The building of the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.
And it so happened that the local fishermen knew about the ship lying in this area for a long time. Moreover, there was a legend that this ship was ordered to be sunk by the great Queen Margrethe, who ruled Denmark in the 14th century, in order to thus block the enemy's fleet from reaching the port of Roskilde. However, when, in 1956, two scuba divers lifted an oak board from this ship from the seabed and handed it over to specialists from the Danish National Museum, it turned out that it was four hundred years older than this queen! That is, this ship could only belong to the Vikings!
Since all five ships were found near the port of Skuldelev, for simplicity, they were called "Skuldelev I", II, III, IV, V. This is the largest of the ships found - "Skuldelev I".
Danish historians did not have any experiments in underwater archaeological research, and the scuba gear itself, which made it possible to carry out such research, appeared not so long ago, and it has only just begun to be truly mastered. Therefore, they did not pin any particular hopes on the results of underwater work. In addition, they feared that ice and tides would destroy most of the ship over the years. Nevertheless, in 1957, a search group, consisting of five people, rented scuba gear, a fire pump to remove silt, and a pontoon for placing equipment, and began underwater surveys.
Skuldelev II.
The work was very difficult. The fire drift raised clouds of silt, so it was necessary to wait until it was carried away by the current, and only then to continue working. In addition, the wreck of the ship was littered with heavy stones. And here, disassembling them, underwater archaeologists made their first discovery - next to the keel of the first ship, they saw the second! So the ship was not lying here alone?
Skuldelev III.
However, just then the season ended, and only a year later they were able to resume their work. And then it turned out that at the bottom of the Peberrenden fairway - one of the most important fairways, there are not one, and not two ships, but five! At first, the researchers managed to unearth the first two ships, and then clear part of the hull of the third ship. Moreover, the oak from which it was made was so well preserved that even the notches from the axes of shipbuilders were distinguishable on it, that is, such a preservation could only be dreamed of. Archaeologists have found and raised to the surface parts of the skin, crossbeams and fasteners. In addition, since this ship was deep, all uncleared parts of it should also have been well preserved.
During the first three years of work under water, archaeologists raised to the surface the largest and best-preserved wooden parts, and what remained at the bottom, they again carefully covered the top with stones. In this form, the ships remained at the bottom until the excavation site was surrounded by a special dam.
Then, already in 1962, a pontoon with pumps was installed inside this dam and they began to carefully pump out water from it. There was a danger that the stones could move and crush the fragile tree. Therefore, the water was pumped out very carefully, reducing its level by only a few inches a day.
"Skuldelev V".
When the ships were already on the surface of the water, students were involved in the work, who began to free them from the stone captivity. I had to lie prone on the narrow wooden walkways above the excavation site, and first loosen the stones with jets of water from the hoses, and then collect them in buckets and take them out in wheelbarrows.
It was forbidden to use any metal tools so as not to accidentally drop them and damage fragile wood. Plastic buckets had to be used, along with children's sand scoops and plastic kitchen scrapers - the only tools that made it easier for workers to do their manual work.
This is how scuba divers worked under water, cleaning the parts of the found ships and raising them to the surface.
In addition, one had to fear that the tree, once exposed to air, would dry out and warp at the same time, that is, the details would decrease in volume and lose their shape! Therefore, over the place of work, special sprinklers were installed and they constantly poured water on the place of work, which is why they had to work in raincoats and boots.
The volume of work was truly colossal. So, each find was photographed and tagged with a description to which ship it belongs and where it should be. In total, in this way, 50,000 fragments were raised from the seabed and all of them were carefully cataloged!
The structure of the case, as you can see, was thoughtful and rational. The close-fitting sheathing, which increased its strength, as well as transverse and longitudinal fastenings - all this looks quite technically competent even today.
Interestingly, during the excavation process, it turned out that two of the five ships are not combat, but trade. That is, the Vikings knew how not only to fight, but also to trade and even built special ships for this purpose.
Moreover, one of these ships, the so-called Knorr, turned out to be strong and roomy enough to withstand the storms of the Atlantic Ocean. So, it is possible that it was on such ships that the Viking settlers went to explore Iceland and Greenland, and did not sail there at all on combat ships - drakkars. Another, relatively small and light ship, was a typical coaster that the Vikings used to sail the Baltic and North Seas. The sides of these ships were higher, and they themselves are wider than warships, narrow and streamlined. In the middle part there was a spacious hold, which could, if necessary, be covered with a leather awning to protect it from moisture. It is interesting that both merchant ships bore obvious traces of exploitation, moreover, many years, they were so worn out and battered in many places.
It's hard to imagine, but this tree is about 1118 years old!
By the way, the lighter boat, yielding in size to the second one, turned out to be the most valuable find. The fact is that, unlike other ships found at the bottom of the fjord, it has retained its original shape. Moreover, 75 percent of the length of its thirteen and a half meter hull was not damaged at all. From the stern, however, practically nothing remained, but its curved bow made of a single piece of oak wood is perfectly preserved, despite being under water for a thousand years. It had no decorations, since it was a merchant ship, but despite this, its outlines were very beautiful and aesthetic. The boat had holes for oars, but not all of them showed signs of wear. This made it possible to establish the number of its crew - only 4-6 people, and also the fact that it sailed more often than oars.
Viking ships: Drakkar - on the left, Knorr - on the right. Rice. V. Korolkov.
As soon as it became known about the finds at the bottom of the Roskilde fjord, several Danish cities announced their readiness to equip an appropriate museum room for their storage. They chose Roskilde, as the construction of a glass and steel museum complex had already been planned there. True, here purely technical troubles began with the finds themselves. The fact is that so that the tree does not dry out and does not lose its shape, it is treated in baths with water and a special substance - glycol, and this operation takes from six months to two years. In theory, this was supposed to protect the wood. However, when everything was ready and the scientists began assembling the parts into one piece, it was noticed that the wood of some parts was still subject to shrinkage. It turned out that glycol penetrated into them only into the upper layers of the wood, but not into the depths. Realizing what this would eventually lead to, the scientists decided to remove the glycol, for which they began to bathe wooden parts in bathtubs, first with hot water, and then rinse with cold water, after which the wood swelled again and acquired the same volume.
Now they decided to improve the process. The water was replaced by butanol, a type of alcohol that promoted the uniform introduction of glycol into the pores of the wood, which made it possible to strengthen it, but no longer threatened with shrinkage. As a result, the restorers were able to continue their work on assembling the ships and bring it to the end.
There is a shipyard next to the museum, where modern craftsmen using past technologies create exactly the same ships as those exhibited in the museum.
Parts of the ships were placed on special metal skeletons imitating the contours of the hull, and the missing parts were never replaced by anything, although the general outlines of the hulls were completely preserved. One of the halls had to be lengthened, since the ship that was supposed to be in it turned out to be too big for him. Two merchant ships were given a place of honor against the backdrop of a huge window overlooking the fjord, which became an excellent backdrop for their silhouettes.
And then for money (only 80 kroons!) Everyone can ride them. The sensations of this sailing are said to be unforgettable!
Most importantly, even a partial reconstruction of all these ships showed that the people who built them had great experience and were true masters of their craft. That is, they knew how to create both functional and beautiful ships at the same time. At the same time, they worked using the most primitive tools of labor, did not know mathematics and strength of materials, and nevertheless were able to build ships with excellent seaworthiness. On the other hand, all these five Viking ships are also a monument to modern scientists who managed to get their fragments from the bottom of the sea, protect them from inevitable destruction when drying in air and save them for us and our descendants.
Well, but this ship was found only in 1996 here in Roskilde, and quite by accident. It turned out to be the largest of all Viking ships found to date. It has already been calculated that its construction at that time, and it was built around 1025, took about 30 thousand man-hours of shipbuilders' labor, and to this should be added the work of lumberjacks and the transportation of materials to the construction site. The ship is over 36 meters long, a full four meters longer than Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose, which was built five centuries later. The ship could take 100 soldiers on board, who in turn rowed 39 pairs of oars, if suddenly the wind was not enough for its woolen square sail. It was cramped on board, I had to sleep between my chests, and there was also very little space for supplies. Therefore, they took them to a minimum and only one way, since the voyage was short-lived. Experienced voyages of Viking ship replica ships proved that they can easily withstand an average speed of 5.5 knots, and with a fresh wind they can rush at a speed of 20 knots. There is not so much left of this ship, but, nevertheless, it is quite possible to imagine exactly how this real super-drakkar looked like …
