A large Viking burial mound found on the island of Karmøy off Norway’s western coast was long thought to be empty. Excavations that opened the Salhushaugen mound in 1906 were launched in the belief...
What comes to mind when you think of Vikings ? Pillaging and plundering? Battle cries and warrior spirit ? What about partying? That's right, Vikings knew how to have a good time, too. Mead halls ,...
Giants, demigods, dwarves and elves - all these creatures made the Old Norse mythology so colorful and captivating. Preserved for posterity in the Norse sagas and manuscripts, these myths and legends...
Real-life events can be just as dramatic as any fiction, as evidenced by the tale of stolen Viking coins, an undercover sting, and two men protesting their innocence. Collectors Craig Best and Roger...
What was life like for the average Viking ? Was it really all epic sea voyages and brutal raiding parties? Not quite! Back home these brutal warriors had keep up a certain standard of living. What...
A reexamination of 1,100-year-old wooden Viking shields excavated in Norway in 1880 have been used to assert that these round protective devices could very well have been used in hand-to-hand combat...
The Viking warriors who invaded England in the late ninth century have long been a topic of fascination for historians and archaeologists alike. Now, a team of British and Belgian scientists have...
Medieval English monasteries didn’t just passively cave in to the long-running Viking attacks on English shores that culminated in the victory of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great . Lyminge, a...
When archaeologists in Denmark identified the foundations of a huge Viking hall they knew they’d hit archaeological paydirt. But they didn’t expect that this building would be the largest Viking hall...
An exceptionally rare Viking Age grave has been unearthed in Oslo, Norway’s capital city. The Viking Age (793–1066 AD) followed the Migration Period and the Germanic Iron Age in Europe . At this time...
Archaeologists in Sweden have unearthed a rare Viking treasure hoard. Found beneath what was a wooden floor, the collection of silver jewellery and coins tell a story of international trade almost...
Rowing out to a swimming spot on the Glomma River with his father, 10-year-old Erik Briskerud noticed what looked like a root in a sandbar. To his delight, the object that he unearthed turned out to...
A grave found in Late Viking Age eastern Norway looks uncannily similar to one of the most immaculate graves from the Roman Age in Norway, from the Hunn burial site in Østfold. A rich burial site, it...
Archaeologists in Sweden have unearthed what they are calling a “one of its kind” Thor’s Hammer amulet. Loki's lies, Odin’s staff and Thor’s hammer (Mjölnir) are well known archetypes of Norse...
It’s almost out of a fairy tale, with the added caveat of having the dirty underbelly of global warming revealed yet again! A Yorkshire sunken village with Viking origins has re-emerged after water...
A new study has revealed that elite Vikings, specifically highly ranked Danish Vikings, used and wore beaver furs as a means of showing off their exalted social status. This practice is not...