Ladby ship burial
About 925 AD the King of Ladby was buried in his ship by the side of a fjord. He had with him a range of posessions, including 11 horses & 3 or 4 dogs. Over time, the wood has rotted away, but the weight of the burial mound compacted the soil below, so the shape of the boat is still visible. The site is now a museum in two parts. The first has a reconstruction of the scene, together with some artefacts and explanation. The second is an air conditioned room built round the actual remains.
Shown below are:
Shown below are:
- Two pictures of the reconstruction.
- The full length of the real thing, taken from the stern on the right, and the remains of the horses the left.
- Some of the original ironwork still in place, and a reconstruction of how the iron pieces of the horse's mane made up the figure head.
The exhibition includes a woven wall hanging. Unfortunately I couldn't read the signs, which were in Danish and German. However it was clearly a reconstruction using the sort of materials available at the time of the boat burial.
A group of local men are currently building a replica of the burial boat. The local women decided they would like a long term project as well, so they are making a Bayeux Tapestry style embroidery of the story of the boat burial. The project started in 2011, and at the moment 16 volunteers meet once a week to work on it. The finished work will be 23 feet long and 20 inches high (7m x 50cm). If you are wondering about the connection with Bayeux, remember the term Norman is thought to have come from "Norsemen".
As a first stage, small sections were made to experiment with the techniques and check the effect. These are now framed and on display in the museum.
As a first stage, small sections were made to experiment with the techniques and check the effect. These are now framed and on display in the museum.
The work in progress is also on display at the museum, but it is hard to photograph well, as it is hung from a series of wooden bulldog clips, so it can be taken down for work sessions. It will be very impressive when they have finished it. Thee plan is to move on to a second embroidery telling the story of the reproduction boat project.
Back to Denmark.