The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, belonging to Norway, is famous for being home to the Global Seed Vault and for having recently emerged as a tourist destination where visitors can witness the northern lights, polar bears, and the midnight sun. However, while catering to tourists has become a new economic niche, the backbone of its […]
Norway
Posted inIron Age Archaeology
Fragments of the Oldest Rune Stone in the World, Created Between the 1st and 3rd Centuries AD, Discovered Scattered Among Several Graves in Norway
A team of researchers has found fragments of the oldest rune stone in the world in the Svingerud burial field, Norway. These pieces, which have been assembled like a puzzle, offer a unique insight into the early uses of runic writing on stone and its possible ceremonial and practical meanings. Runes were the writing system […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Mysterious Viking Women’s Tombs Filled with Extraordinary Artifacts Discovered in Norway Contain No Human Remains
At the Skumsnes farm, located on Norway’s west coast, metal detector enthusiasts discovered a coin and a brooch with textile remnants in this area last year. Now, archaeologists from the University of Bergen have confirmed that these objects come from a Viking cemetery dating to the first half of the 9th century. According to researchers, […]
Posted inArt, Iron Age Archaeology
Only Four Artists Created Practically All Iron Age Petroglyphs in Sweden and Norway
A recent study, not yet peer-reviewed, proposes a reinterpretation of the famous Iron Age petroglyphs (helleristninger) in Norway and Sweden, suggesting that almost all of them were created by just four artists. The research, conducted by Allan Krill, a professor of geology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is based on advanced dating […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
A Man Thrown Into a Well 900 Years Ago, Identified and Linked to Viking Sagas
Archaeology and genetics have come together in a fascinating investigation into a skeleton discovered in the well of Sverresborg Castle, Norway, in 1938. The remains, which were recovered in 2016, had already confirmed the story told by Viking sagas as we reviewed then in our Spanish edition. Now, information about the man’s identity has been […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
An Ancient Viking Shelter for Travelers Uncovered in Norway
In the heart of the rugged landscape of Hardangervidda, a vast mountainous plateau in Norway, a group of archaeologists, on foot and carrying tools, have retraced the steps of ancient travelers by exploring a historic route known as Nordmannsslepa. This investigation is part of a broader project on food culture in the Middle Ages, led […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
The Lost Shipyards of the Nordic Bronze Age, an Enigma Hidden in Plain Sight
The Nordic Bronze Age, marked by its iconic imagery of ships carved into rocks and metal objects scattered throughout Scandinavia, has always left an unsolved enigma for archaeologists: where were these ships built? Despite the abundance of ship representations in the region’s archaeology, direct evidence of prehistoric shipyards has been extremely scarce. Now a new […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
The Vikings were passionate about tapestries decorated with historical scenes, and we will soon find out which ones were their favorites
Among significant viking archaeological discoveries is the Oseberg ship, one of the best-preserved Viking ships in the world, measuring 22 meters in length and 5 meters in width. This impressive vessel was discovered within one of the most famous ship burial sites from the Viking Age, known for being the most richly equipped grave from […]
Posted inGeography
Longyearbyen, the northernmost city in the world with a permanent population, where carrying a rifle is mandatory when leaving
In the Svalbard archipelago, at 78 degrees north latitude, lies Longyearbyen, the northernmost city in the world with a permanent population. This Norwegian settlement, founded in 1906 by American businessman John Munroe Longyear as a mining town, has evolved over more than a century to become a fascinating microcosm of human life in the Arctic. […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
The Norwegian Vikings Possessed an Abundant and Disproportionate Number of Swords
A recent study published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology reveals that Norwegian Viking society was significantly more violent than that of Denmark. This finding is based on a detailed analysis of skeletal traumas, weapons, and archaeological evidence reflecting the social and political dynamics of these ancient Scandinavian peoples. The study offers an innovative perspective […]
