The mound was excavated by Nicolay Nicolaysen in 1880. The Gokstad Ship was constructed around 890 and was laid in the mound around ten years later. It mainly consists of oak and has a length of 23.8 meters and width of 5.2 meters. It had 16 pairs of oars and its top speed is estimated as twelve knots. The Gokstad Ship is now located at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. Buried along with the ship was a petty king long believed to have been Olaf Geirstad-Alf, half-brother of Halfdan the Black. However, recent discoveries have increased uncertainty and it, therefore, remains unknown what chieftain was buried at the mound. Gokstadhaugen has been described as one of Norway’s finest archeological finds. The government of Norway applied to UNESCO in January 2014 to make the Gokstad Mound a World Heritage Site.
Excavation
The mound was in 1880 measured as 50 meters in diameter, with a height of 5 meters. The ocean water levels were significantly higher during the Viking Age, when the ocean stood nearly 4 meters 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, 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, and was killed around age 40 during a battle. The ship was discovered in 1879, and was excavated by Nicolay Nicolaysen between April-June 1880. The mound was closed and the chieftain’s knuckles were returned to the grave site on June 16, 1928. The knuckles were put in a sarcophagus, and King Haakon VII 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.
