Norway’s fleet of three Viking ships, dating back to the 9th century, is starting off this week on likely its final journey, to a new custom-built climate-controlled facility at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.
The three ships, dating to between 840 and 910 CE, and uncovered at three different sites in the mid-19th century, are being moved by an overhead crane moving on a track that connects the new building to the old display area, where they have been in danger of deterioration. Named after the places where they were discovered, the Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune have been housed in a cross-shaped building considered too small and unsuitable to conserve them properly.
Aud Tonnessen, director of the museum told press that “They’ve been subjected to humidity, vibrations … Over time, the strain became so intense that they started showing signs that they would eventually collapse onto their supports. Because of their structure of overlapping planks, any vibration or twisting could crack the planks or twist them apart.
The ships are being moved in specially designed steel cradles designed to dampen any vibration, and are being moved at a speed of 5.5 minutes per meter. The transfer was set up with the help of an oil services company that specializes in moving massive structures with millimeter accuracy underwater. The first to move, Oseberg, is richly decorated with carvings and is considered the best-preserved Viking ship in the world.
After Oseberg’s move and installation are complete, Gokstad, the largest of the three, will be moved later this fall, and the third, Tune, will be moved next summer.
