Draken Harald Hårfagre
Draken Harald Hårfagre () is a large Viking longship built in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway. "Draken Harald Hårfagre" brings the seafaring qualities of a warship from the old Norse sagas to life. It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a warship's use of oars.
Viking ships
One Viking custom was to bury dead chieftains in their ships. The dead man's body would be carefully prepared and dressed in his best clothes. After this preparation, the body would be transported to the burial-place in a wagon drawn by horses. The man would be placed on his ship, along with many of his most prized possessions. The chieftain's favorite horses, often a faithful hunting-dog and occasionally thralls and households, were sacrificially killed and also buried with the deceased. The Vikings firmly believed that the dead man would then sail to the after-life. An example of a Viking ship burial was excavated near the Danish village of Ladby and can be found on display here.
Burial of ships is an ancient tradition in Scandinavia, stretching back to at least the Nordic Iron Age, as evidenced by the Hjortspring boat (400–300 BC) or the Nydam boats (200–450 AD), for example. Ships and bodies of water have held a major spiritual importance in the Norse cultures since at least the Nordic Bronze Age.