Gokstad Mound

• 1. Introduction

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  The Gokstad Mound sits at Gokstad Farm in Sandefjord, Norway, and for centuries locals knew it simply as the King's Mound. When measured in 1880, it stood 5 meters tall and stretched 50 meters in diameter. Inside were sixty-four shields, twelve horses, two peacocks, a sleigh, and an oak ship nearly 24 meters long. A warrior had been buried there, killed in battle around the age of forty. More than a thousand years later, his name is still unknown. Archaeologist Nicolay Nicolaysen began digging into the mound in April 1880, opening what has since been described as one of Norway's finest archaeological finds. The ship he uncovered tells a story that begins more than a decade before the burial.

• 2. Oak, Oars, and Open Water

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  The ship inside the Gokstad Mound was first spotted in 1879, a year before the formal excavation began. Dendrochronological studies later dated its construction to between 885 and 892 AD. Its hull was built primarily of oak, and when fully measured it stretched 23.8 meters long and 5.2 meters wide. Sixteen pairs of oars powered it; researchers estimate its top speed at twelve knots. The burial chamber was dated to between 895 and 903 AD, placing the entombment within roughly a decade of the ship's completion. During the Viking Age, ocean water levels in this part of Norway stood nearly 4 meters higher than they do today. The ship is therefore believed to have been buried close to the shoreline. The Gokstad Ship is now at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

• 3. What the Grave Held

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  Archaeologists recovered a gaming board with counters made of horn from inside the burial chamber. Fishing hooks were present, along with harness fittings of lead, iron, and gilded bronze. Six beds and kitchen utensils were placed inside as well. Three smaller boats accompanied the main vessel.

  Two goshawks and eight dogs were among the creatures interred alongside the chieftain. The chamber itself was sealed beneath layers of birch bark.

  Between the roof logs, archaeologists found remnants of silk woven with gold thread. These fragments are believed to be what remains of a tapestry that once decorated the chamber's inner walls. The chieftain who assembled all of this was estimated to stand between 181 and 183 centimeters tall.

• 4. An Identity in Dispute

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  For generations, scholars believed this burial belonged to Olaf Geirstad-Alf, a petty king and half-brother of Halfdan the Black. Recent discoveries have introduced enough uncertainty that the chieftain's identity is now considered unknown. His knuckles were returned to the grave site on the 16th of June 1928 and sealed in a sarcophagus. Archaeologists removed the sarcophagus in 2007; it is currently held at the University of Oslo. In the year after those knuckles were resealed, King Haakon VII came to Sandefjord.

• 5. Ceremony and Heritage

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  After two years of restoration work, Kongshaugen was formally dedicated in July 1929. A small stone fence was raised around the mound, and birch trees were planted along it. Between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators attended the ceremony on the 20th of July 1929. King Haakon VII was present and delivered a speech at the official opening on the 28th of July. Norway's Minister of Church Affairs, the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, and the mayors of Vestfold County also attended. Norway submitted a UNESCO application in January 2014, requesting World Heritage status for the Gokstad Mound. Those birch trees, planted along the stone fence in 1929, continue to grow beside a mound that Norway formally asked UNESCO to recognize in January 2014.