War bow string theory

[staveshaver]

Why then would Hemp, or Linen decay any faster than wood? ( such as on the Mary Rose) it is all cellulose.

[bow-toxo]

Why then would Hemp, or Linen decay any faster than wood? ( such as on the Mary Rose) it is all cellulose.

The bows were not just any wood, but yew, which used to be used for fence posts because it was so resistant to decay. I guess the next question would be: "Then why didn't the arrows decay" Maybe someone has an answer to that. Maybe the varnish ?

[adb]

I thought most of the artefacts which were recovered from the Mary Rose survived because they were buried in the silt of the seabed, where the conditions were anaerobic, allowing minimal decay.

[ratty]

Why then would Hemp, or Linen decay any faster than wood? ( such as on the Mary Rose) it is all cellulose.

The bows were not just any wood, but yew, which used to be used for fence posts because it was so resistant to decay. I guess the next question would be: "Then why didn't the arrows decay" Maybe someone has an answer to that. Maybe the varnish ?

half the hull of the ship survived and that was made of oak.

i must admit, ive never hered of yew being used as fence posts?

[adb]

I've heard of osage being used as fence posts.

[nickf]

yew as a fencepost. Such a WASTE!

without oxigen, there's very little to decay eh :p Keep that in mind

[D. Tiller]

Problem with Linen strings when wet is that they mildew and rot! Think of the heat of battle and your string snaps because it rotted away after getting wet a week before in the rain. Hear come the French! There go the archers!!! 

[ChrisD]

Why then would Hemp, or Linen decay any faster than wood? ( such as on the Mary Rose) it is all cellulose.

The bows were not just any wood, but yew, which used to be used for fence posts because it was so resistant to decay. I guess the next question would be: "Then why didn't the arrows decay" Maybe someone has an answer to that. Maybe the varnish ?

half the hull of the ship survived and that was made of oak.

i must admit, ive never hered of yew being used as fence posts?

There is a quote which I read long ago but stayed with me - 'A post of yew will outlast a post of iron'. No idea where I read it but it was written in the vernacular and iron was spelt 'yrn' I think.

I had a fence problem in my garden where the laths on top had rotted so as an experiment, I used a piece of yew sapwood about an inch thick bandsawed to the correct width and left untreated. 2 years have passed and there is no sign of decay at all!

C

[staveshaver]

Is it possible that strings were not yet purchased or supplied for the bows? even as I ask that question it sounds unlikely. I think there were 138 bows found on the M.R.( correct me if I'm wrong) there had to have been at least 300 strings on board.  it is hard to believe not one would survive. As far as yew being resistant to decay , even if we allowed for yew outlasting iron; you're still only talking about 50 to 70 years at most. I don't know the exact number but I think it was 400 years under the sea.  Maybe the strings were not stored along with the bows .Though I admit I'm speaking through ignorance, the absence of bowstrings on the M.R. is to me a mystery. It seems to me that what ever preserved the bows and arrows would preserve the strings as well.

[nickf]

since even leathergoods have been recovered, your theory probably makes sence.

[Davepim]

Although both hemp/linen and wood contain cellulose, they are structurally very different. In wood the cellulose fibres are bound together with a variety of lignins which resist the rot induced by micro organisms. Yew is particularly resistant to rot, but any wood buried under anaerobic conditions will in any case be protected. If strings were in the mud you'd think they would also be protected so it's possible that the archers were carrying all the strings with them when the ship went down and these were exposed to the water, as would have been any strings on bows in use at the time.

Cheers, Dave

[bow-toxo]

If strings were in the mud you'd think they would also be protected so it's possible that the archers were carrying all the strings with them when the ship went down and these were exposed to the water, as would have been any strings on bows in use at the time.

Cheers, Dave

  That might be the explanation. One of the bows was found bent up in what would have been a shaftment brace height if the string were still on it. Obviously the set occurred before the string dissolved.

[Yewboy]

[/quote]

  That might be the explanation. One of the bows was found bent up in what would have been a shaftment brace height if the string were still on it. Obviously the set occurred before the string dissolved.
[/quote]

If it was braced when the ship went down then why didn't it float away?, It seems a little strange that as it would float that it was still found around the wreck site after so many hundreds of years....hmmmmm!

[bow-toxo]

If it was braced when the ship went down then why didn't it float away?, It seems a little strange that as it would float that it was still found around the wreck site after so many hundreds of years....hmmmmm!

Probably the same reason that the other bows and arrows found on the ship didn't float away, Apparently some did. The number recovered was fewer than thiose listed in the inventory.

[basilisk120]

Just a thought.  If the bows were in silt, or even if they weren't this might work, could the strings have been found with the bows only they didn't realize it and the strings were washed away with the muck that was on the bow?  A water logged string that has been sitting in muck might not be the different from the mud around it.  Not sure how the bows were rescued but could the act of pulling them up destroyed the string. 

Were other cloth artifacts found or was it only leather?