May
20
/ 2015
Archaeologists carrying out excavations in the port of Birka, Sweden’s oldest town, have unearthed a tiny dragon head once used on a Viking brooch. The bronze relic matches the shape of a mold that was found back in 1870, but it is the first time researchers have found the actual object that came out of the mold. The dragon’s head is one of the most famous symbols of the Vikings. Their ships typically had a Viking head mounted on the bow to scare off sea monsters, which they would remove as they approached land so as not to repel the land gods. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"10895","attributes":{"alt":"The dragon head is a famous symbol of the Vikings and was often mounted on their ships. ‘Guests
