En savgrav er ca. 3-4 meter lang og ca. 1,5 meter bred, næsten altid med en jordvold langs den ene side. Savgravene er nu næsten fyldt med mange års løv og grene, og ofte mest kendelige på den jordvold som næsten altid ligger langs den ene side.
Når et stort træ skulle anvendes til gavntræ, bjælker, planker og den slags, var det ofte hensigtsmæssigt at skære træet op på stedet, fordi det lettede transporten. Man gravede da et hul så dybt, at en mand kunne stå i det, når kævlen var rullet hen over det. En anden mand var placeret oven på stammen. Med en lang, buet sav skar man nu stammen igennem på langs til bjælker eller planker i de ønskede størrelser.
Man skiftedes til at stå i graven og trække nedad i saven. Manden i graven fik jo alle savspånerne ned i hovedet, så den anden kunne sagtens være fræk, for ”han var nok rigtig ovenpå i dag”. Retfærdigvis skiftedes man dog til at være ovenpå.
Endelig lykkedes det at finde et billede af en savgrav i brug. Der hænger en sav som denne på Frilandsmuseet ved Hjulmagerhuset fra Kalvehave. Bemærk på tænderne, at den kun saver, når den bliver trukket nedad.
Er det forresten ikke en afdelingssten som står bag jordvolden?
Klik på billedet for at se det større.
The Cache is hidden near a visible “SAW PIT” , yes in fact, a little further along there is another saw pit located.
A saw pit is a trench aprxm. 3 – 4 meters long and aprxm. 1.5 metres wide and mostly with a bank of earth along one side.
The saw pits are now mostly filled through many years of falling leaves and branches, and often most recognizable by the bank along the side.
When a large tree was to be used for building material, it was often easier to cut it up close to where it fell, as this would make the subsequent transport much easier.
To this purpose a hole was dug so deep that a man was able to stand upright below the log when this was rolled over the pit, hanging on to the bottom end of a special large log saw. Another man was placed on top of the log hanging on to the other end of the saw , and in this manner the log was cut up into suitable sizes as required.
The top and bottom jobs were alternated , as the man on the bottom always copped all the sawdust. It was easy for the top man to be cheeky as he was the one on top of the world, in all fairness , the positions were from necessity swapped frequently.
I found it! A picture of a saw-pit in use. The picture is from 1908. You can click on it to see a bigger picture.
Thanks to Ingrid an Helmuth (AU) for the translation.