Modern research contend that 64Vikingshields , antecedently assumed to be ceremonial in nature , were actually used in conflict . A reanalysis of the iconic wooden round shields suggests they may have been covered in rawhide and used in combat .
In 1879 , two farmer ’s Word decided to hollow up a large burial mound settle on the Gokstad Farm , near Sandefjord in eastern Norway . The mound , known locally as the King ’s pitcher’s mound , was thought to check gem , so the two crony wanted to see what they could recover . However , rumour of the jibe take in the care of Nicolay Nicolaysen at the University of Oslo ’s Collection of National Antiquities , who touch the sons and set up to conduct out the excavation himself . Then , a year later , Nicolaysen didfind gem , albeit one of historical import .
The mound turn out to house a massive and remarkably well - keep up Viking longship that has become an iconic source of archaeological information about the Viking Age .
The famous Viking longboat found at Gokstad, Norway, has become an iconic source of historical and archaeological information about the Viking Age. Image Credit: LHismanto/Shutterstock.com
The ship , which was built around 890 CE , had been used at sea for craft , transport , and scrap . Then , in 900 cerium , it was dragged inland where it was buried with a flush and powerful humans . Among the various materials and objects find on the ship , were 64 wooden round shield that had been painted yellow and calamitous . These shields are among the best - preserved specimen in the archaeologic record and are “ unparalleled in quantity ” for artefact found in a single position .
“ As such , these artefacts have significantly bestow to our discernment of the construction of Viking Age round shield , ” Rolf Fabricius Warming , the bailiwick ’s author and a doctoral student of archaeology at Stockholm University , explain in the paper .
“ It is no exaggeration to say that the discovery have almost single - handedly forge our reason of Viking Age round shields as a consequence of their degree of preservation as well as the early excavation and issue by Norwegian archeologist Nicolay Nicolaysen in the later nineteenth 100 . ”
accord to Nicolaysen ’s original Holy Scripture , Langskibet fra Gokstad ved Sandefjord , release in 1882 , 32 of the shields were likely marry along the top edge of the ship ’s hull , above the oar holes , and may have belonged to some of the original work party on add-in the vessel ( there are16 ore - holeson either side of the ship ) .
The shields consist of wooden plank set around an smoothing iron genus Bos on one side and a handle on the other . regrettably , despite their well - preserve State Department , the shields have not remained complete , so we only have their fragments to process with .
Previously , archaeologists conceive the shield had only been used for ceremonial purposes , but Warming ’s reanalysis suggests otherwise .
“ An overarching challenge in this question is the disadvantage of not being able to examine a complete example , ” thawing writes . " Instead , without further investigations that can patch together the artifact with trust , any solution to this question must necessarily trust on an interrogatory of disconnected fragment and their features . ”
heating found evidence that the carapace were originally covered in an organic bed which was belike rawhide ( untanned kine cutis ) . This problematical bed would have helped protect and reenforce the shell ’s planks and rim , which suggests they may have been used for practical purposes – e.g. combat – rather than just for ritual display .
Although there is no direct grounds to suggest that the shields realize conflict , the finding nevertheless challenge long - hold Assumption about the nature and figure of these artifacts .
The Vikings used ships like the Gokstad vessel in their maritime adventures , which were not just limited to wage war and pillaging coastal settlements . In fact , the Viking culture was far morecomplex and multifacetedthan is often assume in pop culture and ongoing research continues to add item to their vibrant history . So it makes sense that a thorough analysis of artifacts like the Gokstad buckler could well provide more nuanced entropy in the time to come .
“ Although only a brief and preliminary investigation , ” Warming notes , the present research has “ brought forth a number of substantial considerations and point of leaving for succeeding subject area . ”
“ The devil is in the item and the pagan ship burial at Gokstad has fortunately leave us many to examine . ”
The survey is published inArms and Armour .
