King Olaf Tryggvason’s dramatic fall at the battle of Svolder in around AD 1000 became one of the most famous episodes of the Viking Age. But while most sources say he drowned beneath the waves, some later accounts – and some modern historians – have wondered whether Norway’s warrior king somehow escaped. By James OsborneContinue reading “He was one of the greatest Viking warlords – and his death is still an unsolved mystery”
Category Archives: old norse blog
Lost Viking ‘highway’ revealed by melting ice
1,000-year-old horseshoes, sleds, and tools are emerging from a shrinking ice patch in Norway, telling the story of the rise and fall of a mountain pass and the people who traveled along it. By Erin Blakemore It started with an 1,800-year-old shirt. Archaeologist Lars Holger Pilø had watched his colleagues discover the ancient wool tunicContinue reading “Lost Viking ‘highway’ revealed by melting ice”
‘Denmark’s salvation’? Runestones hint at Viking queen’s power
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”
The Vikings who vanished
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”
Viking ‘amulet factory’ discovery forces rethink of enigmatic artifacts
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”