Ladby Ship |
In this series of articles, Viking and pre-Viking ships are compared, and their historical significance and impact upon the western world are discussed. With particular reference to such finds as the Heberby, Nydam, Skuldelev, Gokstad and Ladby ships, it is hoped that this series of articles will bring a number of threads together to give a comprehensive overview of this topic.
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Ladby Mound |

The
Ladby ship was found in 1935 and is dated to 895CE. It was 21.54
metres in length with a beam of 2.92 metres, with a capacity for two rows of 16
oars.


Lying around the site were many large pieces of oak, selected
carefully for their shape, from which naturally strong sections for the ship
would be crafted.

At
the Roskilde ship museum I was fortunate to find, that in addition to having the
original Skuldelev ships on display in the Viking ship hall, there was a
Skuldelev 6 under construction and that in the harbour was a reconstruction of the Skuldelev 2,
the Sea Stallion, a full size ocean going Viking ship. The
term ‘Skuldelev ship’ relating to five 11th century ships discovered
in 1962 which represent five different types of vessel.[3]
They had apparently been sunk to blockade the Peberrende, a natural channel in
Roskilde Fjord near Skuldelev.
In
addition there were numerous other early Scandinavian craft, such as the 12
oared ‘Bjørnefjord’ sailing ship in which Dr Thompson and I went out in; rowing
the ship as part of a twelve person crew. Feeling the wind catch the sail and how responsive she was to the rudder, was a fascinating experience.
Over the years there have been a number of Viking ship reconstruction, and undoubtedly they are as iconic in Scandinavia as the longbow or the spitfire is to the English. And as if to reinforce this, on the island of Vibransøy in Norway they have, or will shortly be launching a Viking dragon ship, the Dragon Harald Fairhair; a long-ship 114 feet in length, with a beam of 27 feet, and displacing some 70 tons.
As
a result of all this activity I was inspired to begin work on an article with the working title of ‘The comparison of Viking and pre-Viking ships, and their significance
and impact of on the western world.
The work will look at the development
of their design and how such ships impacted on the western world. Although such
an article is not entirely original, by looking at such vessels as the Heberby,
Nydam and Skuldelev ships, the Gokstad and Ladby ships, it is hoped to
bring a number threads together in one comprehensive article.
[1] Author
unknown. (2012) Ladby Viking museum. (Vikingemuseetladby) / Kerteminde Museum
[2] Author
unknown, (2012) Viking ship museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet)
[3] Author
unknown, (2012) Viking ship museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet)