The Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren) has recommended that Norway’s Viking heritage be added to the country’s tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage; the recommendation was delivered to the Ministry of Climate and Environment on Monday, 15 December.
“Ship burial mounds in Norway are unparalleled. The seven sites we have selected are the most important Viking Age heritage sites in Norway,” says Hanna Geiran, National Antiquarian.
The seven monumental ship burial mounds included in the recommendation are Gjellestad in Østfold; the Borre mounds; the Oseberg mound and the Gokstad mound in Vestfold; Storhaug in Rogaland; Myklebust in Vestland; and Herlaugshaugen in Trøndelag.
“Ship burials from the Viking Age truly deserve a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Viking Age was a decisive period for the Nordic countries and left deep, lasting traces across much of the world. We welcome the Directorate for Cultural Heritage’s highlighting of the cultural and historical value of these ship burials,” says Aud V. Tønnessen, Director of the Museum of the Viking Age.
Ships on Display in Museums Cannot be Nominated
The landscapes around the mounds are a testament to power and state formation in Norway and lie along the Norðrvegr — the historic route to the north. "The mounds and their surrounding landscapes provide invaluable insight into Viking Age people," says Hanna Geiran, National Antiquarian.
"The ship burials are more than mere monuments. They reflect Viking Age power, beliefs and values, and give us a unique insight into what people at the time viewed as decisive for the afterlife," says Hanna Geiran, National Antiquarian.
It is the ship burial mounds in their landscapes that are being nominated for inscription on Norway’s tentative list for World Heritage — not the Oseberg Ship and the Gokstad Ship, which are in the Museum of the Viking Age in Oslo.
"UNESCO has strict criterias for World Heritage. Only cultural environments and objects that remain in their original location can be nominated. The Oseberg Ship and the Gokstad Ship are in a museum and therefore cannot be nominated as World Heritage," Geiran explains.
The Norwegian Government has Final Saying
The scholarly basis for the recommendation comes from a collaboration between the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo (of which the Museum of the Viking Age is a part), and the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger. Østfold and Vestfold county authorities also contributed.
It is the Norwegian government that will decide whether the Viking heritage will be included on Norway’s tentative list. The government also decides whether Norway will proceed with the proposals on the tentative list and start a nomination process as the basis for consideration by UNESCO.
"Vikings hold a central place in world history, and international interest in the period is greater than ever. I hope the government will pursue the Directorate for Cultural Heritage’s proposal. Imagine the ship burial mounds being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List when the new Museum of the Viking Age opens," says Aud V. Tønnessen, Director of the Museum of the Viking Age.
Both nationally and internationally, there are high expectations for the new Museum of the Viking Age in Oslo, which is due to open in 2027. The museum receives daily enquiries from around the world about when the cultural heritage will be accessible to the public again. Among other things, it will house some of the best‑preserved Viking ships and the grave goods from the Oseberg, Gokstad, Tune and Borre ship burials.