A city in Denmark at the head of the Roskilde fjord, which was the former seat of Danish kings (c 1020-1416) and capital of Denmark (until 1443). Underwater excavations have attempted to retrieve a barrier of sunken ships dating to 1000-1050, which was deliberately planned to protect the town from enemy raiders. The ships were reassembled and are now on display in Roskilde Ship Museum. The range of vessels recovered from the fjord includes a knarr, a long-distance sea-going cargo ship built out of pine and oak and propelled by a sail; an oak-built merchant ship; a warship; a ferry or fishing boat; and a Viking longship.