After the success of the Roman topic, Year 3 have switched their focus to consider the Viking invasion of England. This began with a creative task and the designing and making of an elaborate figure head for the front of their Viking longboat. The figure heads were used to scare their enemies and were often dragon like in appearance.
Other ‘fun-facts’ the boys may learn during their topic about the Viking longboats include:
When rowing, Vikings probably sat on their ‘sea-chests’, wooden boxes with their belongings inside Viking ships could sail at about 18km/h (10mph) The steering oar was on the right-hand or ‘starboard’ side of the ship. Sailors still use the name ‘starboard’. The Gokstad ship conatined 64 wooden shields, painted black or yellow. The sailors pulled in the oards when the ship was using its sail. They covered the oar holes to stop the sea splashing in.