Jan Bill

• Linderholm, Johan; Macphail, Richard; Bill, Jan; Bukkemoen, Grethe Bjørkan; Ericson, Samuel & Östman, Sofi [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2021). The Sørenga D1A borehole site, Oslo Harbour, Norway: a multianalytical geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental approach. I Barnett, Catherine & Walker, Thomas (Red.), Environment, Archaeology and Landscape. Archaeopress. ISSN 978-1-80327-084-5. s. 65–76.
• Cannell, Rebecca J S; Bill, Jan & Macphail, Richard (2020). Constructing and Deconstructing the Gokstad Mound. Antiquity. ISSN 0003-598X. 94(377), s. 1278–1295. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2020.162. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Margaryan, Ashot; Lawson, Daniel J.; Sikora, Martin; Racimo, Fernando; Rasmussen, Simon & Moltke, Ida [Vis alle 90 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2020). Population genomics of the Viking world. Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. 585(7825), s. 390–396. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2688-8. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Mühlemann, Barbara; Vinner, Lasse; Margaryan, Ashot; Wilhelmson, Helene; Castro, Constanza De La Fuente & Allentoft, Morten E. [Vis alle 29 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2020). Diverse variola virus (smallpox) strains were widespread in northern Europe in the Viking Age. Science. ISSN 0036-8075. 369:eaaw8977(6502), s. 1–12. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw8977. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Cannell, Rebecca J S; Bill, Jan; Welham, Kate & Cheetham, Paul (2020). Geochemical analysis of the truncated Viking Age trading settlement of Heimdalsjordet, Norway. Geoarchaeology. ISSN 0883-6353. 35(5), s. 748–771. doi: 10.1002/gea.21795. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bill, Jan (2020). The Ship Graves at Kormt - and Beyond. I Skre, Dagfinn (Red.), Rulership in 1st to 14th century Scandinavia. Royal graves and sites at Avaldsnes and beyond. Walter de Gruyter (De Gruyter). ISSN 978-3-11-042579-6. s. 305–392. doi: 10.1515/9783110421101. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This book discusses the 1st-11th century developments that led to the formation of the three Scandinavian kingdoms in the Viking Age. Wide-ranging studies of communication routes, regional identities, judicial territories, and royal sites and graves trace a complex trajectory of rulership in these pagan Germanic societies. In the fi nal section, new light is shed on the pinnacle and demise of the Norwegian kingdom in the 13th-14th centuries. The book seeks to revitalise the somewhat stagnant scholarly debate on Germanic rulership in the first millennium AD. A series of comprehensive chapters combines literary evidence on Scandinavia’s polities, kings, and other rulers with archaeological, documentary, toponymical, and linguistic evidence. The picture that emerges is one of surprisingly stable rulership institutions, sites, and myths, while control of them was contested between individuals, dynasties, and polities. While in the early centuries, Scandinavia was integrated in Germanic Europe, profound societal and cultural changes in 6th-century Scandinavia and the Christianisation of Continental and English kingdoms set northern kingship on a different path. The pagan heroic warrior ethos, essential to kingship, was developed and refined; only to recur overseas embodied in 9th–10th-century Vikings. Three chapters on a hitherto unknown masonry royal manor at Avaldsnes in western Norway, excavated 2017, concludes this volume with discussions of the late-medieval peak of Norwegian kingship and it’s eventual downfall in the late 14th century. This book’s discussions and results are relevant to all scholars and students of 1st-millenium Germanic kingship, polities, and societies.

• Bill, Jan (2018). Bayeuxtapetets skibe - symboler, idealer, og detaljer. I Bengtsson, Herman; Ney, Agneta & Nyström, Staffan (Red.), Bayeuxtapeten. En broderad krönika från 1000-talet. Sällskapet Runica et Mediævalia. ISSN 978-91-88568-72-4. s. 73–94.
• Bill, Jan (2017). Skipsgrav eller skipsgraver på Rolvsøy. Om Tuneskipets utgravningshistorie. Viking. ISSN 0332-608X. 80, s. 89–106. doi: 10.5617/viking.5468. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bill, Jan & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2017). Heimdalsjordet – trade, production and communication. I Glørstad, Ann Zanette Tsigaridas & Loftsgarden, Kjetil (Red.), Viking-Age Transformations: Trade, Craft and Resources in Western Scandinavia. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-47-247077-5. doi: 10.4324/9781315548197-11. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Schneidhofer, Petra; Nau, Erich; McGraw, Jessica Leigh; Tonning, Christer; Draganits, Erich & Gustavsen, Lars [Vis alle 13 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2017). Geoarchaeological evaluation of ground penetrating radar and magnetometry surveys at the Iron Age burial mound Rom in Norway. Archaeological Prospection. ISSN 1075-2196. 24(4), s. 425–443. doi: 10.1002/arp.1579. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Following magnetometry and ground penetrating radar surveys, a geoarchaeological field evaluation was carried out at the Iron Age burial mound of Rom in Slagendalen, Vestfold County, Norway, in order to assess the accuracy of the geophysical data interpretation and to investigate specific questions that have arisen during data interpretation. The evaluation was conducted within the framework of an archaeological excavation campaign in 2013, which enabled direct access to the subsurface materials. The archaeological stratification was recorded by laser scanning using a three-dimensional (3D) single-surface approach, permitting a virtual reconstruction of the excavated part of the mound and facilitating the comparison between excavation and prospection data. Selected sediment sequences were targeted with in situ and laboratory-based measurements for correlation purposes, including magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity and water content measurements. Here we present the methodological approach and the results of the geophysical prospection surveys, followed by a geoarchaeological evaluation and a discussion of the impact on the overall archaeological investigation.

• Macphail, Richard; Bill, Jan; Crowther, John; Haitha, Constantin; Linderholm, Johan & Popovici, Dragomir [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2016). European ancient settlements - A guide to their composition and morphology based on soil micromorphology and associated geoarchaeological techniques; introducing the contrasting sites of Chalcolithic Bordusani-Popina, Borcea River, Romania and Viking Age Heimdaljordet, Vestfold, Norway. Quaternary International. ISSN 1040-6182. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.049. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Schneidhofer, Petra; Nau, Erich; Hinterleitner, Alois; Lugmayr, Agata; Bill, Jan & Gansum, Terje [Vis alle 11 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2016). Palaeoenvironmental analysis of large-scale, high-resolution GPR and magnetometry data sets: The Viking Age site of Gokstad in Norway. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. ISSN 1866-9557. 9(6), s. 1187–1213. doi: 10.1007/s12520-015-0312-x.
• Bill, Jan (2016). Ambiguous Mobility in the Viking Age Ship Burial from Oseberg. I Bjerregaard, Peter; Rasmussen, Anders Emil & Sørensen, Tim Flohr (Red.), Materialities of Passing: Explorations in Transformation, Transition and Transience. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-4724-5791-2. s. 207–220.
• Bill, Jan (2016). Protecting against the dead? On the possible use of apotropaic magic in the Oseberg burial. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. ISSN 0959-7743. 26(1), s. 141–155. doi: 10.1017/S0959774315000438.
• Bill, Jan (2015). Vikingetidens monumentale skibsgrave. I Pedersen, Anne & Sindbæk, Søren Michael (Red.), Et fælles hav - Skagerrak og Kattegat i vikingetiden. Seminar på Nationalmuseet, København, 19.-20. september 2012. Nationalmuseet. ISSN 978-87-7602-324-9. s. 152–167.
• Krzewinska, Maja; Bjørnstad, Gro; Skoglund, Pontus; Olason, Pall Isolfur; Bill, Jan & Götherström, Anders [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2015). Mitochondrial DNA variation in the Viking age population of Norway. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. ISSN 0962-8436. 370(1660). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0384.
• Bill, Jan (2014). Nails, Woodstown. A Viking-Age settlement in Co. Waterford. Four Courts Press. ISSN 978-1-84682-536-1. s. 141–155.
• Bill, Jan; Nau, Erich; Neubauer, Wolfgang; Trinks, Immo; Tonning, Christer & Gustavsen, Lars [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2013). Contextualising a Monumental Burial - The Gokstad Revitalised Project. I Neubauer, Wolfgang; Trinks, Immo; Salisbury, Roderick B. & Einwögerer, Christina (Red.), Archaeological Prospection. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference - Vienna. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. ISSN 978-3-7001-7459-2. s. 134–136. doi: 10.2307/j.ctvjsf630.51.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Revisiting Gokstad. Interdisciplinary investigations of a find complex investigated in the 19th century. I Brather, Sebastian & Krausse, Dirk (Red.), Fundmassen. Innovative Strategien zur Auswertung frühmittelalterlicherQuellenbestände. Konrad Theiss Verlag. ISSN 978-3-8062-2872-4. s. 75–86.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Langskibet Roskilde 6. I Williams, Gareth; Pentz, Peter & Wemhoff, Matthias (Red.), Viking. British Museum Press. ISSN 978-87-7602-199-3. s. 228–233.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Osebergskipet og ritual begravelse. I Williams, Gareth; Pentz, Peter & Wemhoff, Matthias (Red.), Viking. British Museum Press. ISSN 978-87-7602-199-3. s. 200–201.
• Macphail, Richard; Linderholm, Johan; Bill, Jan; Cannell, Rebecca & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2013). Integrated microstratigraphic investigations of coastal archaeological soils and sediments in Norway: The Gokstad ship burial mound and its environs including the Viking harbour settlement of Heimdaljordet, Vestfold. Quaternary International. ISSN 1040-6182. 315, s. 131–146. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.051.
• Bill, Jan & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2013). En ny markeds- og produksjonsplass ved Gokstad i Vestfold. Nicolay: Arkeologisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0332-8937. 120, s. 5–12.
• Bill, Jan & Daly, Aoife (2012). The plundering of the ship graves from Oseberg and Gokstad: an example of power politics? Antiquity. ISSN 0003-598X. 86(333), s. 808–824. doi: 10.1017/s0003598x00047931.
• Bill, Jan; Daly, Aoife; Johnsen, Øistein & Dalen, Knut Sigmund (2012). DendroCT – Dendrochronology without damage. Dendrochronologia. ISSN 1125-7865. 30(3), s. 223–230. doi: 10.1016/j.dendro.2011.11.002.
• Bill, Jan (2011). Sea Trade. The Development of Ships and Routes. I Carver, Martin & Klapste, Jan (Red.), The Archaeology of Medieval Europe Vol. 2 Twelfth to Sixteenth Centuries. Aarhus Universitetsforlag. ISSN 9788779342897. s. 328–337.

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• Nordahl, Else & Bill, Jan (2018). Valsgärde 14. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University. ISBN 978-91-506-2707-7. 137 s.
• Bill, Jan & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2017). Heimdalsjordet – trade, production and communication. In: A.Z.T. Glørstad and K. Loftsgarden (Eds.) Viking-Age Transformations: Trade, Craft and Resources in Western Scandinavia. Routledge. ISBN 9781472470775. 19 s.

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• Bill, Jan & Stranden, Anne Lise (2022). Dette er vraket av USAs siste slaveskip. [Internett]. https://forskning.no/dette-er-vraket-av-usas-siste-slaveskip.
• Margaryan, Ashot; Lawson, Daniel J.; Sikora, Martin; Racimo, Fernando; Rasmussen, Simon & Moltke, Ida [Vis alle 90 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2021). Author Correction: Population genomics of the Viking world (Nature, (2020), 585, 7825, (390-396), 10.1038/s41586-020-2688-8). Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. 591(7851). doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03328-2.
• Jørskov, Marie Louise; Sindbæk, Søren M.; Bill, Jan; Skar, Birgitte; Strand, Lisa Mariann & Vretemark, Maria [Vis alle 32 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2020). Archaeological background population genomics of the Viking world Supplementary Note 1 . Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. 585, s. 1–73. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2688-8.
• Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen; Bill, Jan & Gundersen, Sigrid Mannsåker (2020). Pressekonferanse på Klima- og miljødepartementet: Skipsgraven fra Gjellestad. Ny viten om datering og bevaringstilstand. [Internett]. https://www.nrk.no/osloogviken.
• Bill, Jan (2018). Die Wikinger und ihre Schiffe (Review). Medieval Archaeology. ISSN 0076-6097. 62(1), s. 198–199.
• Nistelberger, Heidi Maria; Star, Bastiaan; Palsdottir, Albina Hulda; Gondek, Agata; Leifsson, Rúnar & Hallsson, Jón Hallsteinn [Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2018). Viking Horses of the North Atlantic.
• Bill, Jan; Curry, Andrew & Paasche, Knut (2018). Enormous, rare Viking ship burial discovered by radar. [Internett]. National Geographic.
• Bill, Jan (2018). Why do we have the Viking Age ship graves - About kings and queens, myth and ritual, and the most elaborate funerals of pre-Christian Northern Europe.
• Bill, Jan; Glørstad, Ann Zanette Tsigaridas; Eriksen, Marianne Hem; Iversen, Frode; Vedeler, Marianne & Aannestad, Hanne Lovise (2017). Ikke la nynazistene stjele vikingtiden. Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847.
• Bill, Jan (2017). Monumental Myths. The ship grave ritual as a mean in political centralization processes in Viking Age Scandinavia .
• Bill, Jan (2017). Sails on the horizon – global and local perspectives on the introduction of sail in Scandinavia .
• Bill, Jan (2017). Domesticated animals in Viking Society – the research potentials. DAVA Review paper.
• Bill, Jan (2017). Were the Vikings the first users of sail in the Baltic? Global and local perspectives on the introduction of sail into Scandinavia .
• Bill, Jan (2017). Bruk av røntgen på Kulturhistorisk museum.
• Bill, Jan (2017). Reviews: Morten Ravn, Lone Gebauer Thomsen, Eva Andersson Strand & Henriette Lyngstrøm (red): Vikingetidens sejl. Festskrift tilegnet Erik Andersen. København 2016 Morten Ravn: Viking-Age War Fleets. Shipbuilding, Resource management and maritime warfare in 11th-century Denmark. Roskilde 2016. Kuml : Årbog for Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab. ISSN 0454-6245. 2017, s. 226–231.
• Bill, Jan; Holtung, Hege Therese & Gansum, Terje (2017). Forsynte vikingeliten med luksus. [Internett]. NRK.
• Bill, Jan & Arntsen, Øyvind (2017). Tuneskipet 150 år. [Radio]. NRK.
• Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Bill, Jan (2016). Heimdalsjordet - Trade, Production & Communication.
• Cannell, Rebecca; Cheetham, Paul; Bill, Jan & Welham, Kate (2015). The Gokstad Viking Age Trading Site: A voyage of physicochemical prospection.
• Cannell, Rebecca; Cheetham, Paul; Welham, Kate & Bill, Jan (2015). The Gokstad Viking Age Trading Site: A voyage of physicochemical prospection. Archaeologia Polona. ISSN 0066-5924. 53, s. 438–440.
• Schneidhofer, Petra; McGraw, Jessica Leigh; Tonning, Christer; Gustavsen, Lars; Gansum, Terje & Bill, Jan (2015). Stratigraphic excavation and 3D reconstruction at Rom burial mound, Vestfold County, Norway.
• Bill, Jan (2015). Vikings in the future.
• Bill, Jan (2015). Heimdalsjordet - Gokstad-mannens handelsplass?
• Bill, Jan (2015). Barcode 17.
• Bill, Jan (2015). Heimdalsjordet - en ny handelsplass ved Gokstad og et nytt lys på den internasjonale handel i vikingtid.
• Bill, Jan (2015). Review: Andreas Rau (Hrsg.): Nydam Mose, Band 3: Die Schiffe. Katalog, Konkordanz, Tafeln, Pläne. Nydam Mose, Band 4: Die Schiffe. Beiträge zu Form, Technik und Historie. Mit Beiträge von Flemming Rieck, Ole Magnus, Andreas Rau, Annette Seeberg, Morten Gøthche, Rainer Grabert, Ronja Müske, und Angelika Abegg- Wigg. Kuml : Årbog for Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab. ISSN 0454-6245. s. 318–321.
• Schneidhofer, Petra; Nau, Erich; Gustavsen, Lars; McGraw, Jessica Leigh; Tonning, Christer & Gansum, Terje [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2015). Interdisciplinary investigation of the burial mound at Rom in Vestfold County, Norway.
• Kool, Anneleen; Boessenkool, Sanne; Bill, Jan; Kjesrud, Karoline; Helleve, Torstein & Gupta, Ram Eivind (2015). Vikingenes naturarv - kunnskapskafe med vikingforskere, vikingmat og vikingøl i baren.
• Bill, Jan (2014). Viking ship graves in Norway.
• Bill, Jan (2014). Til vanns i Skandinavia.
• Bill, Jan (2014). Beyond Byzanz: An East-Norwegian Perspective on the Eastward Trade in the Viking Age.
• Bill, Jan & Tonkin, Boyd (2014). The Vikings: Why do the seafaring warriors still intrigue us? [Avis]. The Independent.
• Bill, Jan & Jacobsen, Hans-Petter (2014). Jacobsen. [Radio]. NRK P1+.
• Bill, Jan & Madshus, Karin (2014). Time etter time for fortiden. [Avis]. Tønsbergs blad.
• Bill, Jan & Ihlebæk, Jan Henrik (2014). Museum på NRK P2. [Radio]. NRK P2.
• Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen; Bill, Jan & Pedersen, Unn (2013). Siste nytt fra Gokstad.
• Bill, Jan & Gjestad, Robert (2013). Seiler greit med småfeil. [Avis]. Aftenposten, Bergens Tidene.
• Bill, Jan & Brocchi, Sebastiano B. (2013). Thor - le origini del mito. [Avis]. Four ticino.
• Braovac, Susan; Bill, Jan & Løchen, Ragnar (2013). Åndenes Makt. [TV]. TVNorge.
• Bill, Jan (2013). The Norwegian Viking Age ship graves - finds of splendour and mystery.
• Bill, Jan & Næss, Ellen Marie (2013). Mysteriet rundt Osebergskipet. [TV]. NRK TV Distriktsnyheter Østlandssendingen.
• Bill, Jan; Solbu, Erland Lånke & Hansen, Magne (2013). Her ligger Kong Richard III. [Internett]. NRK/Viten.
• Eriksen, Thomas Hylland; Gansum, Terje; Bill, Jan; Iversen, Frode; Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Eriksen, Marianne Hem [Vis alle 14 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2013). Arkeologene: Vikingen - superhelt og bonde 5:8. [TV]. NRK1.
• Bill, Jan; Bø, Terje; Røvik, Geir; Iversen, Frode; Aase, Sigurd & Eriksen, Marianne Hem [Vis alle 15 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2013). Arkeologene: Skatter i havet 2:8. [TV]. NRK1.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Jan Bill om Gokstadbyen. [Radio]. NRK P1 Vestfoldsendinga.
• Bill, Jan & Frøjsa, Kaja (2013). Prosjekt Saving Oseberg. [Radio]. NRK Ekko hovedsending.
• Bill, Jan; Fahre, Lena & Doksrød, Anne (2013). Unike vikingskatter skal vises frem. [Internett]. NRK Østafjells.
• Bill, Jan & Karstensen, Astrid Johanne (2013). Mysteriet Oseberg. [Avis]. Dagbladet Magasin.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Sailing Into the Viking Age: From the Ship Burial at Gokstad to the Creation of the Norwegian Kingdom with stops at Norway’s UNESCO Sites.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Gokstad revitalisert. Presentasjon for ildsjelene fra Norsk Metallsøkerforening Vestfold.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Gokstad revitalisert. Statusrapportering for fylkesutvalget, Vestfold, 18.4.2013.
• Bill, Jan (2013). The Gokstad complex – means and meanings of an aristocratic site.
• Bill, Jan (2013). Gokstad revitalisert - presentasjon i forbinnelse med åpning av utstillingen "Gokstad i et nytt lys".
• Bill, Jan (2013). Nytt fra Gokstad-prosjektet: Utgravningene på Heimdalsjordet.
• Bill, Jan; Rundberget, Bernt & Larsen, Jan Henning (2013). Determining the origins of iron in prehistoric and medieval Norway – a chemical approach.
• Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen; Bill, Jan & Tveitan, Fleming (2013). Har funnet sjøkanten på Heimdal-feltet. [Avis]. Sandefjord Blad.
• Bill, Jan; Nau, Erich; Neubauer, Wolfgang; Trinks, Immo; Tonning, Christer & Gustavsen, Lars [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2013). Contextualising a Monumental Burial - The Gokstad Revitalised Project.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Gokstad revitalised - die Erforschung eines monumentalen Schiffgrabs der Wikingerzeit in Norwegen.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Skibsgravene i Vestfold – monumenter som magtpolitik.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Det å grave ut et vikingskip.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Die Wikingerzeit und neueste Erkenntnisse zu aktuellen Ausgrabungen am Gokstad-Schiffsgrabhügel.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Presentasjon av Gokstadprosjektet for Hovedutvalget for kultur og Helse, Vestfold fylkesting.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Gokstad, a princely burial - and a landing site?
• Bill, Jan (2012). Siste nytt fra Gokstadprosjektet.
• Bill, Jan & Paasche, Knut (2012). Gokstad revitalised - Project Status.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Den siste forskningen i vikingtid.
• Bill, Jan (2012). Gokstad revitalisert - fredagsseminar på IAKH.
• Bill, Jan & Tørrestad, Yngve (2012). En gresskledd haug er lite å se på. [Internett]. NRK Østafjells.
• Larsen, Jan Henning; Bill, Jan; Rundberget, Bernt & Grandin, Lena (2011). Distinguishing iron production sites by chemical signature of bloomery slag in South-eastern Norway - the iron clench nails in the Gokstad ship - only local production or of various origin? Metalla. ISSN 0947-6229. Sonderheft(4), s. 183–183.
• Bill, Jan; Larsen, Jan Henning; Rundberget, Bernt & Grandin, Lena (2011). Distinguishing iron production sites by chemical signature of bloomery slag in South-eastern Norway - the iron clench nails in the Gokstad ship - only local production or of various origin?
• Bill, Jan (2011). The Changing identities of the long-dead – a research-historical review of the Oseberg and Gokstad individuals.
• Braovac, Susan; Jensen, Maria; Aarseth, Bjarte Einar; Bill, Jan; Hjulstad, Guro & Løchen, Ragnar [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2011). Long term responses in archaeological wood to ambient temperature and relative humidity – case study: the Oseberg Ship. Vis sammendrag

  INTRODUCTION The Oseberg ship, dated from ca 815-820 AD, is one of the most important discoveries of the Viking age period in Norway. The fact that the ship consists of 90 % original material makes it a unique find with no comparison elsewhere in the world. The ship is 21.5 meters long, built with radially cut, 3 cm thick oak planks and is 5 meters at its widest. In 1904 the waterlogged wood was conserved with linseed oil and creosote and the surface exterior was then lacquered. Over 2000 pieces were used for the reconstruction of the ship with the use of both original and modern screws together with adhesive. The Oseberg ship, displayed at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, has been subjected to an uncontrolled climate since 1926, with only heating in winter. The display area is therefore influenced by seasonal changes in relative humidity (RH), which rises above values of 70% RH in summer, and drops below 30% RH in winter. Rapid changes over the course of a few hours have also been recorded. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Continuous monitoring of dimensional change due to RH fluctuations has been carried out on two planks of the ship and on two samples free to warp. To our knowledge, it is the first example of long term hygro-mechanical monitoring on an archaeological wooden artifact. Through this approach it is possible to show the specific sensitivity to RH fluctuations; restrained planks show the least response, while unrestrained samples have highest response to RH changes. The analysis of the data obtained after fifteen months of continuous logging allows us to quantify the specific “sensitivity” of the wood, which can be useful in determining the threshold of allowable RH fluctuations. The results of stress on the free samples in the exhibition site will be discussed. It is also planned to measure the forces absorbed by the restrained samples so that long-term mechanical effects of absorbed stress can be understood better. These data are fundamental as a validation of future Finite Element simulations and hygromechanical modelling of deteriorated wood.

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