Where did the Vikings explore?
- The Vikings were great explorers and travellers. Viking ships reached鈥Britain, France, Spain, Italy and North Africa.
- Traders made long journeys overland through鈥疪ussia, reaching as far south as鈥Constantinople鈥痠n modern-day Turkey.
- Some merchants traveled further east to鈥疊aghdad鈥痠n Iraq.
- A few daring explorers made voyages to Iceland and beyond, travelling across the Atlantic Ocean to鈥North America.
- Explorer Leif Erikson traveled to Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. Eric the Red traveled to Greenland.
What did the Vikings trade?
The Vikings traded all over Europe and as far east as Central Asia.
They bought goods and materials such as鈥silver, silk, spices, wine, jewellery, glass and pottery.
In return, they sold items like honey, tin, wheat, wool, wood, iron, fur, leather, fish and walrus ivory.
Everywhere they went, the Vikings鈥痓ought and鈥痵old鈥痚nslaved people too.
Viking traders carried a set of鈥folding scales鈥痺hich they used to weigh coins to make sure they got a fair deal.
How did they find their way?
The Vikings did not use maps. Vikings sailed close to the coast whenever possible, watching for鈥landmarks.
Out of sight of land, they looked for鈥the sun:鈥痺est (towards the sunset) meant they were headed for England; east (towards the sunrise) meant home to Denmark or Norway.
The Vikings invented a kind of鈥sun-shadow board鈥痮谤 sundial to help find their way. At night they watched the skies and could use the position of the stars to determine which direction they were heading.
Seamen knew a lot about鈥winds鈥痑苍诲鈥sea currents.鈥疊y watching birds or even the colour of the water, an experienced sailor could tell when land was close.
How do we know about longships?
Wood rots and metal rusts away after a thousand years or more in the ground, but some remains show what Viking ships were like.
- Two Viking ships were found by archaeologists鈥痮n farms in Norway.
- The Gokstad ship鈥痺as dug up in 1880.鈥疶he Oseberg ship鈥痺as found in 1904.
- Both ships were buried in Viking funerals between鈥AD800 and 900.
- The Gokstad ship is 23 metres long, the largest Viking ship ever found. It was big enough for 32 oarsmen and had 16 oars on each side.
- These ships are now in a museum in Oslo, Norway.
Watch: Viking ships
For centuries, the secret of Viking success was their ships.
To sail in them, was to be a Viking.
They were built from shaped, wooden planks held together with iron rivets and wooden frames.
Any gaps were sealed with animal hair to make them waterproof.
Rowing one of these, well on a day like today is actually quite pleasant, if you can get into the rhythm.
It鈥檚 not such a bad way to spend a morning.
Oh, hold on, hold on! It鈥檚 all gone terrible.
These ships meant they could sail all around Scandinavia and then on to Ireland, England and Scotland. Transporting people,animals, weapons and tools.
It鈥檚 been estimated that in the case of the bigger vessels, with crews of 70 men, to keep them going through a sailing season lasting 4 months, would require the surplus from 460 farms.
Or alternatively, you could just get your food from raiding and pillaging.
If there was no wind, the Viking boats could be powered by oars.
But they really came into their own as sailing ships. Then they were able to travel much, much further.
But not all Viking boats and ships were meant for sailing across the open ocean.
Some Vikings used their vessels to sail up the mighty rivers in Russia and beyond.
This would take them to the mysterious lands in the east, where they could find riches beyond their wildest dreams.
鈥淢orning Vikings鈥濃淲here can I be? Up here鈥
But travelling along the rivers presented a whole new challenge.
If they reached a point where the river was blocked by ice or rapids, the boats could be taken out of the water and rolled on logs beyond the obstacles.
Sometimes they would even transport their vessels between different rivers.That鈥檚 why these boats are smaller than the ocean going ships, they weren鈥檛 so heavy and they could be moved, metre by metre, over land, from one place to another.
Imagine how long it would take to get anywhere?
You leave home in Sweden and you cross the Baltic in ships and get everything into boats like this. And every now and again you鈥檝e got to take the boat out of the water, and move it over land.
These guys must have been away for years at a time.
It鈥檚 time-consuming and it is laborious but there鈥檚 enough men here to move a boat this size. So the system does work鈥 as history shows.
Activities
Activity 1: Viking explorers
Click on each of the Vikings to find out how far they travelled and what they discovered.
Activity 2: Quiz 鈥 Viking traders and explorers
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