Hordes of Vikings recently rampaged through Dean Close Preparatory School when pupils came dressed as Nordic warriors ready to enjoy a Viking experience day.
Throughout the morning, Jarl Charlie showed pupils how to weave, make wooden shields and build a Viking longboat, whilst sharing interesting facts about the people who raided and traded from their Scandinavian homelands.
Firstly, the young Vikings built a ship from the keel up, using rivets and guts to hold the planks securely in place. The Vikings built their boats mainly of oak, they used pine for the mast and the oars were made of ash. The planks were held together with gut and walrus whiskers and they finished the last planks of their boat with Megginhoofer, Viking for thick planks. The end result was an impressive Viking long boat, six metres long, which was quarter of the size of a real long boat.
The children also learnt how to spin wool and weave it to make cloth, this proved to be a very tricky skill! Then they spent time designing a fierce dragon head and tail for their long ship.
One pupils said: “Building the wooden shields was really hard work – they were so heavy. The Viking men and women must have been super strong to hold the shield and try and fight. I found it nearly impossible to use the shield to protect myself whilst trying to pick up a wooden sword, really tricky!”
Teacher Mr West added: “A brilliant interactive day, bringing together a variety of new skills and knowledge!”