Despite their occupations of Britain, the Romans and Vikings didn’t leave much of a genetic mark on Britons. The Anglo-Saxons, though, were a different story. By Tom Metcalfe The Romans controlled much of Britain for nearly 400 years, but they left relatively little genetic evidence of their occupation, new ancient-DNA research reveals. Instead, the RomanContinue reading “The Romans and Vikings left few genetic traces of their occupations of Britain, research suggests”
Author Archives: Jules William Press
Archaeologists unearth Viking-era ‘execution pit’ near university town, exposing brutal ancient violence
By Andrea Margolis Students at a prestigious university in the United Kingdom recently unearthed a likely execution pit on the outskirts of town — dating back 1,200 years. The University of Cambridge announced the discovery, which was found in Wandlebury Country Park south of Cambridge, in a Feb. 4 press release. The excavations took placeContinue reading “Archaeologists unearth Viking-era ‘execution pit’ near university town, exposing brutal ancient violence”
Treasure hunters find biggest Viking coin hoard in country’s history: ‘Without parallel’
By Andrea Margolis Two hobbyists recently uncovered one of the largest Viking coin hoards ever found — fittingly, in a Nordic country. The hoard was found in a field near Rena, about 18 miles north of Elverum in southeastern Norway, according to an announcement from the University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History (KHM). TheContinue reading “Treasure hunters find biggest Viking coin hoard in country’s history: ‘Without parallel’”
They Found a 1,000-Year-Old Treasure Buried Underground—Then They Realized Why It Was Left There
And it wasn’t the only thing they uncovered. BY TIM NEWCOMB Archaeologists excavating the land of a former farm in Sweden struck gold—well, silver actually—when they found a buried pot filled with Viking-era silver. In 2025, archaeologists from Arkeologerna, a division of the Swedish History Museum, announced the discovery of not only the silver treasure,Continue reading “They Found a 1,000-Year-Old Treasure Buried Underground—Then They Realized Why It Was Left There”
Archaeologists Found a Ship Buried in Norway. It’s Older than the Vikings.
Monumental ship burials had a wider and deeper past than we thought. BY TIM NEWCOMB The Vikings weren’t the first to get into the business of monumental ship burial mounds in Norway. It turns out that burying ships under piles of Earth was happening at least 100 years before the Vikings made it famous—and inContinue reading “Archaeologists Found a Ship Buried in Norway. It’s Older than the Vikings.”