Tuesday 4th July 2017 – Roskilde, Denmark

After a Viking ship burial comes Viking ships and a site that came right at the top of our target sites for the Denmark trip.

In the mid 11^th century AD, the Vikings were going through a rough period and were concerned that there may be raids on Roskilde by sea through the Roskilde Fjord. Fortunately, there was a narrow part of fjord where the navigable channel split into three narrow channels. They left the most complex, twisty channel free as the locals knew how to navigate it but blocked the other two, more straightforward channels, making it much more difficult for strangers to find a way through. They blocked the first, straightest channel by using five different types of Viking boats, much to the benefit of future generations. They did the same with the second channel but the ships there have not survived. If a raiding fleet was spotted, a series of beacons were lit to warn the populace and the last remaining channel could be closed off and defended.

In 1962, a huge cofferdam was built and all five of the Viking ships were recovered from the sea. Then began the long job of preserving the wood and sorting out a massive 3-D jigsaw puzzle to assemble the remains of each of the ships. Not only did the Danes achieve that but they also built replicas of each of the ships and learnt much about the ships and sailing in Viking times by taking them to sea.

In the museum we were able to see the original ships in their restored state and they range from warships to coastal trading ships. The largest is Skuldelev 2 (Skuldelev is the narrow straight in which the ships were found) and is 30m long, narrow at just 3.8m wide, with a draught of 1m, 60 oars and a crew of 65 - 70. This ship was the stuff of legends and with a top speed of 12-17 knots and able to be rowed when there was no wind, it would have been ideal for raiding foreign parts such as England, Scotland and Ireland. The ship was built in oak in Dublin in 1042.

By contrast Skuldelev 6 was a vessel designed for fishing, whaling or seal hunting. It is 11.2m long, 2.5m wide and with a draught of just 0.5m, ideal for working in shallow water and close to beaches. It would have had a crew of 5 – 15 men with up to 14 oars and an average speed to 4 – 5 knots.

After having a good look around the original ships, we then went out of the museum to the harbour where we could see reconstructions of all of the five ships. We had seen photographs of the replica of Skuldelev 2 on trials off the Dorset coast and here it was and we could climb all over it. It was also possible to take a trip out into the bay in one of the smaller reconstructions and it was fun to watch the ‘crew’ attempting to row the boat out before the sails were erected. The museum has its own shipbuilding yard and builds ships not only for its own use but also for museums and organisations around the world. They are building a new copy of Skuldelev 3 as that was the first reconstruction that they made and that ship is no longer seaworthy. Another interesting exhibit was of rope making which is also done commercially. I was amazed at how many different materials can be used to make rope e.g. hemp, horse hair, withy (hazel), elk skin, rushes, lime bast (fibres just under the bark) and wool.

The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum is another excellent Danish museum and well worth a visit.

We walked back into town to Roskilde Cathedral, constructed in the 12^th and 13^th centuries and has been the place for royal burials since the 15^th century. The main church is relatively plain, typical of a Lutheran church but the royal tombs and carved wood are very impressive.

Photos: One of the recovered ships in the museum; There was interesting information on how wood was chosen for the ships – this shows how different parts of the tree are used for different parts of the ship and there were great photos showing carpenters holding huge templates against living trees to decide which ones to fell; Visitors taking out one of the reconstructions – they weren’t candidates for the Oxford v Cambridge boat race!; Building a new reconstruction; Christian 4^th had his own private box in the cathedral – it has two sections, his & hers, his section is on the right and the queen had the section on the left; Detail of an Old Testament carving in the choir – “I can see that you are losing your head, my Lord, but here I have a replacement”.