The Vikings in Denmark

Viking Age finds from Denmark

The Longhouse is part of the reconstruction at the Viking ring fort of Fyrkat. Fyrkat was built around 980 AD and is a circular fort with sixteen identical longhouses built inside it. Each longhouse was nearly 30m long and 7.5m wide at its widest point. Recent research suggests that houses like these would have been painted white to make them look more impressive.

Nuts and Grains don't normally survive in the ground for a thousand years. However, these hazelnuts, and barley and wheat grains did. They were found in excavations at Ribe, and show the the types of cereals available to the Vikings. Barley was the most common, but rye and oats were also used.

Viking Age Coin in the National Museum, Denmark. This coin was a stray find, so it is not known where it came from or how it came to be lost. It depicts a Viking ship with its sails furled. Its sides are lined with shields, and it is at sea because a fish is shown underneath it. The coin has a hole in it, as if someone wore it as a pendant.

This Plate Brooch is shaped like a ship with shields arranged down its side. It was found in a Viking-Age grave in Lillevang in Bornholm, Denmark. It is held at the National Museum in Denmark.