NEIL OLIVER:'The Vikings came from Scandinavia, where there are many mountains. Crossing those mountains was difficult, so the easiest way to travel was by boat, through the steep, sea-flooded ...

The Vikings built fast ‘dragon-ships’ and ‘long ships’ for raiding and war. They also had slower passenger and cargo ships called ‘knorrs’. They built smaller boats too ...

Without this crucial advance in ship technology, the Vikings would never have become a dominant force in medieval warfare, politics, and trade. The drekar, or dragon-headed longships, were ...

A cold drizzle falls as we shiver in the streets, waiting for the Viking lord and his band of ... as the crowd belts out old songs of sea kings and dragon ships, the torchbearers tow the vessel ...