The Vikings have a reputation as a hardy and healthy people. But a new study suggests this conception may be a myth, at least with respect to the Viking-Age inhabitants of one Scandinavian country. According an extensive new study, Sweden's Viking Age population appears to have suffered from severe oral and maxillofacial disease, sinus and ear infections, osteoarthritis, and much, much more. This is shown in a study from the University of Gothenburg, in which Viking skulls were examined using modern X-ray and CT scanning techniques. These tests revealed the grim truth about how hard life really was during Scandinavia’s most legendary era, when the Vikings were traveling broadly and putting the fear of God into the peoples they encountered
