During the planning of the Viking Museum, two options for reconstruction of the Chieftain House were explored. One option was to reconstruct the house with a low and heavy turf roof, the other option was to reconstruct the house with a steep and lofty roof covered in wood shingles. These two study models were produced by Boarch Arkitekter, the architect company responsible for designing the reconstruction, to illustrate these two options.
The excavation of the original building showed not only how long and wide the building was, but also the placement of, and distance between, the columns, the thickness of the columns, and how deeply they were set into the ground. This made it possible to calculate the strength of the construction – how heavy a roof it could carry. Based on these calculations, it was concluded that a turf roof might be too heavy, and so one chose the option with a steep and lofty roof covered in wood shingles.
