Ships and shipbuilding were important elements of Viking culture and a precondition for trade, warfare and conquest. The important excavations at the Viking towns of Hedeby and Schleswig-Holstein revealed a rich body of finds of wrecks and parts of ships. This is a report on this material and also examines the role of the towns as ports and the role of trading in their development.

The Hjortsping boat, fully excavated in the 1920s, is arguably the most important archaeological find from early Iron Age Scandinavia. This volume forms the first English-language analysis of the find and its context, beginning with the background to the discovery and excavation of the warship and its new display at the centre of a special exhibition at the National Museum in Copenhagen. Illustrated throughout with photographs, many in colour, and drawings of each part of the warship and its associated finds, this is an extremely well-presented study. Specialist contributions examine the warship's construction and components, its geometrical proportions and hydrodynamics, evidence for paddles and its date. Sections also discuss the reconstruction of the ship, and its sailing trials, associated weapons and everyday objects. Emphasis is placed throughout on its context, with sections examining the identity of the shipbuilders, the military organisation of northern Europe in the 4th century BC, ship iconography during the Bronze and early Iron Ages and other examples of ships found across Europe. The enclosed CD-Rom contains images from the sea trials of the reconstruction and scenes from the original excavations. Includes a Danish summary.