For the first time since its discovery in 1904, the original serpent’s head from the prow of the Oseberg Ship will be on public display in Oslo, Norway.
Carved over a millennium ago, this intricate wooden piece was deemed too fragile to mount when the ship was excavated. Visitors to the Viking Ship Museum have instead seen a precise reconstruction—until now. The original will debut at the Historical Museum in Oslo before becoming a permanent part of the new Museum of the Viking Age, opening in Bygdøy in 2027.
“It is one of the finest artefacts found from Norway’s Viking Age. So the fact that we can now show it to the public is truly wonderful,” says Jan Bill, professor of archaeology and the museum’s curator of its Viking ship collection.
A Rare Survivor from a Viking Burial
The copy of the serpent’s head is placed on the Oseberg ship, which can be seen when the Viking Ship Museum opens its doors. Photo: Mårten Teigen/Historical Museum, University of Oslo
The Oseberg Ship, widely regarded as the best-preserved Viking ship in the world, was built around the year 820. Measuring 21.5 metres long and 5 metres wide, it features 15 oar holes on each side and would have been fully manned by 30 rowers. In 834, the ship was pulled ashore and used as a burial vessel for two high-status women, who were laid to rest along with a remarkable array of grave goods.
When archaeologists excavated the site in 1904, they found the ship remarkably intact—around 90 percent of the original wood had survived the centuries. Alongside the ship were kitchen utensils, farming tools, ceremonial wooden objects, and a beautifully carved cart, offering an unparalleled glimpse into Viking-era craftsmanship and ritual.
But the serpent’s head has a more unexpected history.
“Like many other graves from the Viking Age, someone broke into the grave and conducted what is known as ‘haugbrott’ around the year 970,” explains Hanne Lovise Aannestad, archaeologist and museum curator. “They cut off the serpent’s head and threw it into the layer of the intrusion. This is why we have this serpent’s head today,”
In an ironic twist, it is thanks to these ancient grave robbers that the object survives at all.
A Centrepiece in a New Viking Exhibition
The serpent’s head will be unveiled as part of a new exhibition titled Miðgarðr – The Mythical World of the Vikings, opening Saturday, June 21, at the Historical Museum in Oslo. Aimed especially at children aged 8–12, the exhibition will explore the Norse spiritual world through interactive displays and storytelling. The original carving will be a major highlight.
This is the original serpent’s head from the Oseberg ship, the world’s best-preserved Viking ship. The serpent’s head was part of the bow at the front of the ship. It has never been displayed in an exhibition before due to its fragile condition. Photo: Alexis Pantos/Historical Museum, University of Oslo
In Viking culture, serpents and other animals held powerful symbolic roles. The Midgard Serpent, an immense creature that encircled the human world, was central to Norse mythology. Viking ships were often named after serpents—such as the famed Ormen lange (The Long Serpent)—suggesting a mythological connection between ship and sea creature.
It’s possible the Oseberg serpent’s head was designed to be detachable. A 12th-century Icelandic law required ships to remove prow decorations when nearing land, to avoid disturbing local spirits. The Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman invasion of England in 1066, even shows ships with serpent heads at sea but not as they approach shore.
Now, more than a thousand years after it was carved, this iconic figurehead—once removed and discarded—is finally being presented to the public as a national treasure of the Viking Age. When the new Museum of the Viking Age opens in 2027, it will be reunited with the ship it once adorned.
For the first time since its discovery in 1904, the original serpent’s head from the prow of the Oseberg Ship will be on public display in Oslo, Norway.
Carved over a millennium ago, this intricate wooden piece was deemed too fragile to mount when the ship was excavated. Visitors to the Viking Ship Museum have instead seen a precise reconstruction—until now. The original will debut at the Historical Museum in Oslo before becoming a permanent part of the new Museum of the Viking Age, opening in Bygdøy in 2027.
“It is one of the finest artefacts found from Norway’s Viking Age. So the fact that we can now show it to the public is truly wonderful,” says Jan Bill, professor of archaeology and the museum’s curator of its Viking ship collection.
A Rare Survivor from a Viking Burial
The Oseberg Ship, widely regarded as the best-preserved Viking ship in the world, was built around the year 820. Measuring 21.5 metres long and 5 metres wide, it features 15 oar holes on each side and would have been fully manned by 30 rowers. In 834, the ship was pulled ashore and used as a burial vessel for two high-status women, who were laid to rest along with a remarkable array of grave goods.
When archaeologists excavated the site in 1904, they found the ship remarkably intact—around 90 percent of the original wood had survived the centuries. Alongside the ship were kitchen utensils, farming tools, ceremonial wooden objects, and a beautifully carved cart, offering an unparalleled glimpse into Viking-era craftsmanship and ritual.
But the serpent’s head has a more unexpected history.
“Like many other graves from the Viking Age, someone broke into the grave and conducted what is known as ‘haugbrott’ around the year 970,” explains Hanne Lovise Aannestad, archaeologist and museum curator. “They cut off the serpent’s head and threw it into the layer of the intrusion. This is why we have this serpent’s head today,”
In an ironic twist, it is thanks to these ancient grave robbers that the object survives at all.
A Centrepiece in a New Viking Exhibition
The serpent’s head will be unveiled as part of a new exhibition titled Miðgarðr – The Mythical World of the Vikings, opening Saturday, June 21, at the Historical Museum in Oslo. Aimed especially at children aged 8–12, the exhibition will explore the Norse spiritual world through interactive displays and storytelling. The original carving will be a major highlight.
Myth, Symbolism, and Seafaring
In Viking culture, serpents and other animals held powerful symbolic roles. The Midgard Serpent, an immense creature that encircled the human world, was central to Norse mythology. Viking ships were often named after serpents—such as the famed Ormen lange (The Long Serpent)—suggesting a mythological connection between ship and sea creature.
It’s possible the Oseberg serpent’s head was designed to be detachable. A 12th-century Icelandic law required ships to remove prow decorations when nearing land, to avoid disturbing local spirits. The Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman invasion of England in 1066, even shows ships with serpent heads at sea but not as they approach shore.
Now, more than a thousand years after it was carved, this iconic figurehead—once removed and discarded—is finally being presented to the public as a national treasure of the Viking Age. When the new Museum of the Viking Age opens in 2027, it will be reunited with the ship it once adorned.
Top Image: Photo: Alexis Pantos/Historical Museum.
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