Archaeologists in Iceland have discovered the country’s oldest known drawing: a scratched-out piece of “Viking graffiti” that looks like a partly drawn boat.
The drawing was found on a reddish clay stone in the remains of a longhouse in Stöð, east Iceland, by archaeologist Bjarni F. Einarsson and his team. The longhouse belonged to a wealthy chieftain and was used for trading.
The drawing dates to shortly after A.D. 800, matching the Viking arrival dates in Iceland. The longhouse was built and rebuilt in three phases, according to radiocarbon and tephra (volcanic ash) dating.
The boat has a sail, a rope and an incomplete hull. It is similar to other Viking ship graffiti found in Scandinavia, especially Norway. These carvings are common but poorly done and their purpose is unknown.
“We don’t know why people were carving those ships on all kinds of material,” Einarsson said. But “they are extremely poorly done. They are no masterpieces.”
The drawing is not a masterpiece, but it shows some details of the boat, such as the sail, the rope and the hull. It is similar to other Viking ship graffiti found in Scandinavia, especially Norway.
The drawing may reflect the importance of seafaring and navigation in Viking culture. It may also be related to religious beliefs, such as the ship burial ritual or the myth of the world tree Yggdrasil.
“These crude artworks provide valuable cultural insights into the Viking Age,” said Margaret Davis, a design expert from Science Times.
The longhouse where the drawing was found was also home to people from different social classes and even slaves. Artifacts found there include lead weights, hack silver, traces of gold and a large amount of beads.
“The length, combined with the artifacts — silver, lead and gold and an extremely high amount of beads” — indicates that a chieftain lived in the hall, which Einarsson called “the richest hall” from the Viking Age of Iceland.
The discovery is part of an ongoing archaeological project that started in 2007, when Einarsson was doing a survey for a company that planned to lay down fiber-optic cable in the area. Thanks to local support and funding, he returned in 2015 to excavate the site and has returned there every year since.
The project aims to shed more light on the early settlement days of Iceland and the life and culture of the Vikings who lived there.
“The discovery provides valuable insights into the artistic expressions and cultural practices of the Viking era in Iceland,” said VNExplorer, a news outlet from Vietnam.
Relevant articles:
– 1,200-year-old ‘Viking graffiti’ is the oldest drawing ever discovered in Iceland, Live Science, July 6, 2023
– Oldest Viking Graffiti Discovered in Iceland Reveals Partially Sketched Boat Drawing, Science Times, July 6, 2023
– 1,200-year-old ‘Viking graffiti’ is the oldest drawing ever discovered in Iceland, VNExplorer, July 7, 2023
– 1,200-year-old ‘Viking graffiti’ is the oldest drawing ever discovered in Iceland, Flipboard, July 7, 2023