Using georadar, a Viking ship measuring 20 meters long was found atop a mound that was previously thought to be empty. Archaeologist Håkon Reiersen calls this discovery "spectacular" and "a revelation about the earliest Viking kings."
During explorations and excavations in Karmøy in June last year, archaeologists discovered a new Viking ship in an old burial mound, as well as uncovered new information about the Storhaug ship which was discovered in the 1880s. Karmøy can now boast of being the home of three Viking ships. (Photo: Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger)
When excavating the Salhushaugen gravemound in Karmy, Western Norway, just over a century ago, archaeologist Haakon Shetelig was devastated not to locate a Viking ship.
The area where Grnhaugskipet was discovered had earlier seen Shetelig uncover a wealthy Viking ship tomb and the renowned Oseberg ship, the largest and best-preserved remaining Viking ship, in 1904. He only discovered 15 wooden spades and a few arrowheads at Salshaugen.
Haakon Shetelig excavated the Salhushaugen mound in 1906 and 1912. (Photo: University Museum of Bergen. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0)
He was very upset that nothing more was done with the mound, according to Håkon Reiersen, an archaeologist at the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology.
But it turned out that Shetelig just did not delve far enough.
The Storhaug ship burial as it might have appeared in 779. (Illustration: Eva Gjerde (c) Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger)
The decision to utilize ground-penetrating radar, also known as georadar—a device that uses radio waves to map out what is beneath the surface of the ground—to search the area was made by archaeologists around a year ago, in June 2022.
And lo, there it was—the shape of a Viking ship.
Exactly in the center of the mound
To complete their research and excavations at the time and increase their confidence in their findings, the archaeologists initially kept the discovery a secret.
"We've been working on this for a year, so we feel pretty confident about our findings," adds Reiersen, who served as the project manager for the field work.
Although publications have not yet been released, Reiersen claims that the georadar survey data is fairly clear.
"The outline of a 20-meter-long ship is clearly visible in the georadar signals. It is fairly broad and resembles the Oseberg ship, he claims.
The Oseberg ship measures just over 5 meters in width and roughly 22 meters in length.
Furthermore, the ship-shaped signs are situated precisely where the burial ship would have been—in the mound's center. The burial ship is the most plausible candidate as the cause of the incident.
The three Viking ship burial mounds at Karmøy. (Illustration: Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger)
The ship is also reminiscent to the Storhaug ship, another Viking ship discovered on Karmy in 1886, and of discoveries made in conjunction with its excavation.
Shetelig discovered a sizable round stone slab that may have served as a sacrifice altar. This links it to the Storhaug ship in time because a slab quite identical to it was discovered in the Storhaug mound, according to Reiersen.
There were at least three Viking ships in the same area
With the most recent discovery, Karmy, a historically significant location for more than three thousand years on Norway's southwest coast, can now boast three Viking ships.
The Storhaug ship was used for a ship burial ten years after it was built in 770.
The Grnhaug ship was buried 15 years after it was built in 780.
The newest addition, the Salhushaug ship, has not yet been authenticated or dated, but archaeologists believe it to be from the same time period as the other ships, the late 700s.
To analyze the conditions and maybe obtain a more accurate dating, the archaeologists intend to do a verification dig.
"All that we have seen so far is the ship's shape. It's possible that when we open up, what's left of the ship is only an imprint and not much of it has been retained, warns Reiersen.
It's unclear when an exploratory excavation might take place.
Before Shetelig's excavation, the Salhushaug mound had a diameter of around 50 meters and a height of 5 to 6 meters.
“It was enormous! Of course, most of this is gone, but what's left is a plateau, which is usually the most interesting section of the mound.” According to Reiersen, we believe that there are still items there to be discovered.
The Storhaug mound was never looted, says archaeologist Håkon Reiersen. We know this partly due to observations during excavations in the 1880s, but also because so many valuable items were found – such as this gold arm ring and a spectacular set of game pieces made of glass and amber. (Photo: Annette Øvrelid, Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger)
Home of the earliest Viking kings
According to Reiersen, the three Viking ship tombs near Karmy are evidence that this is where the first Viking rulers resided.
Excavated around 120 years ago, the tombs of the more well-known Viking ships Oseberg and Gokstad are dated to between 900 and 834 for Oseberg and 900 for Gokstad, respectively.
This is the largest constellation of ship burial mounds known to exist, according to Reiersen.
"This is the region of the nation where events took place during the early Viking Age. According to him, here is where the tradition of Scandinavian ship graves originated before spreading to other regions of the nation.
Ship traffic on the west coast was governed by the local kingdoms in this region. Ships were compelled to travel along the Nordvegen, or "way to the north," across the constricting Karmsund Strait. That's where the country's name, Norway, also comes from.
The three Viking ships of Karmy contained the remains of three mighty rulers who ruled over a region of Norway for thousands of years. The Viking King Harald Fairhair, who is credited with unifying Norway about the year 900, lived at the settlement of Avaldsnes in Karmy.
The first sail-equipped Viking ship?
The only Viking Age tomb from Norway where a gold arm ring has been discovered is the Storhaug mound. Not just anyone was interred here, claims Reiersen.
Massimiliano Ditta holds up a part of the Storhaug ship which was found in 1974.
Massimiliano Ditta, a PhD student, has examined all the artifacts and paperwork from the Storhaug ship excavation in 1886–1887 in addition to discovering a new Viking ship. He has revealed that what was once thought to be a rowing ship was actually a sailing ship using new analytical techniques.
Along with other elements, the Storhaug ship's keel and what appear to be pieces of the yard from the top of the sail point in this direction. Although Ditta's investigations have not yet been published, Reiersen is confident that his discoveries will change what is known about the Storhaug ship.
The Oseberg ship is currently thought to be the earliest sail-equipped Viking ship. It will be necessary to reevaluate this fact if Ditta and Reiersen are right.
A great discovery
Jan Bill, a professor and archaeologist, calls it a "magnificent find." He oversees the Viking Ship Collection at the University of Oslo's Museum of Cultural History.
With two ship burial mounds situated in the exact same spot, Karmy has always stood out as exceptional, so the discovery of a third ship just strengthens the sense that something special is happening in this location, according to Bill.
Surveying locations using georadar has yielded a lot of interesting finds in recent years, among them a few Viking ships. (Photo: Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger)
Additionally, he supports the investigation of the Storhaug ship as a potential sailing vessel.
We've had conflicting information about this ship, so if this new research can clear things up, that's fantastic, he says.
However, Bill questions whether the practice of ship burials originated in Karmy, noting older instances from England and Estonia.
Bill notes that it is unclear whether the Storhaug ship is the first Viking ship to have sails because the Gjellestad Viking ship, which was discovered a few years ago, has not yet been dated but may be from the same time period.
A brand-new Viking ship in a trend
Project manager for the excavation of the Gjellestad Viking ship in 2020 and 2021 was archaeologist Christian Løchsen Rødsrud. A few years ago, the ship was initially located using georadar. The ship was in terrible condition, and excavations needed to be done as soon as possible to conserve the remains, according to the preliminary investigations.
According to Løchsen Rødsrud, "This new find is part of a series of new ship finds during recent years," though he adds that because he hasn't seen the geophysical images, he can't speculate too much about what they could represent.
The archaeologist claims that Gjellestad was the first ship to be found using georadar.
Recent georadar discoveries in Edøy in Western Norway, Borre in Eastern Norway, and potentially Jarlsberg in the same region have led to the discovery of further Viking ships.
"Our work seems to have opened up for a new generation of archaeologists who are again focusing on these burial mounds," he claims.
Even though Viking ship remnants are being found by Norwegian archaeologists, excavation of these sites is not certain.
The choice about the ship discovered in Borre, according to Løchsen Rødsrud, is to hold off until the Gjellestad ship's construction is complete.
The government chose to invest money in Gjellestad because it was the first. I don't want to guess right now about the political environment surrounding funding for additional ship burial digs, the man says.
Since this discovery is located in a different region of the nation and belongs to a different museum, he continues, "they might have a strong interest in opening things up so they can get a sense of the conditions, and maybe an option might be funding from the private sector."
