Monthly Archives: FEBRUARY 2011

FEBRUARY, 2011

1400 friends – and still growing

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1400 friends

– and still growing

February 2011: Interest in the New Oseberg Ship is increasing day by day.

Since we set up our web page with links to Facebook about six months ago we have made 1.400 friends. On 12 February we had 1.021 friends on our Norwegian Facebook and 379 on the English version.

Our web pages have noted about 100 visitors every day – from all over the world. Last week we had visitors from 38 different countries. Most of them are from Norway, naturally, followed by USA, Great Britain and Denmark.

Tell your friends about The New Oseberg Ship!

Photo: Glenn Torquil MacLeod

posted by Jorgen Kirsebom February 14, 2011 18:34 General News comments (1)

With true Viking blood in his veins

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With true Viking blood in his veins

February 2011: The Scotsman Glenn Torquil MacLeod (52) has made his second trip across the North Sea to work on the Oseberg project.

"Vikings and Viking ships are my true interest in life,” says the former naval man, whose roots stem from the island Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. His middle name, Torqil, is Norse (Tor’s kettle) also indicates a Viking association, and MacLeod is certain there is a link.

He was part of the BBC series that was shown a few years ago when the TV company hunted traces of Viking DNA. In Glenn Torquil’s case, the link was beyond any doubt.

He sailed as crew on board the Roskilde vessel "The chieftain” on its journey to Ireland two years ago, and is looking forward to building and sailing the most beautiful one of all -The Oseberg Queen’s ship.

...

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom February 08, 2011 12:54 General News comments (0)

Maria Laura Espido Freire swings the axe

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Spanish writer swings the axe

January 2011: The New Oseberg Ship seems to be attracting authors of international renown. This time the young Spanish writer Maria Laura Espido Freire came to visit, along with a Spanish reporter team who are doing a story about her.

She came to visit the city the Norwegian princess Kristina Haakonsdatter left in 1257 to marry her Spanish prince, don Felipe. The story inspired Espido Freire to write the novel "La flor del Norte” (The flower from the North), which will be published later thi

s year.

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom February 06, 2011 22:06 General News comments (0)

Oseberg – the women’s ship

Oseberg

– the women’s ship

Among the many ways of looking at the Oseberg ship, the female aspect is the most exciting. The archaeologists who excavated the Viking ship were astonished when they realised that it was no warrior chief that was buried in the Oseberg mound – but two women.

This was almost unthinkable in 1904, so in many ways the Oseberg find opened up for a new understanding of women’s role in the Viking age. Religious historian Eivind Luthen focuses on this in a recent article in Tønsbergs Blad, the local newspaper. Luthen is known as the founder of the pilgrim movement in Norway.

In the article, he repeats the theory stating that the women may have been higher priestesses, perhaps substitutes for Freya, the goddess of fertility. "Perhaps the Oseberg ship was a Frøya ship?” is a question Luthen poses in ...

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom February 06, 2011 21:57 General News comments (0)

The keel is laid and the stem mounted

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The keel is laid

and the stem mounted

Milestones for the New Oseberg Ship were frequent in January and February. The keel was laid on January 31 and the stem mounted on February 2.

The shipbuilders were proud as they lifted the two parts of the keel onto the bedding together. Just like the original, the Oseberg keel is composed of two parts – one is about 16 metres long, the second about five. With the two parts in place, Danish boat builder Thomas Finderup added the finishing touches to the joint. Then chief boat builder Geir Røvik placed the packing of carded wool (from the Old Norse breed of sheep called the spelsau) between the two oak surfaces and Thomas rubbed the joint and the packing with tar. Lastly, holes were bored with real Viking drills and handmade bolts were inserted to join the ...

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posted by Jorgen Kirsebom February 06, 2011 18:56 Building News comments (0)

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