OSLO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Experts have warned that Viking ships, part of the world heritage, as well as other objects preserved from the Viking Age in Norway may be in danger, public broadcaster NRK reported Wednesday.
The collection from the Viking Age is shown at the Viking Ship Museum on Bygdoy, a peninsula near the city centre of Oslo. It is part of the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo.
A new museum will be built next to the old building on Bygdoy, and ships and objects must be secured before they can be moved. Now there is no more money left to continue to secure the ships that eventually have cracked at places, the report said.
The University of Oslo has sent a letter to the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. "We are very concerned that the progress of the work using securing and relocation methods is further delayed by the absence of necessary grants," the letter said.
"Such a situation will be dramatic because the progress in the project will then stop, and the securing of the Viking Age collection may be endangered," it said.
Hakon Glorstad, director of the Museum of Cultural History and professor of archeology, said the experts are concerned that politicians do not understand the seriousness.
"The big forces threaten to break down the collection. Now we have found the methods and if no money is appropriated for this, the destruction of the collection will continue," he said.
The Ministry of Education and Research is very focused on ensuring that cultural treasures, such as the Viking Age collection, are preserved for future generations, said Knut Borve, director general of the ministry's Department for Governance of Higher Education and Research Institutions.
The Norwegian parliament has granted 35 million kroner (4.3 million U.S. dollars) over the last four years to investigate the methods that would secure the treasures, he added.
According to Glorstad, however, this sum will not be enough to carry out the extensive work.
