Posted inMedieval Archaeology

Mysterious Medieval Discs Found in Ukraine Are Solar Compasses Used by Viking Navigators for Orientation

A recent study published by scholars Olena Veremeychyk and Olga Antowska-Gorączniak analyzes the possible function of pyrophyllite discs found in southern Ukraine. These medieval artifacts may have served as tools, ritual objects, or even advanced navigation instruments. The significance of this study lies not only in the physical findings but also in the cultural and […]

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 inMiddle Ages

Why Inuit Culture Survived in Greenland While the Norse Disappeared: Children’s Toys Made the Difference

During the Little Ice Age, a period marked by freezing temperatures and extreme climatic conditions, two cultures coexisted in Greenland: the Inuit and the Norse. Although both groups faced the same environmental challenges, their fates could not have been more different. The Inuit thrived and adapted, while the Norse disappeared from the island. A recent […]

Posted inMedieval Archaeology

An Exceptional Viking Sword Forged in the Late 9th Century, Found by an Army Museum Employee While Swimming in a River in Poland

In November 2024, the Army Museum in Białystok unveiled an impressive historical treasure: a Viking-era sword, dated between the 9th and 10th centuries. This exceptional discovery was made by a museum employee, Szczepan Skibicki, during a dive in the Supraśl River in the Podlachia region of Poland in the summer of 2022. The sword, accompanied […]

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 inMiddle Ages

How Björn, the son of Ragnar, attacked Seville and other places in the Iberian Peninsula in his expedition to the Mediterranean

In the popular TV series Vikings, it’s Ivar the Boneless who perhaps steals the spotlight with his peculiar personality, reminiscent of the classic – and stereotypical – image of Caligula or Nero. However, Ubbe, Hvitsärk, and Björn also have their moments. In this article, we will focus on Björn and, more specifically, the expedition he […]

Posted inMedieval Archaeology

A woman buried with a Viking wagon, an iron key, and a silver-handled knife, along with 50 other graves found in Denmark

A team of archaeologists from the Odense Museum has unearthed more than 50 exceptionally well-preserved skeletons in Åsum, east of Odense, Denmark. These remains, accompanied by artifacts from distant places beyond the Danish borders, confirm that the Vikings traveled extensively for trade. Over the past six months, archaeologists have discovered more than 50 Viking graves […]

Posted inMiddle Ages

Vikings and North American Natives met and traded ivory in remote parts of Greenland

A recent study led by Lund University in Sweden has shed new light on the ancient trade routes between Viking Norse settlers and Arctic Indigenous peoples. By examining ancient walrus DNA, the researchers have reconstructed the trade networks of the Viking Age, discovering that the Norse and Arctic Indigenous peoples likely interacted and exchanged walrus […]