Oseberg Mound

The Oseberg mound was opened in 1904 and produced a burial of exceptional richness: an oak ship about 22 metres long with an elaborately carved prow, buried around 834 with two women, one aged about eighty and one about fifty, along with a carved wagon, sledges, beds, textiles, tools and animals. The blue clay and turf of the mound preserved the wood and even fabric, which is why the carving survives. Who the women were is unresolved; suggestions have included Queen Asa of the Ynglings and a priestess. The ship and its contents are in Oslo. The mound was reconstructed after the dig and stands in farmland with a path and information boards, and a full-size sailing replica is berthed at Tonsberg.

The main sights

• The reconstructed mound - the grass burial mound rebuilt after 1904.
• The information boards - the excavation, the finds and the two women.
• The farmland setting - open Vestfold country around the site.
• The Tonsberg replica - a full-size sailing copy of the ship at the wharf.

When to go

May to September for the walk and the surrounding countryside; the site is open ground with free access year-round. It takes half an hour and pairs well with the Slottsfjell Museum in Tonsberg.

Practical notes

The ship and everything found with it are in Oslo, and the mound itself is a grassed hill with signs. There are no facilities on site. Parking is a small lay-by on a rural road.

Nearby

Tonsberg and the Slottsfjell Museum are five kilometres south; the Gokstad mound and Kaupang lie along the coast.