Hi all! My first post on here, and for a school project I researched the origin and discovery of the original Mollegabet bows, and am posting my findings here. I noticed that there is a lot of confusion between the Mollegabet and Holmegaard style bows, and a surprising lack of sources and detailed information on Mollegabet bows and their original design and discovery. From what I can tell, most people found out about the Mollegabet bow through one of The Bowyer's Bible volumes, where it mentions it alongside the Holmegaard bow, which may be the source of the confusion. I researched academic articles to find as much information as I could, and am summarising it here so that hopefully more people have access to the proper information, and I will of course be listing my sources. If anyone has more information, sources, or corrections feel free to add them.
The first Mollegabet style bow was found at the Mollegabet II archaeological dig site in Denmark. Mollegabet II is a submerged archaeological dig site of a late Mesolithic settlement, originally found in 1987. Among the specimens and pieces found was a 34.6cm fragment of what was assumed to be a bow made of elm wood. The fragment featured the wide flat working limb section, and the thinner levers that we now know as characteristic of this style of bow, as well as a generally oval-shaped cross-section. In addition to 20 other specimens of this style of bow, there were also several examples of Holmegaard bows at this site, which may contribute to the confusion between the Holmegaard bow and the Mollegabet bow designs.
In addition to the original specimens at Mollegabet II, several very well preserved Mollegabet style bows have since been found at Hjarno Sund, another Mesolithic dig site in Denmark, Southwest of Hjarno Island. These bows, all again made of elm wood, were carbon dated to ~5200-5000 cal BC, and ranged in length from 123 cm to 166 cm, with the levers on the larger specimens about 26 cm long, approximately a third of the limb length. It is theorized that the smaller bows were intended for children or small game hunting, while the larger were intended for adults. More examples have been found at other dig sites around Denmark, including Tybrind Vig Cove and Timmendorf-Nordmole I. Interestingly, across multiple of the dig sites, while some examples were full adult length, many of the Mollegabet style bows were short enough to be considered childrens’ bows.
The purpose of the characteristic narrow and thick tips is to increase the speed and efficiency of the bow. By having inflexible sections at the end of the limbs, the force and power that comes from a small working limb is multiplied by the stiff ends, acting as a lever to increase the range of movement and the speed of the tips, accelerating the arrow to a faster speed. In this way, the tip design provides a similar effect on the bow as an atlatl has on a thrown spear, in that the powerful force of the small working limbs are amplified by an extended lever, similar to how the atlatl extends the lever of the throwing arm.
Based on the various sources and specimens, and approximating my own measurements (for dimensions not listed in the papers), I compiled an approximate set of dimensions for a historically accurate 166cm (largest full specimen) Mollegabet style bow:
Total length: 166cm
Handle length: 12cm
Handle width: 2.75cm
Working limb length(including the fades at each end): 51cm
Working limb width: 5.5cm
Lever length: 26cm
Lever width: 1.1cm
Lever thickness: 1.2cm
Fade-out length: 6cm
(Also I have diagrams/images to add if desired but I can't manage to insert them here, but some of them are in the articles linked below)
Hopefully this was helpful or offered some clarification on the original Mollegabet bows.
Sources:
Skriver, C., Astrup, P.M. and Borup, P. (2018) ‘Hjarnø Sund – all year, all inclusive. A submerged Late Mesolithic coastal site with organic remains’ Taylor and Francis Online Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21662282.2018.1513975?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab (Accessed 20/02/2023)
Skaarup, J. and Grøn, O. (2004) ‘Møllegabet II: A submerged Mesolithic settlement in southern Denmark’ Langelands Museum Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ole-Gron/publication/267639126_Mollegabet_II_A_submerged_Mesolithic_settlement_in_southern_Denmark_With_contributions_by_Sarah_Mason_Lisa_Hodgetts_Peter_Rowley-Conwy_and_Annica_Cardell/links/54cb50e70cf22f98631e72fc/Mollegabet-II-A-submerged-Mesolithic-settlement-in-southern-Denmark-With-contributions-by-Sarah-Mason-Lisa-Hodgetts-Peter-Rowley-Conwy-and-Annica-Cardell.pdf (Accessed 20/02/2023)
SpringerLink. 2023. Denmark: Mesolithic Coastal Landscapes Submerged | SpringerLink. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-37367-2_3. [Accessed 22 February 2023].
S. Klooß (2014) They were fishing in the sea and coppicing the forest. Terminal Mesolithic and Early Neolithic wooden artefacts of coastal settlements on the south-western Baltic Sea | Stefanie Klooss - Academia.edu. 2023. S. Klooß (2014) They were fishing in the sea and coppicing the forest. Terminal Mesolithic and Early Neolithic wooden artefacts of coastal settlements on the south-western Baltic Sea | Stefanie Klooss - Academia.edu. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.academia.edu/11563227/S_Klooß_2014_They_were_fishing_in_the_sea_and_coppicing_the_forest_Terminal_Mesolithic_and_Early_Neolithic_wooden_artefacts_of_coastal_settlements_on_the_south_western_Baltic_Sea?email_work_card=view-paper. [Accessed 04 June 2023].
(PDF) Mesolithic Bows from Denmark and Northern Europe | Jan H Sachers - Academia.edu. 2023. (PDF) Mesolithic Bows from Denmark and Northern Europe | Jan H Sachers - Academia.edu. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.academia.edu/11765815/Mesolithic_Bows_from_Denmark_and_Northern_Europe?email_work_card=view-paper. [Accessed 04 June 2023].
