Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 7, 2019

Ancient DNA from Viking Graves Proves the Fierce Fighters Rode Male Horses

Vikings who settled in Iceland more than 1,000 years ago valued their horses so much that the men were buried with their trusty steeds. And DNA analysis of these treasured animals recently proved that the horses consigned to the grave with their manly owners were males, too. For decades, archaeologists...

Jan 17, 2019

Did the Vikings Think the Gods Were Watching Them?

Today, the name Thor likely conjures up an image of a well-muscled Chris Hemsworth playing the Norse-inspired superhero on the big screen. For the actual Vikings, the god of thunder may have similarly been admired for his great feats — but certainly not for his moral fortitude. New research suggests...

Feb 20, 2019

Photos: Viking warrior is actually a woman

Warrior woman (Image credit: Drawing by Tancredi Valeri; Copyright Antiquity Publications Ltd.)In 2017, a group of researchers in Sweden did a genetic analysis on the bones of a warrior Viking, long assumed to be male. However, the results showed that the individual had XX chromosomes, revealing that the deceased was,...

Feb 20, 2019

Yes, That Viking Warrior Buried with Weapons Really Was a Woman

The ancient warrior was given a prestigious Viking burial, complete with deadly Viking weapons, a bag of gaming pieces (possibly to represent military command) and two horses, one bridled for riding. This mighty warrior — long thought to be be a man — made headlines in 2017 when researchers in...

Jul 8, 2019

Fantastically Preserved Viking Boat Grave and Skeletons Unearthed in Sweden

Archaeologists recently unearthed two Viking burial boats in Uppsala, Sweden — one of which was exceptionally preserved and held the remains of a dog, a man and a horse. The Vikings sent a handful of their powerful elites to the afterlife in boats laden with sacrificed animals, weapons and treasure;...

Jul 15, 2019

Were the Vikings Smoking Pot While Exploring Newfoundland?

The discovery of cannabis pollen near a Viking settlement in Newfoundland raises the question of whether the Vikings were smoking or eating pot while exploring North America. The researchers also found evidence the Vikings occupied this outpost for more than a century, way longer than previously believed. Located in northern...

Aug 8, 2019

1,100-Year-Old Viking 'Beer Hall' Discovered. But It Was Only for the Elites.

There was likely no shortage of ale and good cheer at a recently unearthed Viking drinking hall, discovered by archaeologists on the island of Rousay, Orkney, in northern Scotland. The hall wasn't a short-lived establishment, either. Its doors seem to have been open from the 10th to the 12th centuries,...

Nov 8, 2019

Battle-Scarred Viking Shield-Maiden Gets Facial Reconstruction for First Time

When the sword came down upon her head, the blade cut her to the bone. Scientists studying the Viking woman's fractured skull 1,000 years later still aren't sure whether the blow actually killed her — however, the trove of weapons buried with her make it clear that she died a...

Nov 26, 2019

Unusual Viking Burial Site in Norway Contains Two Stacked Boats, Each with a Body

When archaeologists excavated an unusual Viking grave site in Norway, they dug up two bodies … along with the remnants of two massive boats. After hundreds of years underground, only remnants of the wooden vessels remained, but the excavation team could tell the two boats had been stacked atop each...

Dec 4, 2019

Radar Uncovers Viking Ship Buried on Norway Farm

The remains of a Viking ship have been discovered on a farm near a medieval church at Edøy, on the island of Smøla, in Norway. The ship, which is 52 to 56 feet (16 to 17 meters) long, appears to be part of a burial mound, suggesting that it was...

Mar 11, 2020

Lindisfarne: The 'Holy Island' where Vikings spilled the 'blood of saints'

Lindisfarne (also known as Holy Island) is a tidal island located off the east coast of the United Kingdom. It's known for a Christian monastery founded in the 7th century that suffered a Viking raid so terrible that some medieval writers believed that God was punishing them for their sins....

Mar 12, 2020

Scottish storms unearth 1,500-year-old Viking-era cemetery

Powerful storms on the Orkney Islands in the far north of Scotland recently exposed ancient human bones in a Pictish and Viking cemetery dating to almost 1,500 years ago. Volunteers are piling sandbags and clay to protect the remains and limit the damage to the ancient Newark Bay cemetery on...

May 15, 2020

Fungus is destroying a buried Viking ship. Here's how Norway plans to save it.

Archaeologists are racing against the clock to save the remains of a buried Viking ship from a ruthless foe: fungus. If the project is successful, the 65-foot-long (20 meters) oak vessel — called the Gjellestad ship — will become the first Viking ship to be excavated in Norway in 115...

May 16, 2020

Viking 'treasure' of rare artifacts revealed on a long-lost mountain trail

Archaeologists recently documented a rare treasure trove of Viking Age objects littering a long-forgotten mountain pass, including the remains of a dog wearing its collar and leash. As climate change melts Norway's glaciers, pockets of history hidden for centuries or millennia are finally seeing the light of day. Melting along...

Jun 23, 2020

Oldest Viking settlement possibly unearthed in Iceland

Archaeologists have unearthed what may be the oldest Viking settlement in Iceland. The ancient longhouse is thought to be a summer settlement built in the 800s, decades before seafaring refugees are supposed to have settled the island, and was hidden beneath a younger longhouse brimming with treasures, said archaeologist Bjarni...