VIKING MODEL SHIPS

The Vikings were the most powerful people in northwestern Europe for nearly five centuries from about AD 800. Their longships were fast and sleek. Powered by sail or oars, they were ideally suited for raiding because their shallow draught meant that they could travel up estuaries and rivers. The Vikings traveled from Norway east to the Black Sea and west to found colonies in Iceland and Greenland. The Norse sagas tell us that the explorer Leif Ericsson went farther, becoming the first European to set foot in North America, when he reached New Foundland or “Vinland” around the year 1001.

Viking Links:
The World of the Vikings.

The Viking Longship - SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.