Book of condolences

We have received a long number of obituaries and last farewells from friends and colleagues here and abroard.

Below we've posted an edited selection.

Carlo Beltrame, lecturer of maritime archaeology, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Italy

I will never forget Ole's enthusiasm when he partecipated at the meetings I organized in Venice with him. He has given me and my colleagues an important lesson to learn about what is a modern and scientific approach to the study of the maritime cultural heritage. But probably the most important advice he has given us has been how maritime archaeology must be diffused among the people. How archaeology can and must be shared with the public.
 
But above all, I will never forget a real gentleman, a model for inspiration, from whom I received important encouragements and of whom I have had the honour to be friend and student. Ole's smile will always remain in my heart.

Sebastiano Tusa,  Soprintendenza del mare, Palermo, Sicily

I had the pleasure and the honor to meet Ole few times in Roskilde. I was deeply impressed by his wide humanity based on a strong respect towards peoples. He was a great scholar but he didn’t show his wide knowledge with superiority. He was modest like the great people!!!

I think that beside his role in our field of studies he will remain in our memory for his kind and gentle behavior.

With friendship
Sebastiano Tusa,  Soprintendenza del mare, Palermo, Sicily

Thorsteinn Vilhjalmsson, Professor emeritus in Physics and History of Science, Kópavogur, Island

Jeg kommer altid at mindes Crumlin for hans venlighed og alle hans
menneskelige egenskaber. Det betød meget for mig i sin tid at
föle hans støtte og have adgang til hans kundskaber.
 
Med venlig hilsen
Thorsteinn

Shay Hurley, Secretary, Workmens' Boat Club, Clonmel,Co.Tipperary, Ireland

Over the years I have had the privilege of visiting the Museum at Roskilde and seeing at first hand what one person of vision,application,genius and humanity can achieve in collaboration with other like-minded people.He was an inspiration to me personally and to the Club in all our  undertakings of the past twenty years.His legacy lives on not only in Roskilde but with us here in this town of Clonmel and dare I say in many other ventures worldwide.May he rest in the palm of God's hand.

Sincerely,
Shay Hurley

Christer Westerdahl, Associate Professor of Maritime Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology and Religious Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

Till minnet av Ole Crumlin-Pedersen:

Ole var min mentor på många sätt under trettio år. Hans sympatiska attityd gjorde underverk med många yngres självförtroende. Han var alltid beredd att lyssna på andra. Det kändes märkligt för mig att bli tagen på sådant allvar så tidigt av en så erfaren person, inte minst på sådant som jag inte hade förstahandskännedom om, t.ex. Slusegårdsbåtarna och Oles religionsvetenskapligt funderade teori kring båtgravar som tydligen skrämde slag på en del andra arkeologer.

Det var på Oles initiativ som jag värvades till universitetsvärlden. Annars hade jag förblivit museiman. Men långt före det hade jag personligen blivit inbjuden till Roskilde för att lära mig grunderna kring inte minst en sund rekonstruktion av arkeologiska skeppsfynd. Hans uppmuntran betydde också att min krets vidgades oerhört på det internationella planet. Han var en pionjär i många avseenden i  en sfär som låg långt utanför farkosternas. I realiteten beskrev han ett maritimt kulturlandskap, det som sedan blev ”min” speciella term, före mig. Han var en stolthet för Danmark som jag ser det, och ännu bättre, han fick välförtjänt stöd för sin hängivna och kvalificerade gärning i sitt eget land. En sådan gärning lever längre än sitt upphov.

Till Ole Crumlin-Pedersens minne:

Ole was my mentor in many ways during 30 years. His sympathetic attitude worked miracles with the self-confidence of many younger people. He was always prepared to listen to others. It was remarkable to me that I could be taken seriously so early by such an experienced person, not least in such matters where I had no first-hand knowledge, such as the Slusegård boats and the theory on boat burials of Ole on the basis of religion, which apparently frightened the daylights out of some other archaeologists.

It was on the initiative of Ole that I was recruited into the academic world. Otherwise I would have remained a museum curator. But long before that I had been personally invited to Roskilde to learn the practice of sound reconstruction of archaeological ship finds, among a good many other things His encouragement also meant that my contacts were immensely widened internationally. He was a pioneer in many respects in a sphere that was far beyond the vessels. In reality, he described a maritime cultural landscape, later “my “ particular term, before me. As I see it, he was a pride of Denmark and even better, he got the well-deserved support and recognition for his devoted and qualified work in his own country.  Such a work lives longer than its origin.

Hans-Joachim Hahn, Stiftung Oldenburger Wall, Oldenburg in Holstein

Ole Crumlin-Pedersen wird weit über seinen Tod hinaus in dankbarer Erinnerung
für viele bleiben. Es war ein Wissenschaftler, der Bespielhaftes geleistet
hat. Für mich verbindet sich sein Name mit dem Vikingeskibsmuseet Roskilde.

Ihnen und Ihren Kolleginnen und Kollegen, die ihn persönlich kannten, gilt
mein Mitgefühl, aber auch meine Gedanke: Sie hatten die Chance einen besonderen
Menschen über lange Jahre erleben zu dürfen.

John Davis, Trustee, Ferriby Heritage Trust, East Riding Business Centre

As guardians of one of Europe's oldest ship discoveries The Ferriby Heritage Trust we heard with regret of the death of Ole Crumlin-Pedersen and pay tribute to his outstanding contribution to maritime archaeology. We have watched with admiration (and sometimes envy) the progress of the Viking Ship Museum and the international focus it has gained for the maritime history of the Scandinavian and European seagoing nations. It was the ISBSA Symposium in Roskilde in 2003 that drew the world's attention to our 4,000 year old Bronze Age ships found in the mud of the Humber estuary. As time passes and technology advances we are sure the link between ours and the Roskilde vessels will emerge, but the credit for creating international awareness of the technology behind plank built ships which began the travel and trade on which our society is founded rests with Ole Crumlin-Pedersen.

Floriana Agneto, Soprintendenza del mare, Palermo, Italia

Venerdì 14 ottobre 2011, Ole Crumlin-Pedersen ci ha lasciato dopo un lungo periodo di malattia, all'età di 76 anni. Pedersen ha dedicato la sua vita ai beni culturali legati al mare e alla navigazione, al patrimonio archeologico subacqueo e allo studio della navigazione antica. Il Museo delle Navi Vichinghe a Roskilde rimane la traccia più evidente di ciò che ci lascia. Il suo è stato un lavoro pionieristico, che ha introdotto un nuovo modo di pensare e di cooperare in un’ottica multidisciplinare. La Soprintendenza del Mare ricorda con affetto la collaborazione con Ole Crumlin-Pedersen e con il Museo delle Navi vichinghe di Roskilde in occasione della visita in Danimarca con il progetto Navis.

Christian Lemée, arkitekt MAA, ph.d., Roskilde

Incredibly, Ole Crumlin-Pedersen is no longer amongst us. Ole has left for his last voyage, hopefully aboard a mythical clinker-built vessel of high rank, quality and finish – matching his unequalled status as an inspiring mentor within the field of maritime archaeological investigation and research. Many of us, inspired and guided by his work and endeavour, must feel orphans in these days where our common ‘father’ has gone.

Throughout his career, Ole Crumlin-Pedersen has supported many a young maritime archaeologist, opened new roads and showed the way. He invited us into the wonderful “playground” of maritime and ship archaeology, where one can have fun. When we returned from field work - first at the Skibshistorisk Laboratorium, later at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology in Roskilde - we’d better come back with good results! Ole would always listen with great attention, study plans, photographs and appreciated good drawings. He would also often pay a visit to the archaeological sites, not to supervise, but out of pure interest and curiosity. With some apprehension we would be waiting for Ole’s remarks and comments, however, he would seldom interfere, but let you do your work with professional respect. Ole Crumlin-Pedersen made you feel that your work was important, accepted and recognised.

Now that Ole has left us, we have to stand on our own legs, keep the flag high, the spirit strong and the vessel afloat. Let us thank him for making some of our dreams possible.

Irena Jagielska, Iwona Pomian, Jerzy Litwin and Waldemar Ossowski, Polish Maritime Museum, Gdansk

It is with great sadness that we received the news of Ole Crumlin-Pedersen’s demise. We offer our sincerest condolences and would like to pay tribute to his outstanding research in the field of maritime archaeology.
 
Ole Crumlin-Pedersen was among the most admired, respected and talented maritime archaeologists of the 20th century. He had a well-deserved reputation for uncompromising approach to study of the remains of ancient vessels relying solely on data and methodological rigor to shape his views. We have observed with respect his impressive achievements and inspiring presence throughout many years of work in this field. Among his many accomplishments we particularly appreciate the development of the Viking Ship Museum and the contribution into research of history of European nations brought by the Centre of Maritime Archaeology directed by him.
 
Ole Crumlin-Pedersen is widely recognized in Poland not only for his research but also because of life-long friendships formed at the beginnings of existence of the Polish Maritime Museum in Gdansk, more than fifty years ago. Many of our colleagues particularly remember his visits to our Museum and revisiting him in Roskilde.
 
On behalf of the Polish Maritime Museum we offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and associates.

Irena Jagielska, Iwona Pomian, Jerzy Litwin and Waldemar Ossowski

Barbara Crawford, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland would like to send condolences to family and colleagues of Ole Crumlin-Pedersen on the loss of a wonderful friend, communicator and visionary archaeologist. It is only three and a half years since Ole delivered the Society’s Rhind lectures in Edinburgh which were published very promptly as Archaeology and the Sea in Scandinavia and Britain-a personal account (2010). This must have been one of the last of his publications and is a remarkable testimony to his life’s achievements, with which the Society is very proud to have been associated. In the discussion after his final lecture in the series Ole urged us to go out and look for the Viking boat burials which he predicted would be found around the Scottish coasts. Very recently an intact boat burial has been excavated in western Scotland, the first ever to have been found on the  Scottish Mainland. Sadly its discovery came too late for Ole to know that his recommendations had been followed and his prediction fulfilled. We can regard it as one of the many legacies of a life devoted to furthering knowledge and understanding of the maritime culture of our two countries. We are united in our respect and admiration for a superb practitioner of his profession and communicator of his deep knowledge and far-reaching ideas about the history of man and the sea in northern Europe.

Richard Darrah and Lee Hooper, Dover Bronze Age Boat project, Norwich, UK

In memory of a lovely man and great archaeologist.

When my wife or I open the cupboard under the stairs and the automatic light shines out, we always think of Ole.  We remember him because of the lovely story he told, on opening our cupboard door, about a little girl asking where the light went when a door was closed.  He told it elegantly and simply and like everything Ole said it made a lasting impression.

Ole put a huge amount of energy into empowering and encouraging people.  This in itself was hard work, he was also passionate and committed to his work on ancient boats.  He was determined to ensure that his ideas on the Dover Bronze Age Boat were made use of even in the last week of his life.

My wife and I both feel honoured to have worked and played with such a brilliant man.

Jürgen Griese, Arbeitskreis wikingerzeitliche Schifffahrt, Schleswig

An einem Sonntag, vier Wochen vor seinem Tode, war ich mit meinem Boot in Roskilde. Der Museumshafen und das Museum waren von Publikum überlaufen. Die Werft war zur Besichtigung geöffnet. Auf ihrem Helgen lag die Bodensektion eines Neubaus. Im Hafen konnte man alle fünf nachgebauten Schiffe von der Seesperre bei Skuldelev sehen, darunter auch das große Langschiff Havhingsten fra Glendalough, das 2007/2008 von Roskilde rund Schottland nach Dublin und zurück durch den Englischen Kanal und den Limfjord gesegelt ist. Im Hafen manövrierten mehrere Nachbauten voller Gäste an den Riemen, um später draußen auf dem Fjord zu segeln. Das große Handelsschiff Ottar wurde zur Hafeneinfahrt verholt und setzte Segel, während ein Gewitter aufzog.
 
Ole Crumlin-Pedersen, der dieses alles auf den Weg gebracht hat, ist nun von uns gegangen. Wir bedanken uns bei ihm noch einmal für die Hilfen, die er uns zukommen ließ. Er war im persönlichen Umgang ein bescheiden auftretender, immer freundlicher und hilfsbereiter Mensch. Wir werden ihm immer ein ehrendes Gedenken bewahren.

Ulf Jonasson, Göteborg

Det var mycket ledsamt att höra att Ole Crumlin-Pedersen gått bort; en stor förlust för muséet, den maritima forskningen och givetvis för de närmaste. Jag hade tyvärr inte förmånen att träffa honom eller lyssna till honom, men jag har läst och uppskattat mycket av det han skrivit. Han hade ett brett och djupt kunnande och framförde sin uppfattning inspirerande och elegant såväl på danska som engelska. Han lämnar säkerligen ett stort tomrum bland sina kolleger och medintressenter inom arkeologin.

George Indruszewski and family, Roskilde

I have come to know Ole as an exceptionally gifted scientist who contributed a lot to me and my family. He was that kind of person who always planned before anyone could even understand what it was all about. With the passage of time, it seemed to me that he almost had prophetic powers, especially with regard to his thoughts about maritime archaeology in Northern Europe. Nevertheless, along this trend characteristic to his professional life, we have discovered another trend related to Ole, which was about being a human being for the other in order for the other to become a human being for others. And this is the context within which we, as a family, will remember Ole: as the man for the other.

May his soul rest in peace, alongside his wife Ingeborg.

Uwe Schnall, Loxstedt, früher Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum, Bremerhaven

Ole Crumlin-Pedersen wird wegen seiner großartigen Arbeiten zu
Schiffbau und Schiffahrt Nordeuropas in Wikingerzeit und Mittelalter
immer in Erinnerung bleiben.

Weniger bekannt ist wohl sein sozialer Einsatz z.B. für den Schoner
FULTON aus Marstal, der nach gründlicher Restaurierung Tausenden von
Jugendlichen den Zugang zur traditionellen Seefahrt eröffnete, sie
physisch trainierte und charakterlich ausbildete.

Im Jahre 2002 hat Ole über die FULTON und ihre Geschichte bis in die
letzten Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts berichtet. In der Zusammenarbeit
lernte ich Oles starkes soziales Engagement kennen. Es hat mich
seinerzeit tief beeindruckt, daß ihm neben seinen vielfältigen Aufgaben
auch die mit der FULTON verbundene sozialpädagogische Arbeit derart
am Herzen lag.

Mit Ole haben wir einen außergewöhnlichen Menschen verloren, der in
vielerlei Hinsicht Vorbild war und bleibt.

Dr. D. Sivan , Prof. Michal Artzy and Prof. Yaacov Kahanov, The Department of Maritime Civilizations and the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, Israel

Ole Crumlin-Pedersen was a close friend of our Institute and Department specializing in underwater archaeology and other research on maritime aspects. Together with the late Elisha Linder, they established a long standing cooperation. He was one of the giants founders and establishers of the discipline of shipwreck excavation, research, conservation, reassembly, reconstruction, full-scale reconstruction and sailing trials. Ole extended the research to multidisciplinary aspects such as maritime history and landscape geomorphology. In our many visits to Roskilde we always enjoyed his personal warm welcome, tenderness, care and advice. He always was cooperative and shared his knowledge, experience and ideas. Ole was a perfectionist and inspired all people around him in this direction. His vast knowledge and experience, meticulous research, and outstanding publications are an example for generations to come, and all his activities were incorporated in modesty, quietness and respect. The impressive Viking Ship Museum, its exhibitions and activities, the involvement of the youth of the local community, were his initiatives, achievements and contribution to the Viking-Age and Danish maritime heritage and will serve as memorials for eternity.
 
We, students and academic staff alike, had the pleasure and the honor of meeting Ole in Roskilde during an intensive week-long workshop in May 2008, where we learnt about the Maritime Civilization of the Vikings and experienced first-hand their shipbuilding and sailing abilities. The lecture he gave us then, was a wonderful opportunity to learn, from the top scientist in this discipline, about shipwrecks their excavation and conservation. We were also lucky to have him as our guest here in Israel, in a visit during which we were able to show him our research activities in the field of Maritime Heritage.  Dr. phil. h.c. Ole Crumlin-Pedersen, who devoted his career to underwater archaeology and Viking heritage, will be remembered both as a leader in the field, obligated to scientific accuracy, and for his modest, warm and friendly personality.

May He Rest In Peace.

From Newport Medieval Ship Project, Newport, South Wales, UK

On behalf of the Friends of the Newport Ship (FONS), I would like to express our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Ole Crumlin-Pedersen.

He was a true friend and supporter of the Newport Ship. When the FONS group visited Roskilde several years ago, he made them feel most welcome.
Members have talked of the amazing experience of sailing in the replica vessels around Roskilde harbour ever since.

He will be fondly remembered for having a direct and tangible positive influence on the future of the Newport Ship.

Toby Jones
Erica McCarthy
Morwenna Perrott
Marie Jordan
Emma Routley
Mike Lewis

David Gregory, senior researcher, Nationalmuseets Bevaringsafdeling, Brede

Dearest Ole, it has been a pleasure and an honour to have known and worked for and with you. And thank you for the help and opportunities that you have given not only me but I believe everybody who has crossed your path with a passion for maritime archaeology. With the research Centre for Maritime Archaeology in Roskilde you created a very large family. Looking back on my life, not just academically, but personally it has been so much richer thanks to meeting and working with other members of the Centre’s “Foreign Legion” and all the people in Roskilde and Brede, many of whom have gone on to become dear friends as well as colleagues.

You were a father figure to many of us. Letting us grow and find our own way, yet steering us gently and with a firm hand and the occasional look over the top of your glasses! I still shudder at times at the thought of the “Crumlin blik” if I hadn’t lived up to expectations. You were a hard but fair boss and expected no less than, as you would call it, the optimal result. Your knowledge in all matters maritime was unsurpassed and you had great vision and a breadth of knowledge and wisdom that has shaped research into many diverse areas – in situ preservation and even deterioration of plastics! Aside from your academic prowess your ability to listen to reasoned argument and be “big enough” to change your mind on the basis of this was a rare quality. Your willingness to help your ”extended family”  and any other visitor went way beyond the call of duty of a boss.

It is hard to think of the world without you in it physically. But you will never truly leave us, not only because of the memories we have of you but the shipwrecks, the papers, the books and certainly not least The Viking Ship Museum. Your life gave the optimal result.

Parable of Immortality ( A ship leaves)
by Henry Van Dyke - 1852 - 1933

I am standing by the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch
until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sun and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says, 'There she goes!
Gone, where? Gone from my sight - that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the places of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says,
'There she goes!
there are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout :
'Here she comes!'

Volker Westphal, Ratekau, Deutschland

Wie nur wenige andere Forscher, hat er interdisziplinär gedacht. Er hat Verlaufsrichtungen von Holzfasern analysiert und damit letztendlich Kulturgeschichte geschrieben.

Paula Martin, editor of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, UK

On behalf of all those involved with IJNA I would like to say how much we will miss Ole. He was an Advisory Editor, an author, a book reviewer and a general source of advice and enthusiasm.

Mike Corfield, Alderney Maritime Trust, UK

I am so sorry that I only got to know Ole so late in both our lives, but in that short time he made a strong impression on me not only for his encyclopaedic knowledge but for his kindness and help to a relative newcomer to ships and maritime archaeology.

Olaf Höckmann, Mainz

Ole Crumlin-Pedersen was one of the pioneers of Nautical Archaeology together with Honor Frost, George Bass, Keith Muckelroy and Dick Steffy, for citing a few who as autodidacts forged a former hobby into an established science. The honours bestowed on Ole did not affect his personality. He kept the same modest and warm-hearted person throughout his life, ready to share his experience and expertise with new-comers in the field. Farewell, Ole.

Aleydis Van de Moortel, Associate Professor, Department of Classics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

Like so many others, I was very sad to learn of Ole’s passing. Given his illness, it was not unexpected but it still was a shock. We lost not only a founding father of maritime archaeology, but also a great human being, a generous mentor, and a good friend.
I think what struck me most about Ole was how he combined a formidable intellect and relentless personal drive with great gentleness and humanity. I first met him in the winter of 1987. I had just finished my M.A. thesis on a small Dutch cog and was visiting a friend in Copenhagen, so I decided to look him up and ask for his feedback. He was on sick leave that day because of back trouble, but to my surprise he invited me to his home and welcomed me with a warm smile. We talked all afternoon: he sitting stiffly upright in his armchair and pointing at books on his shelves, and I going around and pulling those books for him. In spite of his obvious discomfort, he kept going, giving generously of his time, and obviously enjoying this opportunity to share his knowledge with a student. I was amazed that someone of his stature would spend so much time with a young student, and this while he was suffering from back pain. Most people in his situation would have sent this student away very soon, but not Ole.

Later, as a post-doctoral researcher in the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at Roskilde, I got to know him as a leader of great strength and wisdom. He was forceful when driving others to excellence, but he also left us freedom to explore, and we knew that we could always rely on him for guidance. So often that year--and in later years--when we younger researchers had an idea or plan, we would say, “Let’s ask Ole,” and he would always give us excellent advice. It was the mark of his genius that his approach or solution always seemed so simple once he had explained it. I was also struck by his concern for openness and transparency. During weekly meetings he discussed every important matter relating to the Centre and invited everyone to voice an opinion, making us all feel an important part of the endeavor.

It became clear to me at that time how patiently Ole had been building the field of maritime archaeology in Denmark throughout his career: after decades of taking care of the excavation, documentation, and exhibition of ancient shipwrecks he finally was able to fulfill his dream and establish a research center for the in-depth study and publication of ship finds. I was especially intrigued to see that he attracted primarily young researchers who combined scholarly ability with practical experience in shipbuilding and sailing. This, I think, is what he meant when he told me years later, tongue-in-cheek, that archaeology is too serious a pursuit to be left to archaeologists: normal archaeological training simply does not prepare one to study ancient crafts such as shipbuilding or seafaring. One needs to actually practice those crafts in order to think like ancient craftsmen and really understand their achievements. Such approach has now gained wide acceptance in the study of ancient ships, but Ole understood this before anyone else. Thanks to his training as a naval architect, he was able to steer the young discipline of maritime archaeology in this exciting new direction. Being an outsider helped him to think “outside the box” in many other ways as well, such as in his holistic approach to maritime archaeology and the innovative ways in which he involved the wider public in the activities of the Viking Ship Museum.

Since that post-doc year, I have worked intermittently on the Utrecht ship project with Ole as the editor of the series Ships and Boats of the North. During my last research leave at Roskilde, in the spring of 2009, I was fortunate enough to spend much time with him and profit from the immense depth of his knowledge. He answered each and every one of my questions with unfailing patience, and without ever making me feel inadequate he would guide me deeper and deeper into the issues, give me new books and articles to read, some of them very old and, to my surprise, still very relevant to my work.
Besides being a great scholar and teacher Ole was also a lot of fun to be around. He loved jokes and teasing, and I remember how utterly delighted he was when he found Easter cut-out figures with a riddle given to him by George Indruszewski’s daughters—a very nice Danish children’s custom. As successful as he was in his career, he was also genuinely concerned about the weak in society. One of the projects he spoke most proudly of was his work with the traditional Danish schooner Fulton, which he helped restore and put into use as a training vessel for youth-at-risk. In recent years he also spoke very warmly about his companion Gitte’s work of raising funds for a school for underprivileged girls in Nepal.
Finally, in these last years I saw how courageous he was in his illness: he kept working as much as he could, never complaining, always keeping up hope. When I called him a few weeks before his death to give him support, it was actually he who was trying to humor me. He told me to accept things as they are: everything in life has a beginning and an end, and his end had come. He was very grateful for the wonderful life he had led.
He was a great example to us all, as a scholar and as a human being. It is hard to understand that our mentor is now gone. I will miss him dearly for his warmth, his gentleness, his incredible expertise, and his wise counsel. And I will be forever grateful for everything he has done for maritime archaeology: his pioneering research, the wonderful Viking Ship Museum he helped create, the exciting and sound directions in which he steered the discipline, and for giving so many young people encouragement and opportunities to do research in the field. He has now gone on his final voyage: rest in peace, Ole, and may your ship sail on smoothly.

Professor emeritus Horst Nowacki, Ship Design Division, Technische Universität Berlin

It is hard to believe that Ole is no longer with us. I can see him alive like yesterday. A great human being, a grave loss, for his family as well as for his many friends, colleagues  and students. I have known him for more than a decade, chiefly through his inspiring work performed in Roskilde, also during the Danish Science Foundation project. But later also as a contributor to our workshop in Berlin at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and subsequent book on "Shape Creation in Civil and Naval Architecture". We owe him so much wisdom and advice.

He sent me new publications only a few months ago.
I replied and exchanged a few thoughts. Like yesterday.
I have always treasured his publications, articles and books.
They will remain a lasting memory and valuable reminiscence.
This way he will live on in our thoughts and hearts.

Dr. Kurt Denzer, Förderverein Cinarchea (Archäologischer Film), Kiel

Am 29. Oktober 2011 feierte das Archäologische Landesamt Schleswig-Holstein seinen Tag der Archäologie anlässlich des 175. Geburtstages des Landesmuseums auf Schloss Gottorf und damit die lange Existenz eines der ältesten Museen dieser Art in Deutschland. Per Kristian Madsen, Direktor des Dänischen Nationalmuseums in Kopenhagen, erwähnte in seinem Grußwort, dass zur gleichen Zeit Ole Crumlin-Pedersen in Dänemark zu Grabe getragen werde.  Als Gast dieser Festveranstaltung verspürte ich einen lähmenden inneren Schlag, für mich ein bis dahin ungekanntes Gefühl. Ole Crumlin-Pedersen, der Anfang der 60er Jahre die fünf Wikingerschiffe im Roskilde-Fjord geborgen hatte, durfte ich im Sommer 1979 bei den Dreharbeiten zum archäologischen Grabungsprojekt Haithabu kennenlernen, als er mit seinem Team das Haithabu-Schiff  barg. Er beeindruckte mich durch seine ruhige, bedächtige Art, mit der er sein profundes Wissen zur Schiffsarchäologie in selbstverständlicher Freundlichkeit weitergab. Für die filmische Dokumentation war dies ein Glücksfall. Crumlin-Pedersen hat mich beim gesamten Kommentar des Schiffsbergungsfilm beraten, und ein Detail mag seine Akkuratesse anzeigen: bei der Kennzeichnung des Wracks wurde hier stets vom Königsschiff gesprochen, er hat es – zumindest  in seiner dänischen Fassung –  auf Grund der Holzbeschaffenheit als „königliches“ Schiff bezeichnet.

If you wish to write to the condolence book, please send an e-mail to our curator Anton Englert: ae(at)vikingeskibsmuseet.dk

» Read Tinna Damgård-Sørensen's obituaries here...

» Read Jan Bill's obituary here...

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