THE NORTHERN OSTROBOTHNIA MUSEUM   |   ENGLISH

Tar
Tar was used already in ancient Egyptian mummifications circa 1000 BC. During the Middle Ages tar had an important role in warfare when towns and fortresses were defended. During colonial times and the Great Migrations in the 15th and 17th centuries when big navies were needed the importance of tar was very big. All the navies in the world consisted of sailing ships which were built of wood.

For hundreds of years tar was the only known product which was used to impregnate wood and to waterproof the hulls of ships. Tar has also been available, diluted as tar-water, which has been used in old fishing nets. Tar was vital as the first sealing component, or tarmac, for use on the roads. To impregnate the surfaces of the wooden ships 1,5 litres of tar per square meter was needed.
 

Pitch
Pitch is a product which is being distillated from tar. Pitch was traditionally used to help caulk the seams of wooden sailing vessels and as sealing of shingles of roofs. Pitch is considered more solid while tar is more liquid. Tar and pitch are often used interchangeably.
 

Production area
Even in the 16th century tar was almost entirely a product of Central Europe. By that time, however, the coniferous forests of the area were diminishing in extent and the centre for the tar-burning industry moved to the area north of the Baltic. During the latter part of 18th century the most important tar-burning area were in Finland and especially in the east and centre of the country.

The peasant farmers used to bring the tar they had produced down the river in tar boats to be sold to the merchants of Oulu. Oulu had been granted the status of a borough and the rights to conduct foreign trade in 1765, and the tar exchange had been set up for storing the tar by the merchants of Oulu in 1781.

Oulu was in fact the leading tar exporting port in the world in the 19th century. In the best year, 1865, the export was over 80,000 barrels of tar, that’s about 10,000,000 litres. The Oulu tar harbour was destroyed by fire in 1901, and after this the tar trade declined and eventually dwindled to nothing as the age of the wooden ships came to an end.

Production
The raw material of tar is the coniferous tree, usually pine. Birch is used to make particularly fine tar and it used to be much more rare than pine. Preparations for a tar pit were usually begun about five years before tar making. The lower part of the trunk of the pine trees was stripped using a barking tool, after which the trees were left standing for further three years or so to allow the resin to become concentred in the heart of the tree.

The upper part of the tree was then stripped in the same way, and it was again allowed to stand for a couple of years. Having been dried out in this way, the trees were then felled in the autumn and brought to the tar pit during the following winter to be cut into suitable lengths. These were then stacked in the bottom of the funnel-shaped pit in the summer under the direction of the “pit-master” and after that the pit was ready to start the burning. The first tar was extracted a day after the start of the burning. A trough or gully made of two hollowed-out half tree trunks bound together with supple twigs ran from the centre of the pit to the tunnel at its entrance, and the tar, which dripped from this gully, was collected into barrels.

Transport
The full barrels of tar were transported from the tar pits to the banks of the rivers and lakes, from where they were shipped to Oulu in specially constructed boats. These were long, narrow vessels with no keel, measuring some 10-14 m in length, about 1,2 m in width, and providing space for 12-24 barrels.
  

Tar today
An old Finnish proverb states that if sauna, wodka and tar won't help, the disease is fatal. In archaic Finland wood tar was considered a panacea reputed to heal all the ailments. Today tar is being used as raw material in chemical and pharmacology industries. Wood tar is a non-poisonous microbiological substance and has a pleasant odor.

Tar is used as treatment of psoriasis where coal tar is the most effective.
Wood tar is still used to caulk traditional wooden boats and the roofs of historical churches as well as to paint the exterior walls of log buildings.

Contactperson:
Mrs. Anneli Syrjänen
+358-44-7037 154
email: turkansaari@ouka.fi