The new season of Game of Thrones is on the horizon and *spoiler alert* what this means is we’ll finally get to find out what will happen when Daenerys and her vast army reach the shores of Westeros.
When season six reached its climax, we were left on a tantalising cliff-hanger as Daenerys, complete with three dragons and the backing of both the Unsullied and Dothraki armies, set sail from Meereen in a bid to claim the Iron Throne. It was Ms Targaryen’s sizeable armada, however, that piqued our interest. Shipping large quantities of items is something we specialise in here at 1st Move, and this got us thinking about the logistical efforts behind sending several armies and personnel across the Narrow Sea from Essos to Westeros.
So, we put our heads together and channelled our inner Game of Thrones geekiness to find out what would need moving and just how much this would cost…
Our Research
First, we thought about what would physically need shipping – after all, her dragons can fly themselves there. Based on what the storyline tells us, we deduced we’d need to account for the:
- Dothraki army size
- Unsullied army size
- Dothraki weapons required
- Unsullied weapons required
- Horses needed
- Royal Council costs (Daenerys and her advisors)
- Food required for troops and horses
Now, there’s technically no confirmed number of soldiers amongst the ranks of these armies, so we turned to the super fans to help us in our quest for answers. The Game of Thrones forum on Reddit was essentially a treasure trove of information, and eventually we managed to find some estimations from the fanatics.
We based the size and weight of each soldier on the actors who played the characters of Greyworm (Unsullied) and Khal Drogo (Dothraki).
For Daenerys, Tyrion, Varys and the rest of her Royal Council and advisors, we took to the internet to find out the measurements of each actor. Pages like this from HealthyCeleb and Hollywood Measurements proved to be invaluable resources.
Interestingly, Quora gave us an idea of how long it would take to sail across the Narrow Sea. We also turned to specialist forums and websites to work out how heavy their weaponry and equipment might be, as well as how much the passengers and the Dothraki’s horses would need to eat while en route.
Armed with this information (and a few more useful facts), we were able to work out the shipping costs.
Some Interesting Findings
During our research, we managed to work out some bonus interesting statistics. For example:
- It would cost about £79 per soldier
- Daenerys would need 800,000kg of hay each day, just to feed her many horses
- For soldiers and horses alone, she’s looking at 830 ships
The Full Results
Before we reveal the full extent of the costs, you might not be surprised to learn that Daenerys may need a loan from the Iron Bank to cover what are some pretty sizeable costs. Or she could perhaps sell a dragon – they’re quite rare, so ought to be worth a fair bit!
Remember, if you’re planning on making your own Game of Thrones-esqe voyage in search of new lands, then contact 1st Move International to quickly get your goods to their new destination.
