Ladby Ship

Ladby Ship is Denmark's only ship grave from the Viking period. Around 925 AD, the king of Ladby was buried in his ship, which was 21.5 meters long and 3 meters wide. A burial mound was raised above the ship. His grave was furnished with all his fine possessions, including 11 horses and 3 or 4 dogs. In the bow of the ship lies the original anchor and anchor chain. Unfortunately, the grave was plundered back in the Viking times, so the deceased was removed and most of the grave goods destroyed. Some of the grave goods can be seen in the exhibition building.

In 1935, the ship was unearthed here after more than 1000 years underground. It was excavated by the National Museum and the pharmacist and amateur archaeologist Poul Helweg Mikkelsen from Odense. Now the Viking Museum at Ladby displays many of the original finds and gives an overview of the Viking era on northeast Funen. The new building also contains a reconstruction of the ship burial. It shows the scene as it may have looked right after the funeral, with the deceased chieftain lying on a bed in a full-scale replica of his ship, with all his grave goods, near his dogs and his eleven horses. There is also an interpretive movie about the Vikings' beliefs regarding the journey to the kingdom of the dead, based on Norse myths and the Gotlandic Runestones.

References:

• Ladby Ship Museum
• Wikipedia

Address

Vikingevej 123, Kerteminde, Denmark

Details

Founded: c. 925 AD
Category: Museums in Denmark
Historical period: Viking Age (Denmark)