What choices did a naval leader have in the Viking Age when he was planning an attack?
That is one of the thousands of questions asked in relations to the research on the Sea Stallion of Glendalough – and one that the test sail from Roskilde to Dublin will try to answer.
”In a way one might say that the research at the Viking Ship Museum is happening in full scale. And believe me that’s difficult and unbelievably expensive. It’s extremely complicated to build a reconstruction of a wreck in 1.1 and just as complicated to sail the ship for thousands of nautical miles with sixty five volunteer crew members. And then it’s laborious to try and raise the many millions a project like this is costing, “says Tinna Damgård- Sørensen Director of the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.
”On the contrary its worth all the trouble in the end: It will give us an opportunity to create some of the best research in the world and the results from the project are so concrete that it sometimes feel like sitting in at time machine, travelling back and forth between then and now. And if we make a mistake, we will immediately see it when sailing: The wooden schroud pen will break or the rope will snap. That was the consequences a thousand years ago and those are the consequences today.”
Giant eksperiment
Just recently Tinna Damgård-Sørensen finished the research plan, which is ending the biggest experiment in maritime archaeology ever; the test sail from Roskilde to Dublin with the Sea Stallion of Glendalough.
”After ten years of preparations… and forty five years after the excavation in the Fjord of Roskilde we are know ready to test this major experiment; a warship 30 metres long and alike the ones, the Vikings build a thousand years ago. Now a historical journey begins. Every hour test results will reach the museum from the ship at sea and one step at the time we will learn which choices a naval leader had in the Viking Age, when attacking his enemy,” says Tinna Damgård-Sørensen.
Log book and diaries
The skipper Carsten Hvid and his stearsmen will keep a detailed log book and the advanced electronics equipment on the Sea Stallion will transmit numerous data back to the scholars at the Viking Ship Museum through satellite.
Several measuring devises will keep track on the movement in the ship and its sailing abilities and manoeuvre opportunities. Two boat builders will write down how the construction of the ship is working and behaving in different waters and as a result of the weather conditions that ship and crew members are exposed to for seven weeks.
Furthermore a few crew members will keep diaries, telling stories about the life on board: In the galley the cooks will keep account on the food and water. The nurse will be taking notes on the wellbeing of the crew members. The boat builders will describe the condition of the ship and each of the six rooms, the ship is divided into, will keep a diary on how the crew on duty are doing and make notes about the possibility to get rest or sleep on board. And then the photographer from the Viking Ship Museum will take pictures of all the details on the journey.
The results of the test sail and the following research will be published on the museum website and as a book.
”That we are capable of passing on our research while its actually happening is what is so special about the Viking Ship Museum. The public gets a chance to watch over our shoulders while we are testing the ship and that is quite extraordinary, because usually research is taking place behind closed doors,” says Tinna Damgård-Sørensen.
» <link frontend dokumenter fuldblodpaahavet_forskningsplan_nov2006_uk.pdf download>Read the Viking Ship Museum's Research Plan...
Follow the work of the maritime archaeologists
The project of sailing the Sea Stallion to Ireland is possible because of many years of working with maritime archaeology at the Viking Ship Museum. The Museum would like to make it easier for the public to see what’s going on during the every day work with excavations and archaeological examinations. ”On our website we have now created information on the working process connected to finding and documenting maritime archaeological findings. Normally the public wouldn’t get at chance to see this kind of process and results, but we would like to share it with any one interested. ” says Morten Gøthche, leader of the maritime archaeology department at the Viking Ship Museum. It’s possible to download reports concerning excavations and examinations on the museum website.
» <link internal-link internal link in current>Read more about Maritime archaeology at the Viking Ship Museum...