Timeline of events from 2007 back to 1042 AD

Below is a timeline of events from today right back to when it all began a millenia ago.

The Sea Stallion sails to Ireland

17-19 August 2007: The Sea Stallion will be taken to the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks as the main feature of a weekend of Viking related activities.

14-15 August 2007:
The Sea Stallion will arrive into Dublin on 14 August at 1.30pm and two days of celebrations at Custom House Quay will begin.
The naval ship, the LE Roisin and other official vessels will provide a ceremonial escort. A Viking village will be in place at the quayside for two days.
The Danish Embassy in Dublin has accepted the role as the representative of the Viking Ship Museum in Ireland and will coordinate several events.

1 July 2007: The Sea Stallion departs from Roskilde in Denmark to begin its historical trek to Ireland.

28 June 2007: The Sea Stallion exhibition opens at the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks in Dublin. Admission is free and visitors will be able to track the voyage from Roskilde to Dublin and learn about the discovery of the archaeological remains and the construction of the replica ship.

Restoration and reconstruction 

2000 - 2004: Thanks to a donation from the Tuborg Fund, work begins in the museum’s boatyard on 'The Sea Stallion from Glendalough' (Havhingsten fra Glendalough) a reconstruction of the 30-meter-long warship exhibited in the the Viking Ship Museum.

She was built with replicas of Viking tools, using the same methods and materials as in the original ship.

The project leaders claim that the result is spectacular. ‘Form, function and aesthetics are taken to a higher level in synergy with the materials and traditional craftsmanship’ they say.

Click here for an interactive 3D model of the Sea Stallion

Discoveries and excavations 

1962: The remains of Skuldelev 2 and several other ships were discovered during comprehensive excavations of the Roskilde Fjord. It ultimately goes on display at the Viking Ship Museum.

Excavations works are completed by 1969 having yielded important finds relating to Skuldelev 1,2,3,5 and 6.

Trading, sailing and scuttling

Late 1000s: Skuldelev 2, along with several other vessels, was scuttled to block the Roskilde Fjord and lost & forgotten about for a millennia.

1060s-1070s: In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings and two years later Godwinson’s sons fled to Ireland. By this time Skuldelev 2 had set sail for Ireland.

Skuldelev 2 was undoubtedly a ship that carried news from Dublin to Denmark and the Viking Museum believes that it might also have been among the vessels that later brought Godwinson's sons and daughter to see the Danish king, Sven Estridsen.

Settling sail for Ireland

1042: The 30-metre long war ship Skuldelev 2, possibly of the type known as skeid, was built in Dublin by Vikings using Scandinavian ship buildings methods. With a crew of 70-80 warriors, it was probably the ship of an important high-ranking chieftain.

It is one of the ocean-going longships whose praise is sung in sagas and skaldic verse.

Analyses of annual growth rings in the timber have allowed tests to pinpoint the year 1042 as that of construction.