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Viking

The skull of a man, 25-40 years, with his face cut off with a sharp weapon. The head was found in a well outside a pit house from the 9th century in Aarhus, Denmark. Source: Rogvi N. Johansen/Moesgaard Museum

De-faced Skulls and Babies Were Buried in Viking Homes

A new Viking research paper determines parts of dead Norse folk, especially children, were kept beneath homes after the deceased had been buried. So often sensationalized, glamorized and mystified,...
Screenshot of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Source: Ubisoft

Brutal Viking World Recreated in New Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

A hair raising, exciting, and emotionally charged game trailer has been released for the next installment of the mega-popular computer game franchise Assassin’s Creed . In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla...
Danevirke wall defended the Danes in the north from the Germanic and Slav tribes.    Source: khosrork / Adobe Stock

From the Vikings to WWII, the Danevirke Wall Has Seen it All

All through classical history, imposing and long walls, ramparts, and fortifications played a significant role in securing the borders of nations and kingdoms from all sorts of incursions and attacks...
Did Denisovan ancestry reach European megalith builders? Source: adrenalinapura / Adobe Stock

The Far-Reaching Realms of Denisovan Ancestry Stretch to Iceland

This week it was announced that a new genetic study published in the journal Nature shows that the genomes of over 27,000 Icelanders display an admixture of modern human and Neanderthal DNA, along...
Viking jewelry and sword representations on fur

Viking-Era Jewelry: Revealing an Intricate Cultural History of the Ancient Norsemen

When you think of ancient Vikings, the first thing that pops into your mind is probably not jewelry, right? The picture that forms in the mind of most people is one of savages with long sharp spears...
The Historic Limestone Landscape of Stora Alvaret

The Historic Limestone Landscape of Stora Alvaret

Stora Alvaret, on the Swedish island of Öland, is an area of great natural beauty with a unique ecology. The many important archaeological sites on the island which date to the Bronze Age has made...
Representation of a female Viking magic practitioner

Vestiges of the Vikings: Magic Buried in a Viking Woman's Grave

Murky, elusive and undefined, the religion of the pre-Christian Vikings has long been subject to debate. Contemporary texts of their spiritual worship do not survive, and the later records that do...
On March 29th ancient people sharpened their swords and went to battle under the power of their resurrected sun gods. Source: Oleksandr /Adobe Stock

March 29: When Viking and Christian Sun Gods Drew Swords

Easter corresponds with the first Sunday following the full moon after the March equinox and as such the holy day occurs on different dates around the Christian world. However, the story of the...
A horn blowing ceremony in Ripon, England. Source: Grove House Bed and Breakfast

1100-year-old Horn Blowing Ceremony Continues Despite Coronavirus

Daily life has been heavily disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19 or coronavirus . However, one British town is determined to carry on as normal as possible. They are committed to continuing a...
Storms In Scotland Unearth Viking Skeletons

Storms In Scotland Unearth Viking Skeletons

Fierce storms ravaging Orkney, an island group in the far north of Scotland famous for its Neolithic standing stone circles and burial tombs, have unearthed hundreds of ancient human bones in what is...
Arrowhead recently found at Jotunheimen.   Source: Secrets of the Ice

Huge 1,500-Year-Old Arrowhead Released From Melting Glacier

Archaeologists in Norway uncovered a 1,500-year-old iron arrowhead in a melting glacier in the summer of 2020. The team of investigators inspecting Jotunheimen , a massive melting Norwegian glacier,...
Representation of Norse-Gael (Gallowglass) warriors in battle.          Source: PatSM / Adobe stock

Gallowglass Mercenaries – The Notorious Norse-Gael Soldiers of Fortune

The turbulent history of medieval Europe always called for abled and skilled warriors. Wars and battles depended on the ability of the soldiers, and a man who was skilled with a sword was a sought-...
Representation of a Viking Hall.        Source: Roksolana / Adobe stock

Radar Tech Uncovers Three Viking Halls at Royal Cemetery in Norway

Three ancient Viking hall type structures of Norse power have been scanned at a Late Iron Age royal burial site in Norway. Borre is located in Horten municipality, Vestfold County, on the western...
The glass artifact thought to be a Viking game piece discovered in Lindisfarne. Source: Jeff Veitch / Durham University.

Ancient Viking Glass Artifact Was A Game Piece Of The Elites

A tiny glass crown is being heralded as a rare archaeological artifact from the first wave of Viking raids in England. The small worked glass artifact was unearthed at an excavation site on the Holy...
Close up of the Viking runestone (‘the Rök Stone’) from the 9th century, features the longest known runic inscription and is considered the first piece of Swedish literature.        Source: rolf_52 / Adobe stock

Viking Runestone Uncovers Climate Fears That Fed Ragnarök Myth

Much of the modern world is very worried about climate change and it appears that Vikings were also very concerned about changes to the climate. Researchers now argue that one of the world’s most...
Walrus carving from medieval Trondheim. Viking colonies in Greenland relied on walrus ivory for trade. Source: Credit: Åge Hojem NTNU University Museum

Viking Colonies Collapsed Through Over Hunting Walruses

The mysterious disappearance of Greenland's Norse colonies sometime in the 15th century may have been down to the overexploitation of walrus populations for their tusks, according to a study of...
Viking holding Christian cross. Credit: Warpedgalerie / Adobe Stock

Vikings Didn’t Just Murder Monks and Pillage Monasteries – They Helped Spread Christianity Too

Vikings are often seen as heathen marauders mercilessly targeting Christian churches and killing defenceless monks. But this is only part of their story. The Vikings played a key role in spreading...
Representation of Harald Fairhair, the first King of Norway. Source: Fotokvadrat / Adobe Stock.

The Story of Harald Fairhair, First King of Norway

The early history of Norway, and Scandinavia in general, is characterized by powerful seafarers, traders, and warriors and by rich heathen mythologies and ambitious chieftains . The fierce sons of...
Viking migrants in Ireland. Source: Jürgen Hamann / Adobe Stock.

Viking Migrants May Have Saved the Irish From Extinction

A new study could re-write the history of Ireland in the Middle Ages . It shows that the Irish population was in serious decline until the coming of the Vikings . This could change historians’ views...
The Viking ship burial was found by the old Edøy church in Norway.

Viking Ship Burial Discovered on Norwegian Island

As technology is advancing, it is allowing us to know more about our past. Researchers in Norway have used it to identify a Viking ship burial on an island. The ship's outline was detected, and...
The oldest of the Viking boats of the boat burial is from the 8th century. Source: Arkikon / NTNU.

Extraordinary Twin Viking Boat Burial Found in Norway

Archaeologists in Norway have uncovered a particularly odd burial. They have found two Viking boats in one grave. The second burial was placed in the grave some 100 years after the first ship burial...
Rebala Bronze Age graves                            Source: Photo by Tarmo Lilles

Rebala Heritage Reserve, A Glimpse Into 5000 Years of Human History

The Rebala Heritage Reserve is an extensive reserve filled with archaeological marvels from the Stone to the Viking Age and offers visitors a step into the long, rich history of the Estonia. The many...
Representational image of a Viking warrior woman (DPVUE Images / Adobe Stock)

Was This Wounded Female Viking Really A Warrior?

The wounded face of a female Viking warrior found buried with weaponry has been reconstructed. The warrior’s skeleton was excavated in a Viking graveyard in Solør, Norway, and was found to have been...
English Battlefield Found      Source: PatSM / Adobe Stock

Archaeologists Locate Battlefield Dubbed ‘Where England Began’

The lost battlefield of Brunanburh, the battle that created England, has finally been located by archaeologists. The battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 AD between King Athelstan of Wessex in what...

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