The Oseberg ship (Viking Ship Museum, Norway)

Detail from the Oseberg ship

View from the front - one of the most stunning expressions of Norse art and craftsmenship

The Oseberg ship is a Viking ship which was found in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway. It was excavated by Swedish archaeologist Gabriel Gustafson, and Norwegian archaeologist Haakon Shetelig in 1904-1905. The ship and its contents are displayed at the Viking Ship Museum, Bygdøy, Oslo. The Oseberg longship (From the Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway) File links The following pages link to this file: Longship Oseberg ... The Oseberg longship (From the Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway) File links The following pages link to this file: Longship Oseberg ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 1264 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Longship Oseberg ship Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 1264 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Longship Oseberg ship Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (837x1303, 133 KB)viking longship photo by uwe kils gfdl self from Oslo Viking Ship Museum This is not only one of the most beautiful structures created by humans, a most stunning expressions of Norse art and craftsmanship, but these structures... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (837x1303, 133 KB)viking longship photo by uwe kils gfdl self from Oslo Viking Ship Museum This is not only one of the most beautiful structures created by humans, a most stunning expressions of Norse art and craftsmanship, but these structures... Political map of the Nordic countries and associated territories. ... The Oseberg longship (Viking Ship Museum, Norway) Longships, langskip or drakkar were boats used by the Scandinavians and Saxons for mostly military purposes. ... Alternate meanings of barrow: see Barrow_in_Furness for the town of Barrow in Cumbria, England; also Barrow, Alaska in the U.S.; also River Barrow in Ireland. ... County Vestfold District Viken Municipality NO-0704 Administrative centre Tønsberg Mayor (2004) Per Arne Olsen (FrP) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 381 107 km² 106 km² 0. ... County NO-07 Region Østlandet Administrative centre Tønsberg County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 18 2,224 km² 0. ... Gabriel Gustafson (August 8 1853, Gotland - 1915). ... Haakon Shetelig (1877-1955) was a Norwegian archaeologist. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Viking Ship Museum and the Oseberg Ship. ... Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula on the western side of Oslo, Norway. ... County Oslo NO-03 District Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ...

The ship

The ship is a clinker built 'karv' ship built almost entirely of oak. It is c. 22 m long and 5 m broad, with a mast of approximately 9-10 m. With a sail of c. 90 m², the ship could achieve a speed up to 10 knots. The ship has 15 pairs of oar holes, which means that 30 people could row the ship. Other fittings include a broad rudder, iron anchor, gangplank and a bailer. The bow and stern of the ship are elaborately decorated with complex woodcarvings in the characteristic "gripping beast" style, also known as the Oseberg style. The ship was built in 820AD, and had been in use for several years before it was used in the burial. Although seaworthy, the ship is relatively frail, and it is thought to only be used for coastal voyages. Clinker boat building is a method of constructing hulls for boats and ships by fixing wooden planks to a frame so that the planks overlap each other gaining support from the frame and from adjacent planks. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... The bow is the foremost point of the hull of a ship or boat: the point that is ahead when the vessel is underway. ... Aft of the Soleil Royal, by Jean Bérain the Elder. ... Events Michael II succeeds Leo V as Byzantine Emperor The Historia Brittonum is written (approximate date) Births Rhodri Mawr (the Great), ruler of Gwynedd (Wales) (approximate date) Photius I, patriarch of Constantinople (approximate date) Deaths December 24: Leo V, Byzantine Emperor (assassinated) Shankara, Hinduist teacher Tang Xian Zong, emperor of...

The skeletal remains

The skeletons of two women were found in the grave. One, aged 60-70, suffered badly from arthritis and other maladies; the second was aged 25-30. It is not clear which one was the more important in life, or whether one was sacrificed to accompany the other in death (see human sacrifice). The opulence of the burial rite and the grave-goods suggests that this was a burial of very high status. Dendrochronological analysis of timbers in the grave chamber dates the burial to the autumn of 834AD. Although the high-ranking woman's identity is unknown, it has been suggested that it is the burial of Queen Åsa of the Ynglinge clan, mother of Halfdan the Black and grandmother of Harald Fairhair. This theory is now generally discredited, and it is now thought that she may have been a priestess. Although this fact has not been proved, artefacts recently found have provided a new insight to the discovery. A human skeleton - (endoskeleton) In biology, the skeleton (from Greek σκελετός, dried-up) or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... The growth rings of an unknown tree species, at Bristol Zoo, England Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. ... Events First Viking raid of Dorestad. ... For other uses, see Yngling (disambiguation). ... Harald I (b. ...

The grave goods

The grave had been disturbed in antiquity, and precious metals were absent. Nevertheless, a great number of everyday items and artefacts were found during the 1904-1905 excavations. These included four elaborately decorated sleighs, a richly carved four-wheel wooden cart, bed-posts, wooden chests. More mundane items such as agricultural and household tools were also found. A series of textiles included woollen garments, imported silks and narrow tapestries. The Oseberg burial is one of the few sources of Viking age textiles, and the wooden cart is the only complete Viking age cart found so far. Silk weaver Silk is a natural protein fibre, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. ... There is an album by Carol King called Tapestry A tapestry cushion, depicting pansies Tapestry is a form of textile art. ...

See also

• Ship burial
• Gokstad ship
• Tune ship
• The Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde
• Sutton Hoo

Ship burial of Igor the Old in 945, depicted by Heinrich Semiradski (1845-1902). ... History Gokstad viking ship -excavation. ... The Tune ship is a viking ship of the karv type found at Haugen farm in Østfold, Norway. ... The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is the Danish national museum for ships, seafaring and boatbuilding in the ancient and medieval periods. ... Sutton Hoo parade helmet (British Museum, restored). ...

References

Christensen, A.E. Ingstad, A.S. and Myhre, B. (1992) "Oseberg Dronningens Grav - Vår Arkeologiske Nasjonalskatt i Nytt Lys", Oslo

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oseberg ship

• The Oseberg ship
• Conservation of Gustafson's Sleigh
• the textiles in the Oseberg ship by Anne Stine Ingstad
• Index of norwegian Viking ships