Archaeologists from the Norwegian Maritime Museum have found the remains of a beautiful wooden ship in Bjørvika, in Oslo, Norway. According to archaeologists, the find is rare.
“It is very special. We don’t know if it is Norwegian yet; it could come from Poland or Germany,” archaeologist Sarah Fawsitt of the Norwegian Maritime Museum stated in a press release.
The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) is also participating in the excavation of the ship.
For almost 20 years, excavations have been going on in Bjørvika, and more than 50 boat remains have been discovered, Fawsitt added.
Traditional boatbuilding method
The boat is clinker-built – based on a technique of boat building where the edges of hull planks overlap each other. This method was also used by the Vikings and is the traditional Nordic construction technique for wooden boats.
The boat that has now been discovered has been lying in clay on Sørenga for several hundred years, NTB reports.
“It is made of oak and is very old. It may come from the Middle Ages. But it may also have been built later. We have to find out,” Fawsitt stated.
The ship finds in Bjørvika provide a picture of how boats were built in the Middle Ages and early modern times. They also give an insight into what life was like in Oslo’s harbor area in earlier times.
“We haven’t dug out the middle of the boat yet. We will take some samples to find out what was loaded onto the boat. Maybe we’ll find other things down there too. So it’s very exciting. Like a Christmas present that we haven’t opened yet,” Fawsitt concluded.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayTravel
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