Reichboot adventure: Chemnitz project researches prehistoric seafaring!

Reichboot adventure: Chemnitz project researches prehistoric seafaring!

The Abora project, known for its ambitious reed boat expeditions, has now reached a new stage. An important sailing project will take place on the Chemnitz Schlossteich over Pentecost 2025. This step marks the return of research at the origin of the expeditions, which started in Chemnitz in 1999. Dominique Görlitz, the experimental archaeologist and initiator of the project, attracted international attention with his reed boats, especially through trips over the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic. These expeditions aim to demonstrate the prehistoric seafaring and the intercultural interactions between different high cultures, such as Freepresse.de reported.

Görlitz, born on June 15, 1966 in Gotha, is also known as the “Stone Age Segler”. His fascination for prehistoric reed boats has already been awakened in youth, inspired by Thor Heyerdahl. After studying sports and biology teaching in Jena, he and his fellow students and his partner initiated the construction of reed boats based on scientific templates. Between 1999 and 2019 he undertook a total of four expeditions with the boats Abora I to IV, which should all contribute to a better understanding of early humanity and their seafaring, such as wikipedia.org

research and challenges

The research goal of Görlitz is to clarify the question of when humanity began to conquer the world's oceans. Although rock studies and the Abora sailing expeditions already indicate that nautical knowledge may already exist in the old stone time, the scientific discussion about it remains continuously controversial. However, the latest experiments with rock formations from Upper Egypt and Spain show that early cultures had advanced maritime knowledge. The ABORA expeditions offer valuable data about historical trade routes and question the skills of our ancestors, which deals with archaeologists and historians alike, atlantisforschung.de reveals.

The first big Abora expedition in 1999 also brought technical challenges. Due to unforeseen difficulties, only Piombino instead of the Canary Islands had to be reached by the originally planned goals. Abora I, which was built according to archaeological findings, turned out to be unsure enough, which led to the development of improved designs. Abora II was able to significantly improve his sailing properties in 2002 and later ABORA III carried out a remarkable Atlantic trip from New York to Europe, which, however, was overshadowed by unpredictable weather conditions and financial problems.

A look into the future

The Abora team plans to continue to decipher my human history and actively search for sponsors to support their research projects. In view of the challenges that the expeditions faced, the thirst for adventure and the urge to discover remains strongly present. The upcoming sailing event on the Schloßteich in Chemnitz will not only ensure the continued existence of research, but also open up new ways to investigate the maritime history of humanity.