Vikings- Beyond the Legend

On Wednesday 28th March, Year 8 Humanities students visited the Vikings- Beyond the Legend Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum as part of their Term 1 History depth study on the Vikings.

Students wanted to set the record straight about what the Vikings and their culture were really like. As it turns out, their helmets didn’t have horns as often depicted in popular culture today!

The exhibition displayed more than 500 different artefacts from the Swedish History Museum. The largest ever Viking display in Australia, it featured multimedia and interactive displays. Upon arrival students were greeted by the Krampmacken, a replica of an 8.2m Viking merchant boat found in Gotland Island in Sweden. Ships were vital to Viking expansion, travel and trade.

In the exhibition, students had the opportunity to explore eight key themes that provided insight into Viking people, their family life, their homes, religion, death rituals, craftsmanship, raiding and trading culture, and ships.

Students became aware that most Vikings were farmers and merchants, not the barbaric warriors they are believed to be. They hunted and fished, raised pigs, and cattle, and grew crops like barley, wheat and oats. They also traded with people throughout Europe and as far away as North Africa and modern Turkey, prizing silver above all other goods.

Overall, it was a highly engaging excursion and students really enjoyed having the opportunity to see so many treasures from a culture they were learning about in the classroom.