How do vikings navigate

Public domain How do sunstones work? Of course. Polarized light exhibits different properties than unpolarized light. Learn more about polarized light here.

This map shows successful green and unsuccessful red routes of 1, Viking voyages from Norway to Greenland if a calcite sunstone crystal is used to analyze sky polarization.

The blue curve is the borderline of visibility from which the southernmost mountains of Greenland can be seen from a Viking ship. DOI: Researchers used computers to simulate more than 3, voyages between Bergen, Norway, and Hvarf, Greenland. A voyage was determined to be successful if it was completed in less than three weeks and came near enough to the coastline to see Greenlandic mountains. Researchers included the following variables: timing. Voyages were limited to the time between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

This time of year has calmer seas and longer daylight hours, both of which are advantages to long voyages. Instrument navigation in the Viking Age? Scene from the Bayuex Tapestry, 11th Century. The man in the ship's bow measures water depth with a staff. With special permission from the City of Bayeux. Regarding actual instruments, the Vikings may have been able to measure the following: Water depth Speed time Course Latitude height of the sun.

Sun Compass The Vikings probably used a sun compass. Mikkel H. About Cookies. Save Accept all cookies. How did they navigate then? According to sagas, the Vikings used the sunstone to determine the sun's position in these conditions. According to research, sunstones, which are often mentioned in the Viking sagas, are, in fact, polarizing crystals. Some scientists believe that they are actually calcite crystals since they are known for their polarization properties.

It is believed that sailors used these sunstones when the weather conditions were unfavorable for sailing. Viking navigators steered the sunstone towards the sky on cloudy days and then rotated it until the polarizing light passing through it became the brightest, thus showing where the sun was at that moment.

The most impressive saga in which the sunstone is mentioned in the saga about the Nordic hero Sigurd. According to this saga, King Olaf demanded that Sigurd determine the sun's position through the dark clouds during one voyage on a Viking ship. After Sigurd showed where the sun was, Olaf took the crystal and aimed it at the sky. Sunlight broke through the stone, and Olaf could see the sun's rays coming right from the direction Sigurd was pointing. Although the sunstone is often mentioned in stories, none has been found at archeological sites so far.

Therefore, many scientists still believe that the sunstone is only part of the legend. However, when a crystal, along with navigation tools, was found on the wreck of a Viking ship at the bottom of the English Channel in the late 16th century, some researchers claimed that the sagas were true.

Accordingly, in , Thorkild Ramskou, a Danish scientist, argued that the sunstone could actually be a crystal known as the "Icelandic spatula. This crystal is common in Iceland and other parts of Scandinavia and is characterized by extremely high polarization power. Despite the tireless research of archaeologists and historians and their efforts to find out all about the Vikings, some things still remain a mystery.

One of those things is certainly how did the Vikings navigate back in the day. Let's not forget that these brave Norse men committed themselves to several months of sailing more than years ago. And since there are no written clues telling us how the Vikings did navigate during their naval expeditions, we can only speculate what it was like to sail the sea like a true Viking. Did the Vikings really use the altitude of the midday sun to determine their position?

Planked deck were only laid at the ends of the ship, so that space was left in the middle for cargo. The ships were powered by oars or by the wind, and had one large, square sail, most probably made from wool. Leather strips criss-crossed the wool to keep its shape when it was wet.

Viking ships also had oars. A steering oar or 'steerboard' was used to steer the ships. It was fastened to the right-hand side of the ship at the stern back. There was no shelter on these vessels.

At night, Vikings might pull them up on land. Food would have been dried or salted meat or fish. It could only be cooked if the crew were able to land. The hardship of life on board, especially in rough seas, meant that Vikings did not make voyages in the winter but waited until spring. Vikings did not use maps.