Archaeologists and student excavators uncovered a Viking Age pit full of dismembered remains near Cambridge, England. By Kristina Killgrove Archaeologists have unearthed a Viking Age pit filled with the dismembered remains of 10 people in the outskirts of Cambridge, England. The unusual mass grave, which also contained the skeleton of an extremely tall man who hadContinue reading “Viking Age mass grave holds mysterious mix of dismembered human remains and complete skeletons, including a ‘giant’ who’d had brain surgery”
Category Archives: Viking Articles
DNA study challenges key assumption about Viking burials
People buried together in old Scandinavian graves were not always related By Vishwam Sankaran A new DNA study has completely upturned a long-held assumption that people buried together in Scandinavia’s Viking-age graves must be related to each other. Across the region there are many examples of graves from the late Viking and Middle Age inContinue reading “DNA study challenges key assumption about Viking burials”
1,100-year-old ‘ceremonial’ Viking shields were actually used in battle, study suggests
The Viking shields found on the Gokstad ship in 1880 were not strictly ceremonial and may have been used in hand-to-hand combat, according to a new analysis. By Tom Metcalfe Dozens of Viking round shields from a famous ship burial unearthed in Norway were not strictly ceremonial as long thought; instead they may have protected warriorsContinue reading “1,100-year-old ‘ceremonial’ Viking shields were actually used in battle, study suggests”
1,200-year-old ‘Viking graffiti’ is the oldest drawing ever discovered in Iceland
Viking boat graffiti like this record-setting carving are usually “extremely poorly done.” By Laura Geggel Archaeologists in Iceland have unearthed the country’s oldest known drawing: a scratched-out piece of “Viking graffiti” that looks like a partly drawn boat. The researchers found the graffiti in the remains of a longhouse, said Bjarni F. Einarsson, an archaeologist and managerContinue reading “1,200-year-old ‘Viking graffiti’ is the oldest drawing ever discovered in Iceland”
Viking Age stone figurine unearthed in Iceland — but no one can agree on which animal it
The small, four-legged figurine is carved out of stone, but it’s unclear which animal it depicts. By Margherita Bassi Archaeologists in Iceland have discovered what may be a rare Viking Age toy carved out of stone, but it’s anyone’s guess as to which animal it depicts. The figurine, which experts dated to between A.D. 940 and 1000,Continue reading “Viking Age stone figurine unearthed in Iceland — but no one can agree on which animal it “