Jelling ship launch
The ship setting of Jelling is close to the royal monuments of the Viking Age in Jutland , Denmark . Based on a number of finds over the past 200 years and the interpretation of earlier excavations, the impression is that the stones found belong to a 356 meter long ship settlement . The ship is dated to the early phase of Jelling, which ended with the death of King Gorm the Old (died around 958). The ship's setting is by far the largest of its kind and almost four times the size of the Vejerslev and Gammel Lejre's on Zealand .
Large stones have long been recorded in connection with the Jelling monuments . The writer Søren Abildgaard (1718–1791) mentioned in his diary in 1771 that there were large boulders in a row east of the north hill. With most of the stones removed over time, it was difficult to tell what it was. During excavations of the mound in 1861 several stones were found. In the 20th century, more stones were found in the area of the cemetery. In the years 1941–1942 Ejnar Dyggve (1887–1961) carried out a large excavation in Jelling. Dyggve found several large stones under the south hill. They were lined up in two rows before the hill was made. Because of the arrangement, Dyggve proposed the theory that the stones formed a triangle, which in the religion of the Vikings was the place of ritual acts. In the end, the sacred area should be bounded by the north hill.
Not everyone supported Dygge's theory. Instead, it was suggested that the stones belong to a ship setting. This theory was nourished when more stones were found in the monument area. In the mid-1960s, the archaeologist Olfert Voss (1926-2014) carried out small excavations around the north hill. He found some large stones and suspected more to the west of the hill; this contradicted the theory that the stone setting ended on the north hill. Against this background, Voss suggested in 1964 that the stone setting was a huge ship around the north hill. A small excavation in 1992 on the edge of the south hill revealed further traces of stones. The excavator Knud Krogh supplemented the findings with studies of the previously registered stone sequence, which made it clear that the stones were arranged in slightly curved rows. This supported the theory of a long stone ship.
In 2006 and 2007, archaeologists conducted studies north of the north hill. They found stone traces in two rows that met at a point that was interpreted as the north end of a large ship. In connection with the excavations in 2006 and 2007, the archaeologist Steen Wulff Andersen made it clear that the many stones - or archaeological traces - were placed in such a way that they can be seen as a huge stone ship. Everything indicates that the stone setting of Jelling was a 356 meter long and in the middle about 80 meters wide stone ship, which consisted of hundreds of stones.
Since parts of the ship were found under the south hill, the ship was erected in front of the hill, which was built between 970 and 990 AD. When the ship was built, which undoubtedly belongs to the early (pagan) phase of the monument complex, is unknown. The burial chamber in the north hill Thyras høj , which can be dated to 958/959 , is in the middle of the nave, which could have been carried out at that time. Alternatively, it may be older, especially since Vejerslev's ships were dated to around AD 600.
In 2013, the locations of the stones were marked with white concrete slabs.
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Individual evidence
Coordinates: 55 ° 45 ′ 25.6 " N , 9 ° 25 ′ 12.1" E