The Oseberg ship was found in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway, excavated in 1904. The ship was built some time around 815–820 AD, and had been in use for several years before it was used as a burial ship for a woman of high rank — possibly a queen — who died in the autumn of 834 AD. Although the woman's identity is unknown, it is believed that she may have been Queen Åsa of the Ynglinge clan, grandmother of Harald Fairhair. She was buried in the ship together with another woman, who might have been a slave (see human sacrifice).

The burial goods in the Oseberg grave included four sleighs, a four wheel richly carved wooden cart, tapestries, beds, chests, and agricultural and household tools, such as an iron cooking cauldron.

The Oseberg burial is one of the few sources of Viking age textiles, and the wooden cart is the only complete Viking age cart found so far.

The Oseberg ship, a 'karv ' type longship made of riveted planks of oak, is 22 meters long and 5 meters wide. With a mast of approximately 9–10 meters a sail of 90 square meters, the ship could achieve a speed up to 10 knots. The ship has 15 pairs of oar holes, which means that 30 people could row the ship.

The ship is beautifully decorated with elaborate and complex woodcarvings in the characteristic "gripping beast " style, also known as the Oseberg style.

See also

• ship burial

External links

• the Oseberg cart by HL Alfric Rolfson
• the textiles in the Oseberg ship by Anne Stine Ingstad
• Index of norwegian Viking ships