The small island of Karmøy was a powerful center for over 3,000 years off the southwest coast of Norway. Legend has it, collected in the epic poem GrÃmnismál, that the god Thor forded the Strait of Karmsund, which separates the islet from the mainland, every morning while he was on his way to Yggdrasil, the tree of life.
The sea currents and rocks make this region one of the most dangerous places in the Norwegian fjords, forcing ships to take refuge in the strait for centuries. This allowed the kings of Karmøy to control traffic in the area and exact taxes that made the area a prosperous site.
An example of the greatness of the place are its boats converted into Viking tombs. Until now two of these burial places were known. The one in Oseberg, where the largest and best preserved ship in the world is located, was discovered in 1904. The one in Gokstad was excavated in 1880.
Just a few months ago, Norwegian archaeologists stumbled upon a third site, at the Salhushaugen burial mound. This site had already been studied more than a hundred years ago, but no Viking ship was found. Just 15 wooden shovels and some arrowheads were found.
Researchers from the Stavanger University Museum of Archeology decided to survey the area using ground penetrating radar to map the subsoil. During their study they came up with the outline of something that looked like a Viking burial ship.
The discovery was kept secret until they were completely sure of what had been found. A year later, georadar data describes that underground there is a ship up to 20 meters long and quite wide. “Remember the one found in Oseberg,†says archaeologist Håkon Reiersen in a statement.
The Oseberg ship, which was built around 780 and buried some 15 years later, is about 22 meters long and just over 5 meters wide. Also from the same period and style is the Storhaug ship, which dates from 770 and was used for burial ten years later.
Experts have not yet been able to date Salhushaug’s ship, but they assume that it is also from the late 700s. A future excavation of the site will provide more information. “What we have seen so far is just the form. When we open, we can see if a large part of the boat is preservedâ€, says Reiersen.
Most surprisingly, the three tombs at Karmøy show that this “is the site where the first Viking kings lived,” he adds. “There is no other constellation of burial mounds as big as this one. This part of the country is where things were happening in the early Viking Age. The tradition of Scandinavian burial ships was established here and then spread to other parts of the country,” says the researcher.
The regional kings who ruled in this area controlled the shipping traffic on the west coast. The ships were forced to navigate through the Karmsund Strait along what was known as Nordvegen, the road to the north, which is also the origin of the country’s name.
The kings buried in the three Viking ships of Karmøy were a powerful bunch, in a part of Norway where power held firm for thousands of years. The town of Avaldsnes, for example, was the home of the Viking king Harald Fairhair, credited with unifying Norway around the year 900.
“The Storhaug mound is the only Viking Age grave in Norway where we have found a gold bracelet. It wasn’t just anyone who was buried here,†recalls Reiersen. New analyzes on this ship have also revealed that what was believed to be a rowing ship was actually a sailing ship.
The keel of the Storhaug ship, as well as what could be parts of the shipyard from the top of the sail, among other things, point in this direction. Ditta’s studies have not yet been published, but Reiersen believes his findings will become the new established knowledge about the Storhaug ship.
“The island of Karmøy has always been noted for being unusual, with its two burial mounds located in exactly the same area. This is why this third ship only adds to the impression that something special is happening here,” says Jan Hill. , from the Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo.
