A ship’s grave has been found in Borreparken in Vestfold, probably from the Viking era said Vestfold County Council.
‘’A historic day’’ said the Minister of the Environment.
On a plain among the large burial mounds in Borreparken, a ship’s grave, probably from the Viking age, has been found. The municipality announced the news at a press conference at Midgard Viking Center on Borre in Vestfold on Monday.
Minister of Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen of Venstre (V) was present during the press conference and also got to see the site up close.
‘’Imagine, I’m standing on top of the ship.5–10 centimeters below me it was found.
This is very exciting and makes me sincerely happ’’ said an enthusiastic Elvestuen to NTB news.
He called it a ‘’historic day’’ for Norway.
‘’The discovery is completely unique and is a novelty that will be noticed worldwide.
This is important for Vestfold, for Norway, but also for the understanding of European and world history’’ said Elvestuen to NTB.
Unique find
‘’The area is now protected, and the Directorate for Cultural Heritage decides what to do next.
The discovery was made using georadar. The pictures show a clear boat shape’’ said Vestfold county municipality.
Georadar was also used when the Jellestad ship was found in Østfold in October 2018.
‘’This shows what we can find with new technology.
We can learn much more about the story than we had thought and make far more discoveries than before’’ Elvestuen told NTB.
‘’The pictures show a boat shape, and we can see weak traces of a circular recess around the boat.
Perhaps this indicates that a pile has been removed on the spot’’ said Terje Gansum, section manager for cultural heritage in Vestfold county.
Further investigations
How much is preserved in the turf is not yet clear.
‘’We are now going to investigate the discovery with several intervention-free methods and repeat the use of georadar’’ said Gansum.
The definition of a Viking ship is that the vessel is fifteen meters or longer. Vessels below this are defined as boats.
‘’When it comes to the discovery on Borre, the data from the surveys is not razor-sharp, so it is difficult to decide how long this vessel had been’’ stated county authorities.
Several ships in Vestfold
Earlier in Europe, 13 ship burials were registered from the period 570–1050. If you take the Jellestad ship, this is the number 14. The surveys around this ship are not yet clear. Only seven of the Viking age ships (800–1050) have been found.
It has not been determined exactly how old the ship at Borre is, but the county municipality estimates that the ship’s burial place is from the Viking age.
In Vestfold, three ships have already been found – the Oseberg ship, the Gokstad ship and the Klåstad ship.
Georadar has been used previously on Borre, and at least four hall buildings have been found.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
