Skuldelev 3

Today we left our B&B and cycled in the sun to Roskilde. Like Ribe, Roskilde is a former capital of Denmark and was famous for the scuttled boats found in the harbour that have since been dug up, preserved and put on display. They think the boats were deliberately sunk to block the channels into the harbour, to prevent raiders from attacking the city.

The Viking Boat Museum is fascinating and has lots of modern experimental archaeology going on, as people try to understand how these old boats were actually built and used. The main exhibits are the remains of the boats that are on display in a purpose built exhibition hall that from the outside looks like a concrete u-boat pen, but on the inside is a stunning light and airy building with the boats all for display.

Today's blip is boat number 3, believed to be a is a small, elegant trading and transport vessel, possibly of the byrding type. The ship was built of Danish oak. It had decks of loose planks fore and aft and an open hold amidships with room for about 4 tons of cargo. The ship had a crew of 5-8 men. It's 75% complete and I managed to get a nice angle showing it and the building off quite well I think.

After visiting the museum we checked into our Danhostel, which is physically next door to the museum and had dinner - which was a bit harder than planned as the kitchen's microwave didn't work. After dinner we went for a walk round the city, which is very pretty and has a large and impressive cathedral.

(back blip)