The Myklebust ship is the largest Viking ship to be discovered in Norway. It was found in a burial mound at Nordfjordeid in 1874, but has since been forgotten by many. The Myklebust ship has now risen from the ashes and stands just a few metres from Eidsfjorden, where it first sailed more than 1,000 years ago.
Full length: 30 m
Width: 6 m
Height at the mast: approx. 7 m
Numbers of oars: 24 pairs
Number of shields: 48
Numbers of splices/nails: approx. 7,000
Numbers of wooden rivets: approx. 700
Estimated weight: approx. 16 tons
History and findings
The young archaeologist Anders Lorange came to Nordfjordeid from Berge in 1874 to investigate the large burial mound that was locally called “Rundehågjen” and “Lisje Skjoratippen”. The mound is located on Myklebustgarden, a farm that contains several burial mounds. But this particular mound turned out to be special.
The mound was about 30 metres in diameter, almost 4 metres high, and had a wide moat around it. The mound contained the remains of a magnificent Viking ship and a number of high-status objects from the late 800s. The sumptuous burial artefacts and traces of the mystical rituals performed at the time of burial that were found in the mound provided a fascinating insight into the way of life and worldview of the Norse society that lived on Nordfjordeid over a thousand years ago.
The ship in the mound was named Myklebustskipet, after the farm where it was found. Unfortunately, the ship came to be overshadowed by the Viking ships found a few years later: the Gokstad ship in 1880 and the Oseberg ship in 1904. The reason was that the Gokstad ship and the Oseberg ship were found intact, while the Myklebust ship had been burned at the time of burial. There was therefore not much to left to see of the Myklebust ship. But the burial mound contained traces of the proud past of the ship and the person buried there. This history also deserves to come to light.
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