Viking Scar Boat Burial

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This question is at the heart of a number of questions surrounding the Scar boat burial. It has as much to do with small scale ownership and burial association as it has to do with larger cultural ties and identity. As the introduction states, the burial, near Scar at Sanday in Orkney, is both a phenomenal opportunity for archaeologists and an enigma. The burial has received a large amount of environmental damage, which already makes the investigation circumstantial and vague, but it is further complicated by a number of deviations from the more widespread patterns of what is considered Viking culture. The boat is thus an important piece of evidence, because it is not associated specifically with one of the occupants. Instead, it serves as …show more content…

Ships are very clearly the true symbol of the Viking. Like the term Viking, which is the label applied to what is actually a loose cultural amalgamation of Northern European groups, the Viking ship is similarly varied in its forms and uses . Seafaring was an important part of the Viking lifestyle. Ships were built in winter out of oak and pine wood, which was shaped while green and stored in marshes to keep it supple . It enabled trade over long distances, exploration, colonization, and an extended radius for raiding and conquest. Speed and flexibility were their hallmarks allowing them to sail up shallow rivers and in the open sea. The skaldic tradition contains a large number of words associated with ships, and their usage depends on the both the size and purpose of the ship . Owens divides Viking ships into two large categories: boats (under 7-8m in length) and ships (longer than 8m) . The larger ships are the ones used largely in warfare and trading, supporting both oars and a main sail. They were built to hold much larger crews, and had loosely planked decks which could be moved or removed to store cargo or bail water . Boats were smaller and used mostly to support the larger ships on campaign, or for fishing and much smaller scale travel . Boats, rather than ships, are most often found in the hundreds of Norwegian boat burials that have been discovered . The craft at Scar is definitely classified as a boat, and is bigger than the faering, a smaller four oared open rowboat . It was roughly the same length as the largest of the Gokstad rowboats . It differs from those rowboats, because in addition to its 6 rowlocks, it may have supported a mast and small sail . The boat can be more specifically classified as a karve because of this . Such ships were crewed by relatively small crews, and would have been

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