19th March 2024
'Historic Day': Viking Ship Found In Norway's Oslofjord Region
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‘Historic Day’: Viking Ship Found In Norway’s Oslofjord Region

In Norway’s at a burial site of Vestfold county, traces of a buried Viking ship were detected.

The rare discovery, which has been declared a “historic” moment, was made in a grave in Borreparken and could shed light on the skilled navigators’ expeditions in the Middle Ages.

Archaeologists say the area where this ship has been found is a region of Norway rich with Viking treasures.

But the latest discovery — about 100 km south of Oslo — suggests that the site is a ship burial on land that served as a tomb for high – ranking people.

“The GPR data clearly shows the shape of a ship, and we can see weak traces of a circular depression around the vessel,” said Terje Gansum, leader of Vestfold’s department for cultural heritage management, in a statement reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“This could point to the existence of a mound that was later removed.”The Vikings, northern European warriors and merchants who sailed the seas between the Eighth and Eleventh century, would bury their kings and chiefs aboard a boat hoisted onshore and left under a mound of earth.

Archaeologists say the area where this ship has been discovered is a region of Norway rich with Viking treasures. Picture: Vestfold Fylkeskommune
Archaeologists say the area where this ship has been discovered is a region of Norway rich with Viking treasures. Picture: Vestfold Fylkeskommune

Only 3 Viking ships in good condition have been Found in Norway in the past, including the well-preserved Oseberg ship discovered in 1903. All 3  of them are now exhibited in a museum near Oslo.

While archaeologists have no plans to unearth the ship, they will be using tools and methods to learn more about the wreck and further understand the Viking culture’s rituals.

“It is not every day we discovered a new Viking ship, so this is really exciting,” local Vestfold County Governor Rune Hogsnes told reporters.“For us locals, it is no surprise. A lot of Viking time treasures are hidden under the turf in our county.

The discovery was made about 100km south of Oslo in Norway. Picture Vestfold Fylkeskommune
The discovery was made about 100km south of Oslo in Norway. Picture Vestfold Fylkeskommune

“The radar images reveal a boat shape that was thought to be at least 15 meters long, but how much of the vessel was preserved is unclear.

“It is not yet possible to answer how much it is preserved under the peat,” Terje Gansum, section manager for cultural heritage in Vestfold county, said.“We are now going to investigate the find with several non-invasive methods and repeat the use of the radar.”

7 ship burials have been registered in Europe dated to the Viking Age (AD 800-1050), and 3 of them were located in Vestfold county.

In October 2018, a longboat was detected about 50 centimeters underground in a tumulus (burial mound) with the use of ground-penetrating radar.

National Geographic reports archaeologists had thought any remains in the local fields would have long since been destroyed by farmers’ ploughs.

But this survey using ground-penetrating radar found proofs  about 8 more large graves — some 27m across — as well as the outline of the 20m longboat’s hull.“We need more discoveries to explain what these boats looked like and how the Vikings would sail,” Knut Paasche, an archaeologist at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), told AFP.

The image generated from a georadar shows a ship’s grave that probably originated from the Viking Age. Picture: Vestfold Fylkeskommune

Source: Forbes