What did a Viking longhouse look like inside?

Asked by: Jonathan Schlueter

Viking houses were built of wood. The longhouses had bowed walls in plan, forming a ship-like outline. The walls were lined with clay or consisted of wooden planks placed vertically into the ground, which supported the roof, along with two rows of internal posts. Outside the house was often supported by sloping posts.

Did Viking longhouses have rooms?

Inside, the longhouse was divided into several rooms. Two rows of posts ran down the length of the longhouse supporting the roof beams. These columns divided each interior room into three long aisles. The columns supported the roof, and, as a result, the walls supported little weight.

What was inside a Viking longhouse?

Inside the Longhouse
The house would be sectioned, ether to the sides of, or including, the corridor. Fires for cooking and heating would be lit in this corridor. Some houses had a central fire pit that served the whole house while others would have had small individual fires in each room or section.

What did the inside of longhouses look like?

Inside, the right and left sides were identical. The ends were usually rounded and were used as storage areas, shared by the families living in the longhouse. Some longhouses had flat ends. A flat-roofed shed or porch was built over the doorways at both ends of the longhouse.

What was it like to live in a Viking longhouse?

Viking Longhouses
Vikings lived in elongated, rectangular structures called longhouses. Across the Viking world, most houses had timber frames but, where wood was scarce, stone and turf were also used as construction materials. The walls were often made of wattle and daub or timber planking, with a grass roof.

How many rooms are in a longhouse?

A typical Norse longhouse had 16 rooms. It was usually made of wood, but sometimes also of stone or clay.

How did Vikings keep warm?

Vikings wore long, warm, wool cloaks over their clothes for warmth outside. Hats were made of wool, leather or fur. Woolen socks kept the feet warm under the shoes or boots, and leather belts pulled the outfits together.

How many families lived in a longhouse?

An average size longhouse was too big for one family to live in. There were usually two families that shared each fire in the longhouse. The longhouse in the pictures has three fires, so six families could have lived here.

What did Vikings use for bedding?

did vikings have pillows? Yes! Most beds were lined with straw and topped with animal skins and furs. We know that some used blankets of wool or linen to sleep under, and at least one wealthy person had a silk quilt.

Do any Viking longhouses still exist?

During the excavation, researchers discovered a Viking building that belonged to one of the chieftains. It is believed to be the largest ever found. The 272-foot-long house was the seat of one of the chieftains, and it is the only such building found as of now.

Did Vikings have beds?

Beds were most likely lined with straw and animal skin. However, some historians believe that the Vikings actually slept sitting up with their backs against the wall given the limited and confined space that was available on the benches.

Did Vikings sleep on their boats?

At night, Vikings might pull them up on land. They’d take the sail down and lay it across the ship to make a tent to sleep under. Or, they’d pitch woollen tents onshore. If the crew was far out to sea they’d sleep on deck under blankets made from animal skin.

Did Vikings smoke?

They are particularly well known for their use of the peace pipe, smoked before making treaties to ensure peaceful thoughts and long-lasting bonds between people. The Vikings throughout Scandinavia used pipes and the herb angelikarot was commonly smoked in Norway.

What did Vikings smell like?

In Viking days, men were real men. And you could smell it a mile off. Mead, gore, sweat, animal meat, seawater and smoke were the typical odours of a 10th century warrior.

What drugs did Vikings take?

Sources appear to agree that Viking warriors probably ingested one of two mushroom species: Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) or Amanita pantherina (panther cap). In both cases, the primary psychoactive ingredient is muscimol. both contain the psychoactive compound muscimol (right).