New evidence of how the Norse became long-distance mariners

ACCORDING TO THE Saga of Erik the Red, "shipworm will not bore into the wood which has been smeared with the seal-tar". Viking scholars debate the precise meaning of "seal" in "seal-tar". One interpretation is that the Scandinavian conquerors mixed tar, or pitch, with animal fat and some experiments suggest this may indeed keep shipworm at bay. What is clear is that tar was an important marine technology, and new finds suggest that a vast industry making it emerged at the beginning of the Viking...