Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 4, 2023

1,100-year-old 'ceremonial' Viking shields were actually used in battle, study suggests

Dozens of Viking round shields from a famous ship burial unearthed in Norway were not strictly ceremonial as long thought; instead they may have protected warriors in battle, a new study finds. A reanalysis of the wooden shields, which were unearthed in the Gokstad ship in southern Norway in 1880,...

Apr 19, 2023

Epic 11-foot-tall sea level rise drove Vikings out of Greenland

The Vikings are remembered as fierce fighters, but even these mighty warriors were no match for climate change. Scientists recently found that ice sheet growth and sea level rise led to massive coastal flooding that inundated Norse farms and ultimately drove the Vikings out of Greenland in the 15th century....

Apr 27, 2023

Rare, 1,000-year-old Viking Age iron hoard found in basement in Norway

A rare stash of 1,000-year-old ironwork, which sat for 40 years in a family's basement in Norway, is now seeing the light of day after a woman discovered the hoard during some spring cleaning. The hoard consists of 32 iron ingots that look like small spatulas and date back to...

Apr 28, 2023

Seemingly 'empty' burial mound is hiding a 1,200-year-old Viking ship

A Viking Age burial mound in Norway long thought to be empty actually holds an incredible artifact: the remains of a ship burial, according to a ground-penetrating radar analysis. The remains, which are still underground, indicate that a ship burial took place during the late eighth century A.D., the very...

May 1, 2023

Double hoard of Viking treasure discovered near Harald Bluetooth's fort in Denmark

Silver coins and jewelry unearthed from a field on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark are revealing new insight into the reign and religious ambitions of the powerful Viking king Harald Bluetooth, according to archaeologists. The objects — around 300 pieces of silver, including about 50 coins and cut-up jewelry —...

Jul 6, 2023

1,200-year-old 'Viking graffiti' is the oldest drawing ever discovered in Iceland

Archaeologists in Iceland have unearthed the country's oldest known drawing: a scratched-out piece of Viking graffiti that looks like a partly drawn boat. The researchers found the graffiti in the remains of a longhouse, said Bjarni F. Einarsson, an archaeologist and manager at his private company Fornleifafræðistofan (The Archaeological Office)...

Jul 6, 2023

Viking sword from warrior's grave unearthed in family's yard in Norway

A man digging in his yard to build an extension of his house in southern Norway has unearthed the 1,100-year-old grave of a Viking warrior who was buried with weapons. The finds include a rusty iron sword in two pieces; its hilt style enabled archaeologists to date the burial to...

Oct 4, 2023

Norwegian family finds 1,200-year-old Viking treasure while searching for a lost earring in their yard

A family in Norway unearthed more than they were expecting when they used a metal detector to search their yard for a lost earring. Instead of finding the modern jewelry, they detected a signal beneath a large tree behind their house. And when they dug down, they discovered relics from...

Dec 18, 2023

Oldest known ship burial discovered in Norway predates Vikings

A large, grassy hill in Norway known as the Herlaugshagen burial mound was likely the site of a pre-Viking ship burial, a new analysis finds. Archaeologists have long wondered whether the oversize mound in Leka, a municipality in central Norway located along a known centuries-old shipping route, once housed a...

Jan 1, 2024

What's the farthest place the Vikings reached?

In less than 300 years, the Vikings raided and explored land in at least four continents, spreading out in every direction from Scandinavia to invade and trade with civilizations across Europe and beyond. But just how far did the Vikings get, and why were they so adventurous? Fundamentally, the Vikings'...

Feb 22, 2024

Viking market may be buried on a Norwegian island, radar suggests

A Viking Age marketplace may be buried on a Norwegian island, new research suggests. Archaeologists surveying part of the historic island of Klosterøy, in southwest Norway about 190 miles (300 kilometers) west of Oslo, used ground-penetrating radar to detect signals from what appear to be the buried remains of several...

Mar 7, 2024

1,100-year-old Viking sword pulled from UK river by magnet fisher

A corroded sword pulled from an English river by a magnet fisher is a Viking weapon dating to between A.D. 850 and 975, experts have confirmed. Trevor Penny was searching for lost and discarded objects in the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire in November 2023 when he made the discovery. The...

Jul 22, 2022

The Roman Colosseum: Facts about the gladiatorial arena

The Colosseum was the largest amphitheater built in ancient Rome. The massive arena held thousands of spectators, who packed the stands to watch gladiators battle to the death and fight exotic animals, such as lions. Built in A.D. 72, the four-story amphitheater soon towered nearly 165 feet (50 meters) high....

Jul 22, 2022

Gladiator arena from Roman era unearthed in Turkey

Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered the remains of a magnificent Roman-era arena, where up to 20,000 spectators likely cheered and jeered as they watched gladiator matches and wild animal fights, the excavators said. The 1,800-year-old arena was discovered on the rolling hills of the ancient city of Mastaura, in Turkey's...

Jul 22, 2022

Last Roman gladiator arena ever built unearthed in Switzerland

Archaeologists in Switzerland have uncovered the ruins of a Roman-era amphitheater — possibly the youngest on record — where spectators likely watched gladiator fights and animal hunts with bated breath. The oval-shaped amphitheater was built in an abandoned Roman quarry that had been in use until late antiquity. This clue,...