Kvalsund ship
The Kvalsund ship is a pre -Viking ship that was found in 1920 near Kvalsund on Nerlandsøya island in Herøy municipality in Fylke Møre og Romsdal in western Norway . Using the C14 method , the boat was dated to the year 690 ± 70 (Viking Age = 800–1050 AD). The ship was 18 m long, 3.2 m wide and 78 cm deep. It could be rowed by 20 men. It would have been possible to sail the ship , but no parts of a mast were found.
Find and excavation
While digging peat in 1920, an oar was found in the moor on the grounds of John J. Kvalsund. The Bergen Museum was informed and the archaeologist Haakon Shetelig traveled to Kvalsund to examine the find. In a three-week excavation, the ship was uncovered and photographed. The finds were preserved with carbolium and linseed oil and transported to Bergen by ship.
reconstruction
In 1973 the boat builder Sigurd Bjørkedal made a faithful reconstruction of the Kvalsund ship. This is exhibited in the Sunnmøre Museum near Ålesund . The original finds and a model are exhibited in the Maritime Museum in Bergen .
Interior view from bow to stern
The bow of the Kvalsund boat
A boat, also named after the place where it was found at Kvalsundfæringer , was found together with the ship . A reconstruction of this boat is on display in the Herøy Kystmuseum .
literature
- Hallvard Leinebø: Kvalsundskipet - Norges eldste reconstructed skip