A newly discovered burial pit dating to the Viking Age contains the remains of at least ten young men. But were they victims of battle, execution – or something else entirely? By Tom Horne Violence was a defining feature of 9th-century Anglo-Saxon England. This was a period of aggressive Viking invasions, violent rivalry between Anglo-SaxonContinue reading “This morbid Viking Age death pit is more mystifying than it first seemed – here’s why”
Category Archives: Viking Articles
Did the Vikings really shoot fiery arrows at funeral boats?
The idea of Vikings using fire arrows to set funeral boats ablaze is seen frequently in popular culture. But did it really happen? By Owen Jarus In movies and TV shows, it’s a popular motif: A dead Viking is placed on a boat, and it drifts slowly out to sea; from land, an archer shootsContinue reading “Did the Vikings really shoot fiery arrows at funeral boats?”
Archaeologists Found Two Pieces of Jewelry That Could Bring a Lost Woman Back to Life
Two oval brooches and preserved pieces of thread will undergo further study to give experts some insight into the Viking age. BY TIM NEWCOMB Tucked inside a Viking Age grave in Denmark, the discovery of two oval brooches could help tell the story of just how the Vikings dressed 1,300 years ago. Nicknamed “the girlContinue reading “Archaeologists Found Two Pieces of Jewelry That Could Bring a Lost Woman Back to Life”
A Solar Blast From 1,000 Years Ago Could Hold the Solution to a Major Viking Mystery
The Vikings beat Columbus to North America by centuries, but identifying the exact year is proving much harder. A surge of carbon-14 could help. BY TIM NEWCOMB Cosmic rays may hold the answer to a question that has stumped archaeologists for decades: exactly when did the Vikings first set foot in North America? The evidenceContinue reading “A Solar Blast From 1,000 Years Ago Could Hold the Solution to a Major Viking Mystery”
A Finnish Metal Detectorist Was Shocked to Unearth a Trove of Viking Age Silver in His Hometown. Then His Detector Went Off Again
Weighing a combined ten pounds, the artifacts are estimated to be 1,000 years old and constitute Finland’s largest coin hoard of the era. By SONJA ANDERSON A metal detectorist in southern Finland has unearthed the country’s largest hoard of Late Iron Age silver coins to date. Buried in the 11th century in what’s now theContinue reading “A Finnish Metal Detectorist Was Shocked to Unearth a Trove of Viking Age Silver in His Hometown. Then His Detector Went Off Again”