Oseberg castle

Oseberg Rook.

Oseberg boat - Viking oak ship ( Drakkar ), discovered in 1904 near Tonsberg in the Norwegian province of Vestfoll . The boat and its contents were removed from the ground and are now on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo . Judging by the dendrochronological data, the ship was launched around 820 and was used in coastal navigation until 834, after which it was used as a burial ship .

The length of the ship was 21.6 meters, width 5.1 meters, the size of the mast could vary from 6 to 10 meters. With a sail area of ​​90 m², the ship could reach speeds of up to 10 knots . 15 pairs of oarlocks indicate that 30 rowers set in motion the ship. The bow and stern of the ship are decorated with intricate carvings in the form of woven animals. Among the things found during the excavations, an image of one of the main symbols of Scandinavian paganism in the form of three triangles connected in valknut was found on the bed column ^[1] .

Although the mound was plundered in the Middle Ages, archeologists found in the boat the remains of two women of high social status (young and old), fragments of oriental silk fabrics, a well-preserved wooden cart and even peacock bones. This indicates a lively Viking trade with the East along the Volga and the Dnieper .

Scandinavian scientists for a long time tried to link the Ynglings buried in the ship with the dynasty and even called one of the women grandmother Harald Lovely . Preliminary DNA analysis indicates that the youngest of them had a haplogroup U7 , which is practically absent among Europeans, but is often found in the Middle East , especially among Iranians ^{[2] [3]} .