Category Archives: Viking Articles

Researchers say a new analysis of Denmark’s Jelling Stones suggest a 10th-century woman named Thyra may have been a key political player. ByTom Metcalfe New research on 1,000-year-old inscriptions suggests that the wife and mother of two Viking rulers may have been much more powerful in her own right—perhaps even a leader of the earlyContinue reading “‘Denmark’s salvation’? Runestones hint at Viking queen’s power”

New archaeological clues are shedding light on the fate of isolated Norse colonies in Greenland that disappeared during the Middle Ages. ByNeil Shea The first time I met Michael Nielsen he had just returned from a summer spent excavating a Viking site in southern Greenland, not far from where he’d lived as a child. Most sitesContinue reading “The Vikings who vanished”

Archaeologists long assumed Valkyrie figurines represented Norse mythical beings. A new study of how and where they were made challenges that. By Andrew Curry Mysterious, ancient female figurines have been found by the dozens all over Denmark, and as far afield as England and Russia: inch-long bronze depictions of long-haired women, often wearing crested helmetsContinue reading “Viking ‘amulet factory’ discovery forces rethink of enigmatic artifacts”

The 1,200-year-old vessel, discovered in a Norwegian potato field, is revealing an extraordinary picture of how ancient Scandinavian warlords were sent into the afterlife. ByAndrew Curry In the south of Scandinavia, it’s not uncommon to see low, rounded hills appear here and there across expanses of flat farmland: These are often the remains of Viking-eraContinue reading “‘100-year find’: Enormous Viking ship holds surprising clues on burial rituals”

The discovery of 1,300-year-old ship nails in a burial mound in Norway raises new questions about who was actually entombed there. ByChristina Larson Near the harbor of Norway’s Leka Island, there lies a vast, ancient burial mound called Herlaugshaugen. Stretching some 200 feet long and reaching nearly four stories high, the earthen mound dominates theContinue reading “New evidence shows ‘Viking burials’ predate Vikings”