The Gokstad Mound (Norwegian: Gokstadhaugen) is a large

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 ...

at Gokstad Farm in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

(formerly Sandar municipality) in Vestfold County, Norway. It is also known as the King's Mound (''Kongshaugen'') and is where the 9th century Gokstad Ship was found.

History

PSM_V19_D092_Ancient_scandinavian_vessel_found_in_gokstad

The mound was excavated by

Nicolay Nicolaysen Nicolay Nicolaysen (14 January 1817 - 22 January 1911) was a Norwegian archaeologist and Norway's first state employed antiquarian. He is perhaps best known for his excavations of the ship burial at Gokstad in 1880. Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.Gjerseth, Simen (2016). ''Nye Sandefjord''. Liv forlag. Page 277. . Buried along with the ship was a petty king long believed to have been

Olaf Geirstad-Alf Olaf Gudrødsson (c. 810 – c. 860), known after his death as Olaf Geirstad-Alf "Olaf, Elf of Geirstad" (Old Norse Ólafr Geirstaðaalfr), was a semi-legendary petty king in Norway. A member of the House of Yngling, he was the son of Gudrød the H ...

, half-brother of

Halfdan the Black Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: ''Halfdanr Svarti''; fl. c. 9th century) was a king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a unified Norway. In sagas According to ''Heimskringla'' ...

. However, recent discoveries have increased uncertainty and it, therefore, remains unknown what chieftain was buried at the mound.Tollnes, Ivar and Olaf Akselsen (1994). ''Sandefjord: Den lille storbyen''. Sandefjords blad. Page 103. . After two years of restoration work, Kongshaugen was dedicated in July 1929. A small stone fence was raised around the mound and birch trees were planted along the fence. On the official opening ceremony on July 20, 1929, between 2,000-3,000 spectators showed up to observe the ceremony.

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

was also present, along with Norway’s Minister of Church Affairs, the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, the mayors of

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

County, and others. King Haakon VII also held a speech during the official opening ceremony, which took place on July 28, 1929. Gokstadhaugen has been described as one of Norway’s finest archeological finds. The government of Norway applied to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in January 2014 to make the Gokstad Mound a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Excavation

The mound was in 1880 measured as 50 meters (164 ft.) in diameter, with a height of 5 meters (16.4 ft.). The ocean water levels were significantly higher during the

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 Germ ...

, when the ocean stood nearly 4 meters (13 ft.) higher than today. It is therefore estimated that the ship was buried near the sea. Artifacts found in the grave include a gaming board with counters of horn, fishing hooks, harness fittings (made of lead, iron and gilded bronze), 64 shields, kitchen utensils, six beds, a sleigh, as well as three smaller boats. Also found in the grave were two peacocks, two goshawks, eight dogs and twelve horses. The burial chamber was covered by layers of birch bark, and remnants of silk interwoven with gold thread have been discovered by archeologists stuck between the logs in the roof. These are possibly the remnants of a lavish woven tapestry that decorated inside walls. Dendrochronological studies prove the ship was constructed between years 885–892 AD. The burial chamber is dated to 895–903 AD. The buried chieftain was estimated to be 181–183 cm tall (5'9"–6'0"), and was killed around age 40 during a battle. The ship was discovered in 1879, and was excavated by

was present at the official opening of the restored mound on July 29, 1929. The sarcophagus was brought out of the grave by archeologists in 2007, and is currently kept at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

(UiO).{{cite web, url=http://www.vfk.no/Documents/vfk.no-dok/Kulturarv/Vestfoldhistorie/Levd%20liv_utstillingsplakater.pdf, title=Utstillingen Levd liv, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024650/http://www.vfk.no/Documents/vfk.no-dok/Kulturarv/Vestfoldhistorie/Levd%20liv_utstillingsplakater.pdf, archivedate=2015-11-17

References

External links

Gokstadhaugen
Jan Lindh and Anitra Fossum. April 16, 2013. Vestfold Cultural History
Kongshaugen
Kulturminnesok

Other sources

* Nicolaysen, Nicolay (1882) ''Langskibet Fra Gokstad Ved Sandefjord'' (Kristiania: Cammermeyer) Sandefjord Archaeological sites in Norway Viking ship burials 9th century in Norway

History

Excavation

See also

References

External links

Other sources