The Vikings must not have been as good ship-builders as the English, if this boat is so fragile that vaccuuming it causes harm.
One recalls a few years the English excavated a boat from the reign of Henry VIII, where it had laid in the bottom of the water for hundreds of years, and it was still reasonably intact.
On the Aftenposten web-site (the red link above), there is also news about the possible demise of the famous luxury passenger ship, the Norway. It was never in the same class as the Cunarders Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Elizabeth II, and the current Queen Mary II, but one assumes it was still a pretty good ship.
Graffiti from the Viking age?
UFFDA!
Not really fair. A viking longboat would be MUCH older than the reign of Henry VIII.
and just out of warranty, too, how much you wanna bet?
I think taking it out of the water speeds up the decaying process.
"Ping" for the Norway ping list.
My thanks to wizr of the Norway ping list, for sending that story about criminals turning themselves in, but alas they were Danish criminals in Denmark, not eastern Europeans trying to outwit wary Norwegian border guards.
This week, I plan to dig around and find the web-site (or even mailing address) of the Norwegian border guards, so as to send them my congratulations and admiration for the fine work they do, in protecting Norway.
Those on the Norway ping list, as usual, may expect a copy (via e-mail) of such correspondence, as in the past.
I remain mystified that one never reads stories about Norwegians smuggling beer, tobacco, and illegal substances into Denmark or Poland; it always seems the other way around.
Wonderful, law-abiding people, the Norwegians.
bump
Don't be too hard on your ancestors. You are comparing a much older "clinker-built" galley to an early "Ship of the Line". Viking longboats were shallow draft vessels that could be sailed or rowed up narrow waterways & beached. Henry VIII was building a robust sailing vessel that was designed primarily to serve as a gun platform. 2 different animals and probably 400 years separate them.
Do the Viking Kittens need to host a fundraiser?
It's a 1200 year old wooden ship, the wood is probably rotting. The fact that it still exists at all shows they were excellent ship builders.
"The Vikings must not have been as good ship-builders as the English..."
The Vikings' legacy is huge, compared to their small populations.
In WWII the allies landed at Normandy beaches. Named Normandy after the Norwegian vikings that conquered part of France, soon before conquering England.
Near the same time, they also conquered southern Italy and part of the Holy lands. Bari, Italy was their regional capital.
Now moving west, Canada was visited by Lief Eriksson/Erikssen in 1,000. He sailed from Iceland, via Greenland to Canada. Some feel he went down the coast, even to the future Peoples' Republic of Taxxachusettes.
Now olde Lief made charts of the seas he sailed. Later, Christoffe Columbus, the Italian, sailed for Spain. He used, among other aides, the charts from the northern voyagers.
Today Norway has 4 million people.
(Another day I'll tell of Swedish Vikings' exploits.)
Planned obsolescence no doubt.
Oh I thought this was about the football team.
Pretty cool.
I've seen these ships. They are impressive.
BTTT
They could replace the decayed timbers. After all, if 50% of the ship remains original wood, it is still the original ship, isn't it?
It's just amazing that it exists at all.