The decoration on this sword is very similar to others found on runic stones.  Might it have been a runic spell for battle at sea?  Tell us more!
Image:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

Though there is no historical evidence, the sagas relate that the Vikings used a sun compass for navigation.  Convince us with a story. 
Image:  WGBH Educational Foundation

This kind of limestone tombstone is almost exclusive to Gotland in Sweden, and features mythological scenes.  What sea journey might they have embarked on, and what battle were they engaged in?  Tell us its story!
Image:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

The Íslendinga saga tells a marvellous tale, of a boat that was shipwrecked on a crossing from Norway to Iceland in the thirteenth century.  Four men managed to survive thirteen days by feeding off the walrus-hide tackle with butter, the only part of the ship that was salvaged.  Put us in the picture.
Image:  http://seajunk.com/cargo/pirate-ship-block-and-tackle-rigging/

This magnificent clothespin features a dragon's head and would have been dipped in gold or silver.  Create an intrigue around its creation, use, loss or trade.
Image:  MMB Exhibition:  "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

The Vikings dedicated a lot of time and effort to cramming and sealing the planks with moss or animal hair that was soaked in tar.  Yet the ships were also designed to be wonderfully flexible and elastic, and this meant that in rough seas they were particularly vulnerable to leaks.  Tell us more about those leaks.
Image:  www.thomasoneil.com/journeys/iceland.html

In early Icelandic law, boats featuring dragon head prows had to keep away from harbours, in case the terrifying head disturbed the peaceful land spirits, or landvaettir.  But let's say that one defied the law, sneaking into the harbour...and let's not stop there...you go on...
Image:  www.scandinaviancentre.org/munin/Photo.htm

Silver and gold plated bracelet, Ringerike style.  What kind of animal is this?  What kind of a woman would have worn it, and on what occasion?
Image:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

Seaworthiness varied greatly from ship to ship, as some were built from recycled or salvaged wood.  Skuldelev 5 was one such ship, which because of its shoddy construction also went by the name of "coffin ship."  Tell us a story of a reluctant carpenter charged with piecing together a ship he knows will be doomed.
Image:  MMB Exhibition "Beyond the Vikings"

The sea legends have much to say about sea voyages.  In Eiríks saga rauda, a ship crossing from Vinland to Greenland grew infested with seaworms.  On the same voyage, a fellow ship resisted, as it was coated with seal blubber tar.  The crew of the sinking ship drew lots, and those who could fit into the tarred boat scrambled aboard, leaving the crew in the seaworm boat to perish.  Tell us more.
Image:  http://tessaheywood.com/2011/10/

This ornate brooch is made out of bronze and garnet stone, and might have been inspired by Freya´s magic torc or necklace "Brigingamen".  Make it magic, and tell us all about it.
Image:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

Broken whalebone swords have been found in many female graves, though their use remains unclear.  One school of thought interprets them as a means for smoothing for linen - a primitive ironing board - and another aas a weaving device in a loom.  Share your interpretation with a story.
Image:  picasaweb.google.com

The Guardians of the Four Winds - Austri, Vestri, Sudri and Nordri - were thought of as divine entities that could take on many forms of birds or animals but also dragons and spirits.  They enjoy being invoked by those who have lost their way, and know the myriad paths between worlds, as well as most (but not all) paths within worlds.  Describe the apparition of one such wind to a Viking at sea.
Image:  www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm  

These Viking rings are an impressive lot and would have stood out on any finger.  What might rings have meant to the Vikings?  Would they have been associated with alliances, promises, magic even?  Tell us of an intrigue with a Viking ring.
Photo:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

In sea battles ships were tied together to create floating islands.  Describe an opposing crew trying to board the outermost ships, and the hand to hand fighting before cutting the ship loose and setting them adrift.
Image:  www.hurstwic.org/history /articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm

The World Ash Tree Yggdrasil was believed to be sentient, and could send messages through people.  This was a long and slow process, as well as a cryptic one, as the Tree's rhythm is very different from the human one.  Desribe the human experience of such a message, to a Viking setting out to sea.
Image:  http://celticartstudio.com/index.php?page=symbol&category=SYMBOLS&display=64

You could almost make out a boat in the centre of this beautiful cross, worn by a Viking Christian.  Tell us about the person who wore it, and if you can try and relate it to a ship.
Photo:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

Small boats manoeuvred their way around the battle, hunting down warriors who tried to save themselves by jumping overboard.  Describe your pursuit of one who got away.
Image:  www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm

Mani the compassionate moon god plays a flute as he walks, is patron of walkers and travellers and protector of children.  He is calm and thoughtful, and governs calendars, mathematics and rational thought.  He prefers a slower pace to his sister the sun goddess, as his chariot is drawn by large dogs instead of horses.  Before him rides Nott, a goddess on a black horse with dew dripping from its bit.  Mani is much more interested in the world of humans than his sister Sunna, and often stops and watches, sometimes even interfering.  If he lingers too long, the two wolf-brothers will chase him back to his path across the skies.  What might Mani be noticing about the Viking ship at night?  What happens?  Tell us more!
Image:  MMB Exhibition:  Beyond the Vikings

These coins formed part of a treasure, with coins that came from present-day England and Germany.  We know the Vikings traded as far as the Red Sea and possibly even present-day Afghanistan, but how did they consider coins?  Do these images tells us anything?  Can you?
Photo:  MMB Exhibition:  "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

Thanks to the shallow draft of their unique ships, the Vikings could sail far inland by navigating up rivers that were too shallow for seafarers.  Describe a small Frankish population, and what it would have meant to them to sight Vikings for the first time at dawn. 
Image:  www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/vikings_at_sea/

Sunna the beautiful sun goddess is tall and golden, and goes by the names of "All-Bright", "Everglow" and "Fair-Wheel."  She is innocent and enthusiastic, but can be capricious too.  She charges across the sky in her chariot with her two horses Allsvinn (All-Swift) and Arvaker (Early-Waker) who drag the sun behind them.  Daeg or Day rides ahead of Sunna, on a red-bay horse.  Describe a Viking's sense of the sun and Sunna at dawn, midday or at sunset.
Photo:  http://freya.theladyofthelabyrinth.com/?page_id=397

This pendant is nothing less than Thor's hammer.  It is thought that many Vikings took to wearing Thor's hammer as pendants in defiance of newly converted Christians and their square amulets.  Tell us a story of a Viking at sea with his weapon of the storm god that was identified with lightning.

Image:  MMB Exhibition:  "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

What might that first crossing have been like?  Viking ships were completely open and offered no shelter.  Adventurers were exposed to the wind and rain, and had to sleep wherever they could, in most cases in a leather sack.  Provisions were down to a strict minimum:  the choice of food included dried, salted or smoked meat and fish; skin bags provided water and tubs sour milk or ale.  Tell us more from the point of view of an uninitiated traveller.  Image:  http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-special-about-viking-boats

Norse mythology relates that the god Odin made off with the god Loki's three sons.  When he threw one of them, Jörmungandr, into the ocean, he turned into a sea serpent.  Then he kept growing until he circled the World and grasped his own tail.  If he ever lets go, the World will end.  Tell a story involving the sea serpent.
Image:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin /393220611186461438/

This silver brooch comes from Skane in Sweden and is an example of the Ringerike style.  What can you see in its swirls?  A monster, a ship, the sea?  Bring them to life with a story!

Photo:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

To the Vikings there were four winds, Duneyr, Durathor, Dvalin and Dain.  These were currents of energy that can blow from World to World, and possessed four guardians, Austri, Vestri, Sudri and Nordri.  Descrive a Viking in charge of the sails and his sense of these winds and guardians at sea.
Image:  www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/shipstimeline.html

Viking children played with toy ships and in the Króka Refs saga one character, a certain Refur, even went so far as to build a ship based on his favourite toy model.  Tell us more about this Refur, and his passion for his boat.
Image:  www.hurstwic.org

Nine worlds spin around the world ash tree Yggdrasil.  Asgard, Ljossalfheim, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Midgard, Muspellheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim and Helheim are flat continents and each have their own time, seasons and year.  Vikings could change worlds by going off the far edge, crossing rivers or oceans.  Describe Vikings moving between worlds in their ship.
Image:  http//www.pinterest.com/pin/393220611187015735/

These curious objects, made out of animal bone, were tied below shoes with leather straps and used as skates to glide across the ice.  Bring them to life with a story.
Photo:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings.  Beyond the Legend"

Decking was very simple on warships, where oarsmen sat along the crossbeams.  The expression víka sjóvar tells us that a man worked the oar with a thousand strokes, or for about two hours, before he could be released.  Describe the challenge of rowing and how the rower kept going on a particularly challenging crossing. 
Image:  www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm

One Viking poet warned:  "Let no man carve runes to cast a spell, save first he learn to read them well."  Describe a casting of a spell, and its consequences at sea.
Runestone of King Harald the Bluetooth, detail c AD 965 Image:  Peter Engelsted Jonasen/iStockphoto

Vikings would use this fishing tool, a "leister," to catch eels.  Bring it to life with a story!
Image:  MMB Exhibition:  "Vikings Beyond the Legend"

It is thought  that Vikings stored their shields along the gunwales of a ship, as extra protection against the waves and the wind.  This image, of the replica ship Islendigur crossing from Iceland to North America in 2000, shows many different designs for shields, which could include entire scenes.  Skaldic poetry offers "shield poems" and we know that the round Viking shields, often reinforced at the edges with leather or iron, were frequently used in interlocked formations.  How might these shields have appeared, to a young boatsman who had never seen a Viking ship?

Image:  www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm

Walrus ivory figures show warriors chewing the edges of their shield and the ancient sagas relate tales of "beserkers" who fought naked in a trance state, terrifying those they charged towards.  Tell us about what it felt like to come across a Viking beserker.  Or describe a berserker´s trance. 
Image:  The Trustees of the British Museum

This belt clasp, found in a grave in Gotland, Sweden, has a human head.  Who might it have been modelled on?  The man's ancestor or the man himself?  Bring it to life with a story of a Viking at sea.
Image:  MMB Exhibition:  "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

Symbolic keys have been found in women´s graves, and only in women´s graves. We know that these symbolic keys were highly elaborate, that they were usually made of bronze, that they were worn exclusively by the mistress of the house over her clothes for all to see and that they bore little traces of wear. What might such a key have opened? What story could you tell us about swapped, lost or stolen keys? Or of the artisan who designed them?  Remember to link it to the sea! 

Image:  Exhibition “Beyond the Vikings” MMB Barcelona

The holy groves were boundaries between the worlds of men and the gods. These spaces, which were bound to the tree of life, contained the essence of creation and were out of bounds to all but priests who practised their rituals there. Are you a nordic priest in a grove by the sea? Put us in the picture! 

Image:  http://mitchtestone.blogspot.com.es/2009_12_27_archive.html

This comb is made out of animal bone and is further testimony to the importance of grooming.  Tell a tale of a Viking at sea who keeps this as a souvenir of the woman he has left.

Image:  MMB Exhibition “Vikings:  Beyond the Legend”

August 2010, whaling port of Sandeford, Norway. A replica of the Oseberg Ship is for sale, together with its fifteen oars, for NOK 3.5 million (€435 000). Its proud owner Per Bjorkum had already sailed “Asa” from Riga Bay to Sandefjord, to prove that it was seaworthy. Who makes off with it in your story? What becomes of it?

Image:  www.newsinenglish.no/2010/08/05/viking-ship-for-sale/

When the long dark winter set in, the Vikings needed to reassure themselves that daylight would return and that the sun would shine again. So they made sacrifices, acts that to them were holy and went by the name of “hunting the light”. What could this have involved? 

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Offering_by_Lund.jpg

What can you tell us about this fishing hook, and the struggle between a Viking and his prey?

Image:  MMB Exhibition "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

The Vikings also laid their dead in a ship, together with offerings and at times even sacrified slaves, then buried it in a large funerary mound. To date the most sumptuous ship discovered is the Oseberg Ship (Norway), which was for a woman (probably a queen or a priestess) who most probably lived in the ninth Century. Tell us about her journey, or about the trauma that her female slave would have suffered, buried alive with her mistress.

Image:  http://www.sjolander.com/viking/museum/

The World Ash Tree of Yggdrasil was the axis of the earth.  Only the waters of the well of Urd could keep it alive, and if it withered, the world would be destroyed.  So three norns, female figures of destiny, watered it every day with the waters and sandy clay of Urd.  Are you a leaf on that tree, a bird with a nest in its bark, a creature with a warren in its roots or even one of the eternal norns?  What is the relationship between the tree and the sea?  Set the scene - tell us more!

Image:  http://www.northernshamanism.org

This clasp, featuring a cross, was found in Ireland.  Though we often associate Vikings with Norse mythology, conversions to Christianity grew more and more widespread.  How might Vikings have dealt with these differences in faith?  Tell us a story about such differences, and don't forget to relate it to the sea! 
Image:  Exposition MMB "Les Vikings: Au delà de la Légende"

Many exotic artefacts have been found on Viking Age sites, including a Persian glass cup, an Irish cross, an Indian buddha statuette, a Coptic ladle and even shells from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, turned into pendants. Describe an encounter between a Viking and an exotic trader by the sea.

Image:  A Giant Clam in the Red Sea. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

The chief of the Norse gods, Odin, knew that if he wanted to tap into occult knowledge he had to spear himself to a tree. There he hung suspended for nine long windy nights, listening to the talismanic properties of a new alphabet, the mysteries of the runes. Tell us about them and what they might have to say about the sea.

Image:  www.exploringelements.com/snapshots-trail-of-100-giants/

Would these have been ornaments, amulets or cult objects?  We might detect a miniature swordm a miniature torc or necklace, but what about the other pendants?  Why would a Viking have worn them and what effect would they have had on his voyage or raid at sea?  Tell us more!
Image:  MMB Exhibition:  "Vikings:  Beyond the Legend"

The Vikings never referred to themselves as Vikings, but the term "going on a Viking" appears on rune stones and in Old Norse sources. It is thought to mean a commercial trip or raid, but you give your own meaning to this evocative expression.

Image:  http://evi-a.deviantart.com/art/Going-A-Viking-217507842

The Vikings used to cremate their dead in ships. The funerary pyre needed to be huge, to help lift the deceased to the realm of the dead – a region that was either on the other side of the sea or the mountains, but could also be in the heavens or the underworld. From the point of view of the deceased inside his or her boat, tell us about your journey to the afterlife.

Image:  www.funerals-and-flowers.com/viking-funeral.html