PARIS, France: During the course of several thousand years, wooden sailing boats enabled North Europeans to expand their businesses, influence and, at times, warfare.

In December, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized Nordic age boats as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, and Norway jointly applied for inclusion onto the agency’s list.

Those seeking recognition by UNESCO sought to preserve the boat-construction methods, unique to the Viking age.

“We can see that the skills of building them, the skills of sailing the boats, the knowledge of people who are sailing are disappearing,” according to Sren Nielsen, heading Roskilde-based Viking Ship Museum’s boatyard, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Apart from showcasing the remnants of wood-built ships constructed 1,000 years ago, the museum also displays the rebuilding of ancient sailing boats.
The procedures entail the application of new archaeologic approaches for developing a broader and hands-on knowledge of the Viking Era, including how the ships actually sailed, as well as the number of passengers aboard them.

“We think it’s a tradition we have to show off, and we have to tell people this was a part of our background,” said Nielsen.

Wood-built sailboats are typified by the use of overlying wood hull boards fastened or fixed together.