Viking beaters: Scots and Irish may have settled Iceland a century before Norsemen Remarkably similar carvings and simple cross sculptures mark special sites or places once sacred, spanning a zone stretching from the Irish and Scottish coasts to Iceland. We can look to Skellig Michael, which rises from the sea 12km off the southwest Irish … Read more
2,000 years of genetic history in Scandinavia elucidates Viking age to modern day A new study reported in the journal Cell on January 5 captures a genetic history across Scandinavia over 2,000 years, from the Iron Age to the present day. This look back at Scandinavian history is based on an analysis of 48 new and 249 published … Read more
Viking hall from the era of King Harald Bluetooth discovered in Denmark Archaeologists in Denmark report they have made an incredible Viking Age find, the biggest in the recent ten years. A huge Viking hall dating back to the time of Harald Bluetooth has been discovered in North Jutland. The discovery was made accidentally when archaeologists from Nordjyske Museer … Read more
Ancient DNA pushes herring trade back to the Viking age Historians have believed extensive herring trade started around the year 1200 AD, later controlled by the Hanseatic League. Now, a new study shows that it was already established in the Viking Age. “We found that this trade existed already around 800 AD, 400 years earlier, which … Read more
Archaeologists Unearth Two Viking Age Swords in Burial Ground It does not happen very often that archeologists find Viking swords. Swords were extremely important to ancient Vikings, but these weapons were expensive to produce, and only the richest warriors and chiefs could afford a sword. As previously explained on AncientPages.com, the loss of a sword was a catastrophe … Read more
Unique Viking Age Shipyard Discovered At Birka Challenges Maritime Activities Of The Viking Age Archaeologists from Stockholm University discovered the remains of a Viking Age shipyard, the university announced Wednesday, while excavating at Birka, known as Sweden’s first town. The find sheds light on the organization of the Viking’s maritime activities. Established during the mid-8th century C.E., … Read more
Man-made Viking-era cave discovered in Iceland It has happened in the past that archaeological discoveries have confirmed events described in Norse Sagas. We know for example that Norse Sagas tell of early Viking Voyages to foreign, distant lands. One of them was America, but these accounts have long been dismissed as fictional tales, but archaeological discoveries force … Read more