A Viking longship and a number of burial mounds have been discovered next to a busy freeway, Norwegian archaeologists have announced.
Found only 50 centimetres beneath the ground in Viksletta, next to the Jelle mound in Ostfold County, parts of the ship are believed to still be well-preserved.
The archaeologists, working for the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) used a "motorised, high-resolution georadar" to examine the discovery without dislodging the turf and damaging the ship.
Also found in the area were five Viking longhouses — some of them said to be "remarkably large" — and eight burial mounds.
The ship is believed to be about 20 metres long, and the archaeologists have not yet been able to date it.
More investigation is planned to, "digitally map the unique find and the wider landscape", the NIKU said.
