and (ii) a review of dendrochronological reports and the literature where results from the reports have been interpreted. From these sources we can conclude that a continuous two-way communication between the dendrochronologists and end users often would have resulted in improved cultural heritage studies. The communication can take place in several steps. Firstly, the design of a sampling plan, which according to the current standard for sampling of cultural materials often is required, is an excellent common starting point for communication. Secondly, the survey reports could be developed with a more extensive general outline of the method and guidance in how to interpret the results. Thirdly, the potential contribution from dendrochronology is often underused, foreseeing historical information on local climate, silviculture, and choice of quality of the wooden resource, as the focus most often is the chronological dating. Finally, the interpretation of the results should consider all the available sources where dendrochronology is one stake for a conciliant conclusion.
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| 8. |
- Groth, Camilla, et al.
(författare)
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T-shaped craft researchers' contribution in transdisciplinary research projects
- 2024
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CULTURE. - 1359-1835 .- 1460-3586. ; 29:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transdisciplinary project groups are promoted as a way for coping with the growing complexity of research environments. In the context of archaeology and conservation, the knowhow of practitioner-researchers in crafts has potential in supporting the reconstruction of past events as well as the material and technical background factors. As education in the arts and crafts have gradually moved from the workshops into academic institutions, artisans enter higher education and can pursue research careers. In cases where an artisan with longitudinal craft experience conducts research training in a related area, such as archaeology or conservation, we can speak of T-shaped practitioners. In this article, we will present three examples of research conducted by Scandinavian practitioner-researchers who are professional crafts practitioners in wood, but also archaeologists / conservators. We discuss the potentials of practitioner-researchers in craft for facilitating experiential knowledge transfer between project members of different disciplines.
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| 9. |
- Groth, Camilla, et al.
(författare)
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Why should archaeologists work with craftspersons?
- 2019
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Ingår i: 25th annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists; Beyond paradigms, Bern September 5-7, 2019.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Interdisciplinary research is promoted as a way forward in coping with the growing complexity of research environments. In the context of archaeology, the knowhow of crafts persons has a great potential in aiding in the reconstruction of past events as well as in the understanding of the many background factors that shaped those events. While crafts persons have traditionally been occupied with their own craft rather than pursuing academic careers, the situation is now changing as education in the arts and crafts have moved into the academic institutions. The growing number of crafts persons with an academic interest and skills make these practitioners ample T-shaped collaborators especially in the field of archaeology and conservation. In this presentation we will discuss three cases of collaborative practices between archaeologists/conservators and craftspeople and point to the new breed of practitioner-researchers who incorporate both of these practices in their academic profiles. Drawing on embodied cognition theory and auto-ethnographical reflections, we will dive deep into the crafts persons experiential and embodied knowing and point to the importance of the sensory spectrum in this context. Also, aspects of empathy and affect emerge in this process. Through this analysis we will present the possible benefits and challenges that interdisciplinary teams can expect when inviting crafts people into their research teams.
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| 10. |
- Lassen, Ulrik Hjort, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Stolpverket i logen i Maglö
- 2011
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Ingår i: Bebyggelsehistorisk tidskrift. - 0349-2834. ; 60/2010, s. 58-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The timber-framed parts of buildings and the technical aspects of how the buildings were constructed are rarely addressed in scientific papers on the history of built environments. In Scandinavia architects, art historians, archaeologists and ethnologists have the preferential right to carry out the documentation procedures concerning historic buildings. In this study the 250-year-old barn in Maglö has been the subject of a survey on a historical and technical basis. The aim has been to describe timber framing as a traditional Swedish building method, and to put forward the barn as a unique representative of a forgotten historic building tradition in Southern Sweden. During 2009−2010 a documentation of the barn was carried out which involved measuring and analysing the structure, studying the structural details and the still-existing traces and markings from the original building process. The documentation was performed by carpenters experienced in historic building techniques. Therefore the focus has been to understand the workmanship behind the timber-frame structure, thereby creating a dialogue between the modern and the historic carpenter, which is of great value when the aim of the documentation is to reconstruct the original building process or to make deliberate judgements during restoration. The article firstly gives a review of the history of built environments in Maglö, drawing parallels to Danish barns of the same time, since the inner structure of all similar barns of Southern Sweden has been removed because of the modern use of the buildings for industrialised agriculture. This states that the barn of Maglö is rather unique in Sweden, although only one-third of the building has survived. The second part is a short description of timber framing in a technical and historical context, which states that today there are many regional terms for different timber-framed structures. The Swedish word stolpverk has been suggested as the Swedish parallel to timber framing, and general aspects of the building method are described shortly. The main part of the article is a tour through the timber frames of the barn, describing and analysing structural details that are not obvious to people unfamiliar with the craft and historic working methods. This involves the joinery, the different parts and materials, the traces of the tools, the bracing of the structure and the scribing and marking of the frames. This technical description of the building has shown that a lot of information about how to build timber-framed structures can be obtained from one single building. In order to find out in a broader perspective which methods were used to build timber framing in Sweden, there is a huge amount of practical knowledge hidden in the old buildings. The documentation procedure using exact measurement and a carpenter’s eye to find and analyse the interesting parts and details helps to garner this knowledge.
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