An 11th-century Norse coin found in Maine raises the question of whether the Vikings landed there. By Owen Jarus In 1957, an amateur archaeologist working at a Native American site in Maine discovered a perplexing treasure: a 900-year-old silver Norse coin that dated to the late Viking Age (A.D. 793 to 1066). The artifact, sometimesContinue reading “Did the Vikings reach Maine?”
Category Archives: learn old norse
This ‘gruesome’ execution pit is raising unsettling questions about the Vikings
The disturbing burial site contained decapitated corpses and body parts stacked on top of each other. Yet what happened there remains a mystery BY TOM HOWARTH Archaeologists excavating a training dig near Cambridge have uncovered a grisly burial pit that may offer rare insight into violence and punishment during the turbulent Viking Age in England.Continue reading “This ‘gruesome’ execution pit is raising unsettling questions about the Vikings”
Archaeologists Found Proof of a Viking City That Was Supposed to Be Mythical
Does this evidence actually point to a long-lost “medieval New York”? BY TIM NEWCOMB This story is a collaboration with Biography.com. The history of Viking life has been largely buried, whether physically or figuratively. But in 2023, a simple construction project to erect a new observation tower in a public park on the Polish islandContinue reading “Archaeologists Found Proof of a Viking City That Was Supposed to Be Mythical”
Archaeology Students Dug Up a Mass Viking Grave—With a Literal Giant Inside
Dated to the ninth century C.E., a time when the Vikings ruled the area, the grave held the remains of at least 10 different young men. BY TIM NEWCOMB Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Archaeology undergraduates from the University of Cambridge were on a training dig when they discovered a groupContinue reading “Archaeology Students Dug Up a Mass Viking Grave—With a Literal Giant Inside”
How England’s first king used an unexpected weapon to defeat the Vikings
When England’s first true king confronted Viking power in the north, one of his most effective weapons became his manipulation of loyalty. By James OsborneBy the early 10th century, the concept of a unified England was still an unfinished project. Despite Alfred the Great’s victories against the Vikings – and the consolidating achievements of hisContinue reading “How England’s first king used an unexpected weapon to defeat the Vikings”