- Gokstad ship
The Gokstad ship is a late
9th century Viking ship found in aship burial beneath aburial mound at Gokstad farm inSandar ,Sandefjord ,Vestfold ,Norway . It was excavated in1880 byNicolay Nicolaysen .The ship
The Gokstad ship is clinker-built, constructed largely of
oak . The ship is 24 m long and 5 m wide. It is the largest in the Viking Ship Museum inOslo . The ship was built to carry 32 oarsmen, and the oar holes could be hatched down when the ship was under sail. It utilized a square sail of c. 110 square meters, which, it is estimated, could propel the ship to over 12 knots. While the ship was traveling in shallow water, the rudder could be raised.Dendrochronological dating suggests that the ship was built of timber that was felled around
890 AD.The ship's design has been demonstrated to be very seaworthy. A replica of the ship crossed the Atlantic from
Bergen, Norway to be exhibited at theWorld's Columbian Exposition , Chicago, in 1893. Other known replicas include the "Gaia", which currently hasSandefjord as its home port, and the "Munin", (a half scale replica) located in Vancouver, BC.The skeletal remains
During the excavations, the skeleton of a male aged between 50-70 years was recovered. The skeleton was found in a bed inside a timber-built burial chamber. Although the identity of the person buried is unknown, it has been suggested that it is that of
Olaf Geirstad-Alf , a petty king of Vestfold. He was of theHouse of Yngling , and died about this time, according to the "Heimskringla ".The grave goods
The grave was furnished with grave goods. Apart from the ship itself, they consisted of three small boats, a tent, a sledge and riding equipment. It is believed that the mound was plundered in ancient times. The excavation in 1880 showed that valuables of gold and silver had been removed. In the Viking period, weapons were considered an important part of a man's grave goods. In the case of the Gokstad ship, any such weapons were probably taken by grave robbers.
Currently, the ship, the reconstructed burial chamber, two of the small boats and two tent boards from the burial chamber are displayed in the Viking Ship Museum in
Oslo . Some other artifacts that survived the plundering are also on display in the museum.See also
*The Oseberg ship
*TheTune ship
*Sutton Hoo
*Snape boat grave
*Ship burial References
Christensen, A.E. Ingstad, A.S. and Myhre, B. (1992) "Osebergdronningens Grav", Oslo
External links
* [http://www.ukm.uio.no/vikingskipshuset/osebergskipet_english.php The Oslo Viking Ship Museum]
* [http://www.gaia.no Gaia, the Gokstad Ship copy]
* [http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN561535841 Nicolaysen, N. 1882, "Langskibet fra Gokstad ved Sandefjord", Kristiania.]
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