An exhibition presented by the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) in conjunction with the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, and the British Museum, London.

From the Baltic, the Vikings ventured as far west as North America and as far east as the Black Sea, in a period of expansion in which they were not only feared as raiders and pillagers, but also greeted as traders and settlers. Through their travels, they came into contact with numerous, vastly differing societies and cultures. As its central theme, the exhibition explores this recipicity of influence and the diverse cultural contacts which the Vikings fostered. Drawing on the latest archaeological and historical research, the exhibition will include recent, major excavation finds, now presented to the wider public for the first time.

The centrepiece of the display is a vessel from Roskilde, which stands as an impressive symbol of the Viking Age; measuring 37 metres in length, it is the longest warship from this epoch ever to be found. The exhibition is divided into four thematic strands which branch off from the warship and lead the visitor through the presentation, with each theme illustrated by an array of spectacular exhibits. The strands are titled: 'War and Conquest', 'Power and Dominion', 'Faith and Ritual', and 'Contacts and Exchange'. The exhibition features splendid warrior graves and weapons finds, rich grave goods for affluent women, archaeologically important settlement finds, as well as evidence of cultic and religious practices of enormous historical value.