All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

vikings

 Illustration of a Viking shield wall (unknown artist)

Dissolving Myths: Vikings Did NOT Hide Behind Shield Walls

By ThorNews According to Rolf Warming, an archaeologist and researcher at the University of Copenhagen, the Vikings did not use shield walls in combat. A typical Viking shield was relatively small...
A Russian postcard depicting the world of the "Ancient Rus" that the Rurik dynasty first established. (Мария Королькова / Adobe Stock)

When Vikings Come to Rule: The History of the Rurik Dynasty

The era of the Vikings is certainly one of the most interesting periods of European history, and greatly popularized in recent times through media and entertainment. The Vikings were skilled sailors...
Vendel Helmets: Spectacular Scandinavian Relics from the Vendel Period

Vendel Helmets: Spectacular Scandinavian Relics from the Vendel Period

Vendel and Valsgärde are two archaeological sites located in Sweden. Both of these sites were once used as burial grounds, and it is from the former that a period in Swedish prehistory, the Vendel...
Vladimir the Great, known as Volodymyr in the Ukraine, or even Saint Vladimir, seen here during his baptism, has gone down in history as the leader which brought Christianity to the pagan Slavs. Source: Public domain

Saintly Leader, or Vengeful Opportunist? The Story of Vladimir the Great

Vladimir the Great(or Volodymyr) is a controversial figure. Commemorated as an exemplary leader, saint and statesman by some, the story of his life is also evidence of a vengeful, murderous and...
Under Floor Hiberno-Norse Structure Now On View At A Dublin Supermarket

Under Floor Hiberno-Norse Structure Now On View At A Dublin Supermarket

A new Lidl supermarket in Ireland is offering shoppers insights as to how the ancient Viking people lived in the city, by making an ancient Hiberno-Norse structure viewable through glass floor panels...
Dead Viking Dynasty Invade Scottish Neolithic Tombs

Dead Viking Dynasty Invade Scottish Neolithic Tombs

The Viking Age represents the earliest recorded raids made by Norsemen in 793 AD until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 AD. During this blood-thirsty period Scandinavians mastered shipbuilding...
Take an Eye-Opening Journey into the Past: Top 10 Historical TV Series

Take an Eye-Opening Journey into the Past: Top 10 Historical TV Series

Ancient history and some of its famous faces have inspired countless TV series over recent years, ranging from drama and action, to fantasy and sci-fi. We all know that “based on actual events” or “...
The Viking Discovery of Iceland

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

The Vikings’ next step out into the Atlantic – the discovery and settlement of Iceland – is one of the best documented events of the Viking Age. Medieval Icelanders were fascinated by genealogy, not...
Viking Shield Technology Revealed in New Breakthrough Study

Viking Shield Technology Revealed in New Breakthrough Study

How exactly the Vikings and their Iron Age ancestors made their war shields has always been a mystery, but a new study explains this in detail and shines light onto a traditionally shadowy aspect of...
Major British Project to Reveal Secrets of Historic York City Walls

Major British Project to Reveal Secrets of Historic York City Walls

A major excavation has been announced to investigate the famous city walls of York. The city walls are considered some of the finest in all of the British Isles if not Europe. These walls have played...
Eat Like a Viking: Ancient Gruel Was Tastier Than it Sounds!

Eat Like a Viking: Ancient Gruel Was Tastier Than it Sounds!

Gruel . Indecipherable grey mush slopped on a plate? Not necessarily! Viking food was simple but that was just the beginning. Porridge and gruel made from whole or cracked grains were popular meals...
Genes of the Vikings traced across Europe.    Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock

Tracking the Genetic Fingerprints of the Viking Woman Hunters

Scientists have tracked ancient Viking genes across Europe further detailing the cultural, political and economic impact of the legendary raiders and traders of the Middle Ages. The Germanic Iron Age...
Igor of Kiev wasn’t the most successful ruler of the Kievan Rus’. Source: Public domain

Prince Igor of Kiev (Kyiv): War and Diplomacy in the Early Rus’

The early beginnings of the Kievan (Kyivan) Rus’ are a highly researched subject that is a defining part of the history of the eastern Slavic peoples. The roots of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia are...
Alfred the Great, the Anglo-Saxon King of Wessex, has long been credited as the founder of the Royal Navy. Legend has it that he battled against the Vikings in the 880s and 890s, and even built his own longships to ensure victory against the Danes. In this engraving by Edmund Evans, he can be seen plotting the capture of the Danish fleet. Source: Public domain.

Origin of British Navy Upturned By Study

The British Royal Navy is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. If you’d looked at its website this morning, you would have read the widely-accepted origin story which claims that naval warships...
Known to all and feared by many, the Curonians were famed for their prowess in battle, strong warrior culture, and an infamous reputation of raiding and plundering their neighboring shores. Source: destillat / Adobe Stock

Men from the Land of Amber: The Shocking History of the Fierce Curonians

The modern Baltic nations of Latvia and Lithuania owe a lot to their fierce and rich history. The fearsome tribes of Balts – close cousins to the neighboring Slavs – carved for themselves a small...
Dumbarton Castle, overlooking the River Clyde          Source: Richard Johnson / Adobe Stock.

Dumbarton Castle: Ancient Stronghold and Symbol of Scottish Defiance

The wild and diverse landscapes of Scotland are filled with remnants of its rich and proud history that spans many centuries. From the Hebrides islands, to the border regions and all the way to the...
Top image: The Orkney River is part of the recently discovered Orkney Viking waterway. The researcher shown in this photo is carrying remote-sensing geophysical mapping equipment.           Source: Express and Star

Evidence of Waterway Engineered By Vikings Discovered In Scotland

Archaeologists in Scotland have discovered an extensive ancient Viking waterway cutting right through Orkney’s Mainland island. The Orkney Islands , known for their tall sandstone cliffs and world-...
Researchers have discovered extinct strains of smallpox, an infectious disease also known as Variola, in the teeth of Viking skeletons proving the disease was around at least 1,400 years ago. Source: nobeastsofierce / Adobe Stock

Viking Explorers Found To Be Carriers Of The World's Deadliest Virus

Chinese-Flu, Kung-Flu and now Trump-Flu, according to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, but now, in the middle of all these politicized pseudonyms names for...
Artifacts discovered by Tor-Kjetil Krokmyrdal at Sandtorg farm, believed to have once been a Viking trading station, include objects of Eastern origin (on the left) and from the British Isles (on the right). Source: Julie Holme Damman, The Arctic University Museum of Norway and Tor-Ketil Krokmyrdal.

Archaeology Student Discovers Viking Trading Station in Northern Norway

A Norwegian archaeology student has found a remote Viking settlement that will change the history of Viking Age Norway. The intrepid discoverer, Tor-Kjetil Krokmyrdal, is a Norwegian master ’ s...
The harsh conditions did not deter Viking Hrafna-Flóki from settling Iceland   Source: Sergio / Adobe Stock

Settlement of Iceland: Viking Hrafna-Flóki’s Real Journey

Iceland is a large Nordic island country, and one of the most sparsely populated nations in Europe. This remote island is known for its iconic North Atlantic climate and somewhat inhospitable nature...
Viking longship replicas at Catoira, Galicia. Did the Vikings also make it to Madeira?  Source: CC BY-SA 4.0

Mice Remains Indicate a Viking Visit to Madeira

In a recent article on the Vikings in South America , it was indicated how scientists had put forward an untenable theory to account for the presence in Chile of the Bundsö dogs from Denmark before...
Calling of the Varangians, part of early Kievan Rus' history                Source: Алексей Кившенко / Public domain

The Kievan Rus’ – When Vikings and Slavs Cooperated to Shape History

The history of the Slavs is a long and ancient tale. Their roots reach far into the past, deep into the oldest beginnings of Europe. These culturally, linguistically, and genetically connected...
Northern Lights, Aurora borealis at Kirkjufell in Iceland. Representative of Icelandic Viking Settlement.           Source: tawatchai1990

The Icelandic Viking Settlement Challenging the History Books

Demanding a rewrite of Icelandic history , in November 2015 a report in IcelandMag said archaeologists at an excavation in Fjarðabyggð, in east Iceland, found an old Viking farmstead at Stöð in...
A Native American woman inspects an item for trade. Credit: montira / Adobe Stock

Globalization & International Trade Started 1,000 Years Ago!

Viking ships touched down on the Canadian island of Newfoundland around 1000 AD, at what is now the archaeological site known as L'Anse aux Meadows . For the first time, the two sides of the Atlantic...

Pages