The Serpent's Head Exhibited for the Very First Time

The Oseberg Ship is the best-preserved Viking ship in the world, and it consists of  about 90 percent original wood. When the ship was excavated in 1904, the iconic serpent's head found in the grave was too fragile to be mounted on the ship. Instead, an exact reconstruction was made, which visitors to the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, have been able to admire for almost 100 years.

Now, the original national treasure – perhaps the foremost symbol of the Viking Age – will be exhibited to the public for the first time at the Historical Museum in Oslo, before it finds its permanent home at the new Museum of the Viking Age in a few years.

– It is one of the finest artefacts found from Norway's Viking Age. So the fact that we can now show it to the public is truly wonderful, says Jan Bill, professor of archaeology.

The Incredible History of the Serpent's Head

The Oseberg Ship was built around the year 820. Fourteen years later, it was pulled ashore and  used as a burial ship for two powerful women. When archaeologists opened the grave in 1904, they found a Viking ship filled with grave goods including ship equipment, kitchenware, farming tools, wooden ceremonial objects, and a cart with beautiful carvings.

– Like many other graves from the Viking Age, someone broke into the grave and conducted what is known as 'haugbrott' around the year 970. They cut off the serpent's head and threw it into the layer of the intrusion. This is why we have this serpent's head today, says archaeologist and museum curator Hanne Lovise Aannestad.

The very existence of the ship's prow decoration can thus be credited to grave robbers!

Displayed for the First Time in a New Exhibition at the Historical Museum

On Saturday, June 21, the exhibition "Miðgarðr – The Mythical World of the Vikings" will open at the Historical Museum in Oslo.

The exhibition will be a family-friendly journey into the spiritual universe of the Viking Age, specially tailored for children aged 8–12. Through objects, activities, and stories, children can become acquainted with Norse mythology and the lives of the Vikings. The original serpent's head will be a main attraction as it is now displayed for the very first time.

When the Museum of the Viking Age opens in Bygdøy in 2027, the serpent's head will move there and be exhibited alongside the Oseberg Ship.

The Significance of the Serpent's Head

In Norse mythology, the serpent and other animals played an important role. The Midgard Serpent was the name of the enormous serpent that encircled the human world. It is also known that there were Viking ships named "Ormen lange" (The Long Serpent). The serpent head on the Oseberg Ship may have represented a connection between the ship and the mythological world.

It is not unlikely that the serpent's head on the Oseberg Ship was removable. A law from Iceland dating back to the 12^th century states that the prow decoration must be taken off when approaching land to avoid offending the land spirits. The Bayeux Tapestry (depicting the Norman conquest of England in 1066) shows how ships have the prow decoration at sea but not when they are coming to land.

The Museum of the Viking Age and the Historical Museum are operated by the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.