Top 4 Viking Ship Excavations That Excite You To The Core 

What made the Vikings were not merely their great spirit in battle and their firm belief in Norse Pantheon. There are many more factors contributing to their success. One of them includes the great design of Viking ships that helped the Vikings make their name. By far, there are many Viking ships excavated from the surface. Here are 4 mindblown Viking Ship Excavations that surely excite you to the core. 

Oseberg Ship

Oseberg is among the most famous Viking ships in the Viking archaeological world. It is also listed among the best preserved Viking ships that ever exist on the planet.

Viking Oseberg ship revealed from the earth. It was subtly carved with the Viking style which was named as Oseberg style afterwards

Viking Oseberg ship was unearthed from the Oseberg farm near Vestfold county, Norway. That is when the ship earned the name. Actually, it belonged to a burial mound dating back to the Viking Age. 

This made-by-oak ship had 15 pairs of oar holes allowing up to 30 people to row the ship. The ship could speed up to 10 knots when it was in use during the Viking Age. From the Viking Oseberg ship and the Oseberg burial mound, the archaeologists found out many luxury goods and items belonging to the deceased inside the burial mound. 

Viking ship excavation and the ship on museum display now

Gokstad ship

Dedicated to a Viking warrior who must have died from battle wounds, the Gokstad ship was a part of a Viking burial mound. 

The ship dated back to the 9th century when the Vikings reached their glory. Until 1880, the sons of the Gokstad farmland finally dug up the land with their spades to prove the legends they had been hearing for a long period of time. 

Viking Gokstad ship on display

The ship was made largely with oak. The archaeologists believed that with the size of the Gokstad ship, it could have been used for warfare or cargo transportation.

Skuldelev ships

With 5 ships buried in the same spot, this is among the most interesting archaeological excavations of the Vikings. 

Skuldelev ships are 5 original Viking ships recovered from waterway of Peberrenden, Skuldelev. The archaeologists believed that all 5 ships were intentionally sunken to prevent the foes from the sea. 

The excavation of Viking Skuldelev ships

The Skuldelev ship 5 on display in museum

Tune ship

Tune ship was the first Viking ship to be excavated from the earth. Compared with the Gokstad or Oseberg ship, the Tune ship was much smaller. It had about 11 or 12 pairs of oar holes. 

Although it was the first Viking ship to be excavated, that title could not make up for the fact that technology at the time was nothing but a spade and manpower. As a result, the excavation was almost a failure when the ship was damaged during the excavation and many goods were destroyed. While the Oseberg and Gokstad ships took months and years to be unearthed, the archaeologists spent a few days to bring Tune ship to the public eye.

Viking tune ship on display in museum

Anyway, the effort made to unearth Tune ship needs appreciation. Because without it, we would have no remains of the Viking ship to observe.