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March 21, 2008
ANITA ALAN Carmel, CA
As
we entered through the archway of the Viking Ship Museum, the unadorned white plaster walls and
the handcrafted black hulls of the Viking vessels stood in stark, dramatic contrast. The narrow
windows scattered a bright, but soft light throughout the museum. Vikingskipshuset added three
wings over a thirty-year period that would eventually house each of the three major Viking discoveries.
This spacious structure, designed by Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg (1882 - 1961) in 1927,
highlights the dark wood—wood so old that it appears petrified. His model allows carefully
planned natural light to filter into the exhibits.
The hulls of each old ship give more of an iron-like look than one of wood. Their remarkable durability and grace recalls a time when no foe had a fiercer, more feared reputation than Vikings. However, the ornate trim on the ships shows a culture at least as artistic as warlike.
Survival in that age required extraordinary endurance; but more than merely surviving, Vikings flourished. Nowhere did we find more evidence of the survival heroics of Norsemen than at Vikingskipshuset! Located on the Bygdøy Peninsula, just 10 to 15 minutes from Oslo’s city center, no one should miss the opportunity to view this extraordinary piece of world history.
The Oseberg Ship
The familiar Oseberg ship, with its prow shaped like a breaking wave, shows stunning
woodworking and shipbuilding skill. Discovered on Oseberg Farm in Slagen, the ship’s astonishing
grace, durability, and attention-to-detail attest to the Viking understanding (and invention) of
the era’s seafaring technology. The Oseberg excavation led the Norwegian Parliament to fund the
building of the museum. Prior to that massive discovery, archaeologists housed other finds at the
University of Oslo Garden. Though the Oseberg wing of the museum was the last completed (in 1957),
it is the first ship you see when you enter. The Oseberg’s size appears impressive, by far the
largest of the three ships on display; but once you imagine about 30 oarsmen inside (supplies and
all), your impression changes from spacious to restricted.
Oseberg Artifacts
The elaborately carved wagon on display, part of the Oseberg excavation, very
likely had few roads to travel in its day. Archeologists presume it to have had mainly ceremonial
use—likely by wealthy women. Built sometime before 800 A.D., the wagon is the only one known to
be from the Viking age.
Other ceremonial objects exhibited include animal-head and dragon posts found in the Oseberg site’s burial chamber, as well as textiles, jewelry, tools, and weapons. One display case has wooden combs with scarcely a tooth missing. Many of the artifacts, perhaps most, were painted at the time, but in most cases, only traces remain.
The Tune, Gokstad, and Oseberg Ships
The Tune ship was located and excavated in 1867 on the Nedre
Haugen farm in Rolvsøy. The Gokstad Ship (Gokstad Farm in Sandefjord), the second of the three,
was excavated 13 years later in 1880. In 1932, the museum wings housing these two ships saw completion.
Norwegian archeologists have a successful blueprint for future finds, should any come to pass.
Their ability to preserve and restore ships originally constructed over 1000 years ago shows the
same kind of ingenuity it took to build them in the first place. The burial grounds may have been
in optimum conditions, but deteriorating wood and other materials made for slow, painstaking excavation.
Scientists and engineers dried the planks over time and infused them with linseed oil to protect
and preserve the wood’s integrity.
Despite the current appearance of the three ships, the Oseberg was the one most damaged by time
and the elements. It had broken into roughly as many pieces as years it remained buried—about 1000!
It has about 90% of the original planking and over half the iron rivets that held it together for
that millennium. Considerable work still must be done on the Oseberg, as maintaining relics that
age requires constant vigilance.
The Tune and the Gokstad remain nearly the same as when they were found, but these treasures need optimum maintenance as well. The accompanying photos tell a story, but whatever resources it takes, we want these amazing pieces preserved—in more than photographs!
PHOTOS: 1. The Gokstad ship, a 9th Century Viking Ship excavated in 1880. 2. The Oseberg Wagon is the only known Viking wagon today. 3. Combs, some of the rare wood, leather and textiles recovered from the Oseberg site. Above: 4. Animal Headpost from the Oseberg ship. 5. Oslo Viking bridle from the Oseberg excavation. 6. The Tune Ship employed clinkered oak planking built around 900 AD. 7. All photos by Anita Alan.
Norwegian American Weekly
