The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research ( no, Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning, NIKU) is a cultural heritage
research institute
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
based in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway.
Organization
The institute has nearly 80 employees and regional offices in
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
,
Tønsberg and
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
.
[ Following a restructuring in 2014 it consists of seven research departments:
* Archaeological Excavations
* Digital Documentation
* Conservation
* Buildings
* Urbanism and Planning
* Policy, Management and Society
* High North
The ]chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
is Knut Grøholt
Knut Grøholt (born 18 June 1942) is a Norwegian civil servant.
He was born in Oslo, was educated with the siviløkonom, siv.øk. degree and later took the Ph.D. degree. He was hired in the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Labour in 1973 ...
and the deputy chair is Berit Skarholt. The current director general is Carsten Paludan-Müller.
NIKU was created in 1994 as a split from the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage
The Directorate for Cultural Heritage ( no, Riksantikvaren or ''Direktoratet for kulturminneforvaltning'') is a government agency responsible for the management of cultural heritage in Norway. Subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of the Environm ...
. From 1994 to 2003, the institute shared a board of directors with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research under the moniker NINA•NIKU.
In 2019, archaeologists from NIKU, using large-scale high-resolution georadar
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables o ...
technology, determined that a 17-meter-long Viking ship was buried beside Edøy Church
Edøy Church ( no, Edøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Smøla Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Edøy on the southern coast of the island of Smøla. It is the main church ...
on the island of Edøya. Traces of a small settlement were also found. NIKU estimates the ship's age as over 1,000 years: from the Merovingian or Viking period. The group plans to conduct additional searches in the area. A similar buried ship was found previously by a NIKU group in 2018, in Gjellestad.
Gjellestad ship burial
The Gjellestad () ship burial
A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was pr ...
, also spelt Jellestad, is the remains of a Viking age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
longship
Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...
found at the farm of Gjellestad in Halden
Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...
municipality in Norway in 2018 by the archeologists Lars Gustavsen and Erich Nau. An ancient well-preserved Viking cemetery for more than 1000 years was discovered using ground-penetrating radar. Archaeologists also revealed at least seven other previously unknown burial mounds and the remnants of five longhouses with the help of the radar survey. The discovery of extensive Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
remains at Gjellestad has led archaeologists to speculate that it had been a sacred site for centuries before the Viking era
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
.
A 2019 examination by the University of Oslo has dated it to AD 733, at the earliest. Originally interred beneath a burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
, in the present day the ship lies 50 centimetres below the topsoil due to years of plowing.
Due to extensive fungus
A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...
damage to the hull caused by field drainage, drought and exposure to the air, archaeologists called for an immediate dig to save the ship. Excavation of the ship at Gjellestad began in June 2020, overseen by Professor Knut Paasche from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research. It is estimated to be over 20 metres long, although only parts of the keel have survived. This would mean that the boat is of a similar size to the Gokstad ship. The identity of the boat's occupant has not yet been confirmed, but experts have speculated that it may have belonged to a king or queen.
By July 2021, archaeologists had exposed the keel of the ship and discovered the remains of a Viking axe. As of December 2021, exploratory excavations and metal detecting surveys in the surrounding area have revealed the existence of a Viking longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often rep ...
, a feasting hall, a Norse pagan ritual site, and metal artefacts including an Arabic dirham
The dirham, dirhem or dirhm ( ar, درهم) is a silver unit of currency historically and currently used by several Arab and Arab influenced states. The term has also been used as a related unit of mass.
Unit of mass
The dirham was a un ...
and three belt buckles.
By December 2022, the archaeological team had completed the excavations. The remains of the keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in B ...
will be preserved with water-soluble wax. Although most of the wood had disintegrated, the surviving nails will be used to create a 3d reconstruction of the boat. Objects of particular interest included a large amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...
bead, a spindle whorl, a bracelet, horse and cattle bones, human remains, a comb
A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since Prehistory, prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlemen ...
, a whetstone, fragments of a chest
The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...
, and two Viking axe heads. The soil from the excavation will be X-ray
X-rays (or rarely, ''X-radiation'') are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, it is referred to as Röntgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered it in 1895 and named it ' ...
ed and CT scan
A computed tomography scan (CT scan; formerly called computed axial tomography scan or CAT scan) is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers ...
ned before being sifted. The Viken and Halden
Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
intend to open a visitor centre at Gjellestad for viewing the outline of the ship. Meanwhile, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research has begun a research project called Viking Nativity to investigate the land surrounding the Gjellestad ship burial.Viking Nativity
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See also
* Norges kirker
Norges kirker is a documentation project for Church (building), church buildings affiliated with the Church of Norway. The project was initiated by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, and is now affiliated with the Norwegian Institute ...
– church building documentation project affiliated with the institute
Engagement, Sustainability and Diversity: examining recent heritage policy in Norway
References
External links
Official website
Research institutes in Norway
Education in Oslo
Independent research institutes
Multidisciplinary research institutes
Archaeological research institutes
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