15:00 24 March 2015
During the Middle Ages, the Vikings set sail in longships to raid faraway settlements and plunder their riches, but how did they find their way? They had no magnetic compasses and the sun and stars would have been obscured on cloudy days and during the long twilight of the northern summer. With little to go on, a few surviving artefacts are giving us important clues as to how medieval sailors might have navigated the oceans. Ben Crystall
Read more: "Norse legend? The Viking 'GPS' that relied on crystals"
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This decorative 11th century weather vane, found in a church is Norway, probably adorned the prow of a Viking ship. Today, weather vanes on churches and roofs tell you which way the wind is blowing. But Viking versions had a different purpose. The regularly spaced marks along the edge of the instrument suggest that it was used to measure the height of the sun based on the shadow it would cast.
(Image: Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo/Werner Forman Archive)
