The ship burial at Ladby is an important example of the burial custom known as a "burial rook" or ship burial, which is also represented by other notable sites such as the boat tomb chamber at Hedeby and the ship burials at Oseberg, Borre, Gokstad, and Tune in Southern Norway. These burial sites all date from the 9th and 10th centuries. The Ladby ship burial is unique in Denmark and was discovered southwest of Kerteminde on the island of Funen.
The grave is situated within an unremarkable Viking Age burial site. Excavations at the site revealed numerous funerary objects, including various artifacts and animal remains. Based on a gilded bronze link for a dog harness decorated in the style of Elling, the burial was dated to the early 10th century.
Unfortunately, the grave had suffered extensive damage. Only a few small human bones were found, leading researchers to conclude that the site had undergone a transformation from a pagan grave to a Christian one. Another interpretation suggests that the struggle for supremacy between King Harald Bluetooth and his heir Svein Forkbeard may have led to the desecration of the grave. The ship itself was a powerful symbol, visible to anyone in the area, and served to glorify the minor king buried within. The deliberate disassembly of the grave, with the removal of the deceased and the cutting of the ship into hundreds of pieces within a few years after the burial, dealt a significant blow to the prestige of the deceased's family.
The Ladby ship burial was discovered on February 28, 1935, near Kerteminde in northeastern Funen, by pharmacist Paul Helveg Mikkelsen. The main source material about the discovery comes from Mikkelsen's original drawings and the records of Gustav Rosenberg, the conservator at the Danish National Museum. Mikkelsen personally financed the construction of protective structures that were erected over the site, which was then covered with earth and grass. Subsequently, the ship was handed over to the National Museum, which assumed full responsibility for the site until 1994 when the Department of Archaeology and Landscape of the Viking Museum in Ladby, part of the East Funen Museums, took over.
Two factors commonly associated with the discovery of ship burials are relevant to the Ladby ship. Firstly, ship burials are often found in elevated locations such as highlands, hilltops, slopes, and coastal ridges. Secondly, ship burials are typically situated in close proximity to water, whether it be a lake, fjord, or sea. The Ladby ship conforms to these characteristics as it is located atop a hill near Kerteminde Fjord. It is believed that the ship was pulled from the fjord to the hilltop using ice slides, similar to the method employed for the Oseberg ship. The Ladby ship was a large vessel with an estimated crew of 30-32 rowers. While Rosenberg did not describe the shape of the mound, Mikkelsen referred to it as oval. Instead of finding stones arranged in a circular shape around the mound, Rosenberg discovered a set of stones to the north and south of the ship, along with a small pile to the east. Since these stones are positioned at a higher level than the row of rivets that mark the ship's planks, it is unlikely that they were used to support the ship's burial. Rosenberg concluded that the stones originated from a previous burial mound at the site that was destroyed during the construction of the ship's grave.
During the excavation of the Ladby ship between 1935 and 1937, led by Gustav Rosenberg, it was discovered that most of the ship's wood had disintegrated over time. However, approximately 2,000 rivets that fastened the ship were found buried in the sand. Using these rivets as a reference, Rosenberg marked a measurement line along the ship's central axis from bow to stern. Based on this line, he estimated the ship's length to be 21.5 meters, its greatest width to be around 2.75 meters, and the depth at the midsection to be 0.65 meters. These measurements are approximations since the number and placement of the rivets only provide an approximation of the ship's actual size. Knud Torvildsen, who succeeded Rosenberg as a conservator in 1940, came to the same conclusions regarding the ship's dimensions.
Both Mikkelsen and Rosenberg made significant contributions to describing the Ladby ship. Rosenberg's detailed logs from the excavations are still considered the most important source of information about the ship and its contents. Mikkelsen also maintained a log during the excavations, although his records cover a shorter period of about three months. The records of both researchers complement each other, with Rosenberg's writing being more expert and using a colloquial language, while Mikkelsen's reflections are more emotional and focused on the ship's discovery.
Initially, there was some disagreement between Rosenberg and Mikkelsen regarding the iron parts found with the ship. Rosenberg did not believe they belonged to the stem, while Mikkelsen held the opposite opinion. Eventually, Rosenberg changed his mind and agreed with Mikkelsen that the iron parts were indeed associated with the stem. These iron parts turned out to be spirally rolled-up iron ribbons, which were likely decorative ornaments placed on a wooden rod. Unfortunately, they had deteriorated and fell apart during the excavation. The spirals were arranged in a line approximately 60 cm long. Both Rosenberg and Mikkelsen agreed that the stem, with its ornamentation, symbolized the mane of an animal, specifically a dragon whose head had rotted away. Dragon heads were commonly carved as free "remote endings" on both large and small Viking ships. However, it is not clear under what circumstances such decorations were permitted on the ships. In the 12th and 13th centuries, large ships known as drekar belonged exclusively to the kings. It is possible that the right to adorn their ships with dragon heads was a royal privilege or a symbol of royal ownership. Smaller ships may have belonged to wealthy and powerful individuals with military or administrative ties or obligations to the king, while larger ships were reserved for the king himself. The dragon ship of Ladby may have been used in Harald Bluetooth's campaigns.
After discovering the northern trunk of the ship, Mikkelsen and the team continued excavating north of the spirals of the southern trunk. Here, they found iron nails positioned 25 cm apart, forming the eastern "slat edge" or upper edge of the boat. However, no nails were found on the western edge. Excavations persisted near the southern stem in the search for nails on the ship's west side. In this area, Mikkelsen reported the presence of preserved layers of wood or bark.
As they excavated from the west side towards the middle of the ship in search of wood, Rosenberg noticed that the wood strapping was only preserved where it made contact with iron. Although the ship's timber had largely deteriorated, Mikkelsen and Rosenberg discovered a deposit of timber along the ship's west side, approximately in the middle of the disturbed area. They encountered a round, thick, and short piece of wood protruding from a slat about 27 centimeters inside the ship. Another piece of wood, or a remnant of such, extended from the end of the first piece towards the south, narrowing to a point. These remnants were believed to be part of a larger, now shapeless piece of wood. Additionally, a thin and narrow piece of wood lay alongside a piece that stretched from south to north, spanning approximately 20 centimeters across to the middle of the ship.
Initially, it was challenging to ascertain whether these pieces of wood belonged to the ship and which specific part they originated from. However, a few days later, Mikkelsen discovered a portion of the undisturbed burial chamber referred to as an "ordinary one" that was originally situated between the planks, covering the ship's contents. The wood found to the west was described as "completely intact." Based on this, Rosenberg concluded that it derived from various layers of wood that constituted the ship's structure, possibly including boards from the deck layer. They expected to find the undisturbed sections of the burial chamber beneath the wooden paneling, along with several large iron pieces protruding from the wood layer. These findings, along with other wood deposits, provided valuable insights into the ship's construction and arrangement.
At a height of 12-15 meters, they discovered a horizontal layer of reddish wood, likely a collapsed layer of boards that originally formed the deck above the ship's western side. It was anticipated that the undisturbed parts of the burial chamber would be situated beneath this decking layer. Below this layer of wood, at a height of 11 to 13 meters, they found filaments of fibrous organic material. Although these filaments did not appear to be woven, their exact nature could not be definitively identified. Notably, the wood along the eastern part of the ship had not been preserved. Mikkelsen's diary entry also mentioned the absence of large pieces of wood on the ship's eastern side.