Hand Carving an Apple Wood Water Bottle or Travelling Flask - Part I | Anglo-Saxon Green Woodworking

The Anglo-Saxons would have needed to carry water in a bottle or flask when travelling or on military campaign. Here I carve the body of a flask from apple wood inspired by finds from the period. During the Anglo-Saxon period, bottles and flasks may have been made from leather, pottery or wood. Wooden flasks have been found in a number of Merovingian and Alamannic graves on the continent, with find-spots including Oberflacht, Trossingen and Cologne, dated to the 7th century. These were high status objects and were originally turned from maple. The flask from Trossingen contained the remains of a hopped barley beer - one of the earliest examples of hops used in brewing. This flask was carved entirely by hand from apple wood as I have not yet built a pole lathe, therefore the opening to hollow the body needed to be larger than the originals. The wood had been seasoned one year prior to carving to prevent the warping and cracking that apple wood tends towards, although this meant it was quite tough