General information
”Aifur” is a reconstructed Swedish Viking Age ship, built for the
exploration of the waterways east of the Baltic Sea. Its construction
combines features from different Viking Age ships found in the Baltic region.
In 1994. and 1996. “Aifur” made such voyage (on lake Melaren to the Black
Sea port of Kherson in the Ukraine, crossed the Baltic Sea and sailed up the
rivers Neva and Volkhov to Novgorod and from Novgorod to Svetlylahirske on
the Dnepr etc. – the way “from the Varangians to the Greeks”) years ago.
The Voyage 1994
In 1994, the Aifur crossed the Baltic Sea and sailed up the rivers Neva and
Volkhov to Novgorod. Distance covered was 1382 km. The effective time was
307 hours, of which sailing time 192 1/2 hours and rowing time, including manual
towing, 114 1/2 hours.
The Voyage 1996
In 1996, the ship continued from Novgorod. The river Lovat from Kholm
upstream was not navigable due to a very low water level, and the portage
over the first watershed therefore became far too long to be practicable -
horses were not available. However, the crew continued on the rivers
Usvyatya, Dvina and Kasplya, crossing the second watershed by putting the
vessel on simple wheels, made on site. Including Novgorod to Svetlylahirske
on the Dnepr, the distance covered was 1568 km. The effective time was 415
1/2 hours, of which sailing time 113 1/2 hours, rowing, including manual towing,
264 hours and manual towing over land, 38 hours. (The stages from Sopki to
Usvyaty and from Svetlylahirske to Kherson were covered partly by
non-authentic means and are excluded).
The combined distance covered, during the 113 days of effective Expedition,
was 2950 km. Average distance per day was 26,1 km. Average speed was 4,1
km/h. 42 per cent of the time was spent sailing, 53 percent rowing and 5
percent pulling the ship over land.
During the Baltic Sea crossing, on the lakes Ladoga and Ilmen and on the
Dnepr dams, the Aifur proved to be a good sailing vessel with the wind and
to a certain degree also capable of tacking. Rowing and sometimes sailing
downstream on the Dnepr also worked quite nicely. However, although the
Aifur is fairly small, the rivers Lovat and Kasplya were navigable only with
great effort and difficulty. The adverse stream on the shallow Lovat with
its many rapids was especially demanding.
Experience gained from this expedition shows that only very light vessels
were be suitable for the northern part of the historic passage. Even so, it
is probable that the upper Lovat and the upper Kasplya were navigable only
after snowy winters and only for a short period each spring. And even then,
the traveller on the Lovat would have to master the river's strong current
and many dozens of rapids.
The way “from the Varangians to the Greeks”
Where exactly the northern part of the passage from the Varangians to the
Greeks was situated is, in fact, unclear. Miklyayev and other Russian
scholars have also observed that many settlements and cemeteries from the
period AD 500-1000 were situated several metres below the level of the
present rivers Lovat, Usvyatya etc. Miklyayev has therefore suggested that
the waterways in North-West Russia were, therefore, not readily navigable
during the Viking Age. According to him, the reason was that the climate was
better then. Miklyayev suggests that this part of the passage was instead
used in winter. Even in more rainy times - e.g. during the 18th century -
the Lovat was, according to written testimony, not very useful for
travellers because of its many rapids.
Scandinavian scholars in discussing the Viking voyages to the East have shown
an obsession with ships. However, travelling by horse and sled on the
frozen plain and on the ice of rivers and marshes, long distances were
covered in North-West Russia historically in a relatively short time.
Several accounts of Viking Age winter travels, e.g. in Snorre
Sturlasson's work, support the Winter version of the passage from the
Varangians to the Greeks.
The southern part of the passage is not questioned. The Dnepr between
Smolensk and the Black Sea was a huge, wide river. Two problems have been
much discussed by scholars: the ever-present military threat to travellers
presented by the nomadic tribes and the hazardous rapids (of which the
so-called Aefor/Aifur was one) which were situated between to-day's cities
Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhe. However, the rapids are now covered by
hydropower dams and all opportunity for travelling experiments there is
unfortunately lost.
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"Aifur" in the
Kaspla River
"Aifur" in shallow waters
"Aifur" overcoming the obstacle close
to Usvjat
"Aifur" in the Lovat River
"Aifur" in the
shallow waters of the Lovat River
"Aifur"
in Novgorod
Vouyage of "Aifur"
in 1994. and 1996.
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