Winter Travel Sledge, circa 830AD
Though most commonly remembered as having traveled south into western Europe, Vikings made numerous expeditions eastward into Russia, maintaining important lines of trade and even settling along the Dnieper and Volga rivers. This travel sledge offers us an interesting glimpse into the less well-known mode of travel, overland sledging along frozen rivers.
This Oseberg travel sledge is one of three excavated from the Oseberg burial, dating from 834AD, found in Tønsberg, Norway. The burial site included well-preserved Viking ship within which were buried numerous grave goods including household items, ornaments, weapons, and travel accessories. This sled is made out of carved oak, and measures 7 ft long. Its construction features a frame and bed attached to up-turned runners. It was likely produced in the early 800s, but interned in the burial mound in 834 AD. The burial mound was excavated by architects in 1904.
As Vikings traveled eastward into Russia, their expeditions could not be made solely in watercraft, as the rivers would freeze over before they reached their destinations. These treks took several months and there was therefore not enough time for summer sailing.[1] Vikings oftentimes made inland journeys in the winter to take advantage of snow and ice as a traveling medium, made traversable with the use of skis, skates, and sleighs. Horses could pull heavier loads on sledges than they could carry on their backs and this contributed to making inland winter travel a viable alternative to ship travel. [2] This method of travel was quite efficient, allowing groups to cover upwards of 150km a day.
Varangians, as they were known, were Scandinavians who migrated eastwards through what is now Russia and Ukraine. By 750, before the first recorded Viking raid on Lindisfarne, a population of Vikings had settled at Saraja Ladoga on the Volkhov River. [3] This eastward migration and its subsequent settling along rivers resulted in the creation of several important trading centers like that at Staraya Ladoga which became an important trading connection between Scandinavia and the eastern trade routes that followed the rivers of Russia to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In trading centers like this, Viking merchants would trade with Arab merchants mainly to acquire silver coins which they used not as further trade mediums, but as a commodity in and of itself. [4] Viking merchants used coins as status symbols, and our most common citation of this comes from a description of merchants giving their wives silver neckrings as a representation of every 10,000 coins acquired. These neckrings were worn in public and distinguished the wealthiest merchants. [5]
This travel sledge is an important representation of how the less-well known inland Viking migrations took place and helps fill in the gap in knowledge of how Vikings traveled and settled in eastern Europe.
[1] "Dangerous Journeys to Eastern Europe and Russia - National Museum of Denmark." National Museum of Denmark. Accessed May 15, 2015. http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/expeditions-and-raids/dangerous-journeys-to-eastern-europe-and-russia/.
[2] NAS 53
[3] NAS 28
[4] NAS 84
[5] Ibn Fadlan, TVA, 275
This Oseberg travel sledge is one of three excavated from the Oseberg burial, dating from 834AD, found in Tønsberg, Norway. The burial site included well-preserved Viking ship within which were buried numerous grave goods including household items, ornaments, weapons, and travel accessories. This sled is made out of carved oak, and measures 7 ft long. Its construction features a frame and bed attached to up-turned runners. It was likely produced in the early 800s, but interned in the burial mound in 834 AD. The burial mound was excavated by architects in 1904.
As Vikings traveled eastward into Russia, their expeditions could not be made solely in watercraft, as the rivers would freeze over before they reached their destinations. These treks took several months and there was therefore not enough time for summer sailing.[1] Vikings oftentimes made inland journeys in the winter to take advantage of snow and ice as a traveling medium, made traversable with the use of skis, skates, and sleighs. Horses could pull heavier loads on sledges than they could carry on their backs and this contributed to making inland winter travel a viable alternative to ship travel. [2] This method of travel was quite efficient, allowing groups to cover upwards of 150km a day.
Varangians, as they were known, were Scandinavians who migrated eastwards through what is now Russia and Ukraine. By 750, before the first recorded Viking raid on Lindisfarne, a population of Vikings had settled at Saraja Ladoga on the Volkhov River. [3] This eastward migration and its subsequent settling along rivers resulted in the creation of several important trading centers like that at Staraya Ladoga which became an important trading connection between Scandinavia and the eastern trade routes that followed the rivers of Russia to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In trading centers like this, Viking merchants would trade with Arab merchants mainly to acquire silver coins which they used not as further trade mediums, but as a commodity in and of itself. [4] Viking merchants used coins as status symbols, and our most common citation of this comes from a description of merchants giving their wives silver neckrings as a representation of every 10,000 coins acquired. These neckrings were worn in public and distinguished the wealthiest merchants. [5]
This travel sledge is an important representation of how the less-well known inland Viking migrations took place and helps fill in the gap in knowledge of how Vikings traveled and settled in eastern Europe.
[1] "Dangerous Journeys to Eastern Europe and Russia - National Museum of Denmark." National Museum of Denmark. Accessed May 15, 2015. http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/expeditions-and-raids/dangerous-journeys-to-eastern-europe-and-russia/.
[2] NAS 53
[3] NAS 28
[4] NAS 84
[5] Ibn Fadlan, TVA, 275
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