The Sea Stallion
justmc, Jul 13, 2006For four years, the boat builders of the Viking Ship Museum were working on a reconstruction of the long ship Skuldelev 2 which, with its length of 30m, is in a class of its own. The ship represents the Viking Age’s large sea-going war ships, as described in skaldic epics and saga texts. Longships like this were among the largest warships of the Viking Age. They were used to transport large numbers of troops, and therefore played an important part in Viking warmongering. Work began in 2000 and was, as far as practically possible, carried out with copies of tools from Viking times. On the 4th September 2004 the long ship Havhingsten fra Glendalough - Sea Stallion from Glendalough was launched. More than 12000 visitors attended the event when Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark named the ship, after which the 30m long reconstruction of a Viking ship was hauled and carried into the water. At the end of the afternoon 5.3 tons of ballast stones were placed in the ship and Sea Stallion from Glendalough was ready for her maiden voyage. Her Majesty took part in the trip along with the Irish Minister of Culture, Arts, Sport and Turism, John O’Donoghue TD, and the Danish Minister of Culture, Brian Mikkelsen. By building longships like Skuldelev 2, the Viking Ship Museum can investigate the methods necessary to build a ship of this size, the time it takes and the materials required. With the ship it will be possible for the first time to test the sailing characteristics of Viking longships, their cargo carrying capacity and the number of men they could transport. This will provide a better understanding of the way in which the Vikings accomplished their expeditions. The reconstruction was financed by the Tuborg Fund. The original ship is on display in the Viking Ship Hall. In 2007, the ship will sail to Dublin where the original vessel was built in 1042/1043 AD.
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