Norwegian Viking Boat Burial Found Damaged
Archaeologists revealed that the Trondheim, Norway had been hiding a Viking boat. The final days of excavation in the market square in Trondheim excited the archaeologists from Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU). They found out a feature with a very special shape.
The feature turned out to be boat-shaped. But the site seemed to have been disturbed by pits and postholes.
The site was severely damaged. No plank of wood remains intact. (Cre: NIKU)
Because of the damage level of this site, the archaeologists had to be cautious when carrying out the excavation. No plank of wood remained intact there. But traces of rust and nails revealed that there had been a moderate boat resting there. A surge of pity should have been felt when the ship revealed itself from the ground. While excavation like Oseberg ship or Gokstad ship resulted in the well-preserved frame of the Viking ship, this one leaves us with the shape only.
It was at least a 4-meter boat (13.1ft) lying there for centuries until it decayed to the point when the archaeologists brought it out from the dust.
The archaeologists found out two long bones inside the boat. It might be the human bones. But the poor state of preservation made the archaeologists study whether the bones belonged to humans or animals.
The ship burial could date back to the 7th or 10th century (Cre: NIKU)
Another finds included the bronze sheet placed up against the bones and some personal items. In the middle of the boat, there was a posthole and the archaeologists found out remains of a spoon and a key.
The boat burial might date back to the 7th or 10th century.
The Vikings at that time could have tow the boat into the ground to make a coffin or to dedicate to the deceased.
This excavation of the Viking ship burial has become the first Viking ship burial ever found in Trondheim, Norway. The type of ship seemed to be flat in the bottom and tended to travel in shallow waters.