The Viking Age Exhibition
The Viking Age is characterised by a rich material culture, of which grave, treasure, and settlement finds give evidence to.
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When people of a certain status in the local community died, it was customary to bury them with an abundance of personal equipment. The men got their various types of weapons and tools with them. The women were buried in their full traditional dresses along with jewellery, keys, and textile tools. The graves are usually placed close the country courtyard, and tell indirectly the story of the settlement. Knowledge about the houses is so far limited.
At Ytre Moa in Årdal, Sogn, a farm site consisting of six minor houses from the Viking Age has been excavated. A reconstruction of one of these houses is on display in the exhibition. The Viking Age community was hierarchical and had a number of different craftsmen. The tools of the various specialist groups are shown in the exhibition. Various artefacts that have been brought to Norway, partly through trade, partly through looting and robbery, are also presented in the exhibition.
