A new exhibition at the Vrak Museum of Wrecks in Stockholm, Sweden, will tell the story of the Salme Viking burial ships, which were unearthed in 2008 and 2010.
Vikings before the Vikings, an exhibition previously held at the Saaremaa Museum in Estonia, will examine how the discovery of the ships led to a reevaluation of Viking Age history.
Expanding the Viking Age
Conventional wisdom tells us the Viking Age began with the raid on a Christian community on the English tidal island of Lindisfarne in 793 CE.
It was with this violent act, the history books tell us, that the people of Scandinavia signaled their intent to move outward, ferociously fight their way across distant lands, establish countless new trade routes, and help shift the balance of power in Northern Europe and beyond.
However, the discovery of two ships in 2008 and 2010 on the Estonian island of Saaremaa suggested the Norse had been engaged in raiding and large-scale expeditions across the seas much earlier than previously supposed.
Yet rather than the west or south, these raids took place in the east, across the Baltic Sea.
The first Salme ship was discovered by the side of a road during routine excavations before work on state infrastructure.
The site eventually revealed two large clinker ships believed to have been built in Scandinavia in approximately 650–700 CE, alongside the remains of more than 40 Scandinavian warriors who had apparently fallen in battle.
In 2021, Vikings before the Vikings was named Best Temporary Exhibition in Estonia. Photo: Aron Urb / Saaremaa Museum
Maritime and military secrets revealed
The investigations found that the larger of the two ships would have been seaworthy and almost certainly built in Scandinavia.
Part of the ship's keel was also preserved, indicating the ship had a sail. This makes it the oldest known sailing vessel in the Baltic Sea region.
The discovery of the Salme ship burial also provided valuable insights into the earliest Viking raiders and warriors.
Most of the skeletal remains were found to belong to men in their 30s and 40s, and isotope analysis of their teeth suggested the men were originally from central Sweden.
The fragments recovered from a wide array of swords, shields, spears, and arrowheads also made it clear the men were warriors on foreign soil.
After a decade of research, the Salme ships were returned to the Saaremaa Museum in 2021.
They were then displayed in the original Vikings before the Vikings exhibition on the island at Kuressaare Castle, as well as at the Seaplane Harbour in Tallinn.
Vikings before the Vikings won the 2021 award for Best Temporary Exhibition in Estonia.
The Vrak Museum exhibition will showcase artifacts from the Salme find, including weapons and ship fragments. Photo: Aron Urb / Saaremaa Museum
The new show
Now, after its successful debut, Vikings before the Vikings moves to Vrak – Museum of Wrecks in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Museum of Wrecks specializes in maritime archeology and presents a series of shipwrecks from the Baltic Sea through an interactive, multi-channel experience.
"We're very happy to present this exciting exhibition about the first Vikings at Vrak," commented museum director Odd Johansen in a press release.
The exhibition will contain a series of artifacts from the find, including military equipment and fragments of the two ships, alongside details of the archeological investigations.
Vikings before the Vikings will open at the Vrak Museum on April 11.
"The exhibition, which broke visitor records in Estonia, is coming to Stockholm," commented Saaremaa Museum board member Priit Kivi, who has helped curate the exhibition.
"Everyone has the opportunity to get acquainted with this extraordinary find of the century, which has already changed and will certainly change our understanding of the Viking Age."
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