25
ROAR EGE, FRONT VIEW
NamedRoar Ege, this is a replica of
the merchant ship from Roskilde on
the previous page. It was specially
built to see how much cargo the
ship could hold and how many
men were needed to sail it. The ship
has oars, but the crew of four to six
only use them for maneuvering in
tight spots. Usually, they rely on a
large sail. In good winds, Roar Ege
averages 4 knots (4.5 mph/
7.5 kph) and has reached 8 knots
(9 mph/15 kph). The ship was
ideally suited to sailing in the
Baltic Sea and Danish coastal
waters. The original may have
been taken up rivers or into
the North Sea.High prow stops
t he ship from nose-
diving in rough waterMooring postPronounced keel,
needed for sailingINSIDEROAR EGE
This view inside the stern shows how
Viking ships were made. The hull was
built first. This was then strengthened
with cross-beams secured to the strakes
with curved ends. The top layer of
cross-beams could support decks
or rowing benches.
Curved
endHull, made of
eight strakesEach side has t hree
oarports, two near
t he prow and one
at t he sternStern-post, almost
identical to prow,
or stem-postTop of two levels
of cross-beamsTHE OSEBERG SHIP
One of the most beautiful
Viking vessels is the Oseberg
ship (pp. 54–57). It was not
as sturdy as the Gokstad ship
and was probably built to
cruise coastal waters. This
is a scene from
the ship’s
excavation. Iron nails held the STRAKE NAILS
strakes together.
Often they are all that
is left of a ship once
the wood has
rotted away.SETTLERS’ VESSEL
This is a model of a sturdy cargo ship with a
square sail and shrouds (ropes) securing the
mast. Ships like this carried settlers to Iceland
and Greenland.OUT OF TUNE
The remains of another large ship were
found at Tune, across the Oslo Fjord from
the Gokstad and Oseberg ship mounds.
The Tune ship is built of oak, with a pine
steering oar and cross-beams. It was about
65 ft (20 m) long, a little shorter than the
Gokstad ship.Stringer, a horizontal strengt henerStern oarport