Post by Urban Warrior on Jul 1, 2007 19:08:38 GMT
The return of the Viking warship
Submitted by Waspie Dwarf:
On Sunday, 65 men and women will embark on one of the most ambitious, dangerous and important experimental archaeology projects ever undertaken. They will attempt to sail a reconstructed Viking warship from Roskilde, Denmark, to Dublin, across some of the roughest seas in the world. The ship, the Sea Stallion from Glendalough, is the most authentic Viking warship built in nine centuries. It's based on the largest of five ships that were excavated from the bottom of Roskilde fjord in 1962, opposite the small village of Skuldelev. One of these ships was the holy grail of Viking archaeology: the remains of a 30m longship. This was the largest Viking ship yet found and would have carried a crew of more than 60 men. It represented the very pinnacle of Viking technology and ship-building technique, designed to be very fast and manoeuvrable and capable of transporting a large contingent of warriors.
The ship would have provoked terror when sighted by the Vikings intended targets. All five of the Skuldelev wrecks are now housed in a purpose built museum in Roskilde. The museum also embarked on the ambitious project of building accurate reconstructions. The rebuilding of the longship was a lengthy process. In 1998, the Viking Ship Museum constructed a 1:10 scale model of the ship. The model demonstrated that the construction of a full-scale ship was feasible and work began in 2000.
Source: BBC News
Submitted by Waspie Dwarf:
On Sunday, 65 men and women will embark on one of the most ambitious, dangerous and important experimental archaeology projects ever undertaken. They will attempt to sail a reconstructed Viking warship from Roskilde, Denmark, to Dublin, across some of the roughest seas in the world. The ship, the Sea Stallion from Glendalough, is the most authentic Viking warship built in nine centuries. It's based on the largest of five ships that were excavated from the bottom of Roskilde fjord in 1962, opposite the small village of Skuldelev. One of these ships was the holy grail of Viking archaeology: the remains of a 30m longship. This was the largest Viking ship yet found and would have carried a crew of more than 60 men. It represented the very pinnacle of Viking technology and ship-building technique, designed to be very fast and manoeuvrable and capable of transporting a large contingent of warriors.
The ship would have provoked terror when sighted by the Vikings intended targets. All five of the Skuldelev wrecks are now housed in a purpose built museum in Roskilde. The museum also embarked on the ambitious project of building accurate reconstructions. The rebuilding of the longship was a lengthy process. In 1998, the Viking Ship Museum constructed a 1:10 scale model of the ship. The model demonstrated that the construction of a full-scale ship was feasible and work began in 2000.
Source: BBC News
