Gokstadhaugen
Gokstadhaugen , also known as Kongshaugen , is the name of an archaeological excavation site in the municipality of Sandefjord (until 1968: Sandar) in the Norwegian province of Vestfold og Telemark . In the narrower sense, it means a hill that was about five meters high in 1880 and about 45 meters in diameter. The area belonged to the Gokstad homestead to the south-west and had been used for agriculture for centuries. The archaeological finds are assigned to the Viking Age (late 9th century). The area isbest knownas the Gokstad ship's location. In 2012 it was found that the burial mound was followed by a settlement with a market place, which had its own port due to the sea level being much higher in the 9th century. The Norwegian government nominated the site as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Finds
Gokstad tomb
In 1879, the landowner's teenage sons began digging on their own on the hill to check the existing local legend that it was a burial site. After a short time they came across pieces of wood. After this find became known, a planned excavation was started in the spring of 1880 under the direction of the archaeologist Nicolay Nicolaysen from the University of Oslo , who had the hill opened from the side. The work led to the uncovering of a ship's grave . The Gokstad ship in the grave was buried in the clay soil, only parts of the bow and stern stem had protruded from the natural ground and were rotten. The ship itself and its contents were in surprisingly good condition. A mound of clay and peat had been piled up over the ship, on the stern of which was a burial chamber with the body of the Gokstad man. This is likely to have been significantly higher at the time of creation. The tomb showed signs of looting by grave robbers.
Gokstad man
The lavishly designed burial chamber on the stern of the ship was covered on the outside with several layers of birch bark, on the inside remains of gold-woven silk were found, with which it had apparently been lined. The man, about 40 years old and between 181 and 183 cm tall, buried on a bed, probably died of injuries sustained in battle. His legs had severe wounds that went right down to the bone; the cause of death was probably a deep stab in the right thigh. The dead man was lavishly dressed, but weapons and jewelry were missing. They are likely to have been stolen by grave robbers. In addition to the ship, numerous grave goods were found, including:
- three small boats
- a tent
- a sleigh
- Harnesses with fittings made of iron , lead and gilded bronze
- 64 shields
- Kitchen appliances
- 6 beds
- 12 horses
- 8 dogs
- 2 hawks
- 2 peacocks
The nature and extent of the grave goods suggest that the Gokstad man must have been an important figure. In particular, the two peacocks, which are not native to Europe, indicate that the dead man could have had far-reaching trade ties. It may also have been captured on military expeditions.
The burial mound was reopened in 2007 to test the theory that the dead person could have been Olav Geirstad-Alv, Halvdan Svarte's half-brother . However, the man's identity remains unclear.
Gokstad ship
settlement
The site has been repeatedly archaeologically investigated, most recently in 2011 by test drilling and in 2012 by means of ground penetrating radar and a magnetometer . A settlement was discovered that included 15 houses, an 80-meter-long street and a harbor. The finds are assigned to the same period, in particular on the basis of weights found on the market square.
Web links
- The Gokstad grave (English), UiO ( University of Oslo ): Museum of Cultural History
- Gokstadhaugen (Norwegian), Vestfold fylkeskommune
Individual evidence
- ↑ Norwegian nominerer to nye steder til Unescos verdensarvliste. Regjeringen.no, December 18, 2013, accessed February 22, 2017 (Norwegian).
- ^ Tove Andersson: Norway's UNESCO Journey and the Blues. (No longer available online.) The Foreigner, January 30, 2014, archived from the original on February 28, 2017 ; accessed on February 22, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c The Gokstad grave. UiO (University of Oslo): Museum of Cultural History, accessed on February 22, 2017 .
- ^ The Gokstad mound. visitoslo.com, accessed February 22, 2017 (English).
- ^ Lindsey Smith: New Norway Viking settlement discovered. (No longer available online.) The Foreigner, March 13, 2012, archived from the original on January 27, 2017 ; accessed on February 22, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 59 ° 8 ′ 26.8 ″ N , 10 ° 15 ′ 11.3 ″ E