A ship's final port

The Viking ships of Norway are in need of a new home. Where should it be, and what should it look like?

One of the more important archaeological finds of the previous century was the unearthing in 1904 of a rich Viking burial by the Oslofjord in Norway. It contained a well preserved ship, the Oseberg ship, which is now one of the highlights for tourists visiting Oslo.

Based on the name of the mound, Ose-mound, the excavators hoped the mound would reveal the intact burial of Queen Åsa, the founder of the Yndlinga Dynasty in Norway, and buried in an earth mound around the year 834. At first, their hunch seemed to be correct. In the burial chamber two women was unearthed; a woman of high status in her fifties, accompanied by an elderly woman, perhaps her servant. They were laid to rest on the ship, ready for their final journey, and were surrounded by their earthly goods needed in the afterlife, including, beds, axes, tapestries, silk, a peacock, a sled and a wagon. Sacrificed dogs, hoses and an ox accompanied the two. Today, it is argued that the woman was a volve, a priestess of the Norse religion, or that the older woman is actually Åsa, but the final word on the matter is certainly not said.

The ship itself was beautifully preserved, 21m in length, 5m wide, and with exquisite carvings. Since 1926 it has been on display in a purposefully built museum-house in Bygdøy, near Oslo, where it was joined in 1932 by two other ships. Today the Viking ship Museum probably constitutes the most important exhibition in Norway. The two women were originally returned to their mounds, but have now been re-excavated and are on display in the museum.

The architect, Arnstein Arneberg, designed a chapel to house the three ships, which today seems in many ways outdated. It is difficult to view the ships as a whole in the narrow halls, which is also easily crowded by visitors. As important is the question of the symbolic connotations which the building itself conveys. The shape of the museum, and placement near Oslo should be understood in context of the need for Norway to stand out as an independent new country with ancient roots. Norway achieved independence in 1905, and the Viking-history had a central place in the national narrative. Archaeological context was downplayed and national history underscored. 


The ships and their occupants belong to a very different religious tradition; a time before Christianity reached Norway, and a time before Norway was unified. Even so, when seen from above, the museum has the appearance of a cross, a Christian church, meaning that the ships have been re-buried in a new religious setting. Inside the museum a similar context is conveyed. Here the framing of the ships and the visitor’s experience is more of a Christian mausoleum containing ships, rather than an exhibition. Although an esthetically forceful experience, the Norse burial in this way is not only de-contextualized, but also Christianized and nationalized, making the story told not about the Vikings, but about Norway. One may even get the impression that the ships belong to the early Christian nation, rather than the pre-Christian era.

It is now being discussed whether or not the ship should be moved to a new building near the attractions of Oslo city, or if they should stay where they are. The third alternative, to open a new museum closer to the original mounds is regarded an option by only a few.