Vikings

Melting Ice Exposes Mountain Pass Used by Vikings, Including Ancient Dog and Leash

Archaeologists in central Norway have uncovered evidence of a heavily traveled mountain passageway that was used during the Viking Age. Hundreds of beautifully preserved items were found atop a melting glacier, in a discovery that was, sadly, made possible by global warming. New research published today in Antiquity describes a forgotten mountain pass at Lendbreen,…

Human History George Dvorsky Apr 15

Viking Runes Warned of a Climate Catastrophe, New Research Suggests

An updated interpretation of the famous Rök runestone suggests Vikings were preoccupied by the threat of a climate calamity. The Rök runestone was completed and upraised in what is now Östergötland, Sweden, around 800 CE, and it was long thought to describe a series of battles. Given that the poem inscribed on the rune was…

Human History George Dvorsky Jan 10

Over-Hunting Walruses Likely Forced Vikings to Abandon Greenland

Scientists have struggled to understand why, after hundreds of years, Vikings suddenly abandoned their Greenland colony. New research suggests their economic over-reliance on walrus tusks—a valuable but dwindling trade commodity—had a lot to do with it. Viking settlements in Greenland were established by Erik the Red around 985 CE. This Norse colony lasted for centuries,…

Human History George Dvorsky Jan 7

Why Did Vikings Bury Two People in Boats on Top of Each Other, 100 Years Apart?

Archaeologists in central Norway have discovered an unusual Viking burial site in which one boat grave was placed on top of another. On its own, that’s pretty odd—but it’s even weirder considering the two burials are separated by 100 years. That Vikings sometimes buried their dead inside of boats is well documented, but the new…

Human History George Dvorsky Nov 22

Norse Mythology? Zack Snyder? Anime? Netflix? Sure, Why Not?

Netflix’s apparently insatiable appetite for all things anime continues to grow, as there’s yet another new program on the way. And though Zack Snyder (yes, that Zack Snyder) will create and executive produce the as-yet-unnamed show, it’s a little out of his usual superhero realm. The anime will be “set in the world of Norse…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Jul 11

How Industrial-Scale Tar Production Powered the Viking Age

Vikings acquired the capacity to produce tar at an industrial scale as early as the 8th century AD, according to new research. The protective black goo was applied to the planks and sails of ships, which the Vikings used for trade and launching raids. Without the ability to produce copious amounts of tar, this new…

Human History George Dvorsky Oct 26

Ancient Viking Ship Found Buried Next to Busy Norwegian Freeway

Using ground-penetrating radar, archaeologists in Norway have discovered an ancient Viking ship buried just 20 inches beneath the surface of a farmer’s field. The 66-foot-long ship, deliberately buried during a funeral ritual, appears surprisingly intact—and it could contain the skeletal remains of a high-ranking Viking warrior. It’s called the Jellstad Ship, and it was discovered…

Human History George Dvorsky Oct 16

Experts Cast Doubt On Viking Textile With ‘Allah’ Inscription

Researchers from Sweden made headlines last week after claiming to have found the Arabic characters for “Allah” and “Ali” woven into Viking burial costumes. The discovery suggested a more intimate cultural relationship between the Vikings and the Arab world, but some experts are now questioning key assertions made by the Swedish researchers. Before we delve…

Tech News George Dvorsky Oct 17

Fresh Updates on Bond 25, The Flash, Glass, and More

The hunt is on for a director for the next Bond movie. Locke and Key casts another important member of the Locke family. A familiar face from the Transformers films is returning for the Bumblebee spinoff. Plus, Barry Allen returns in new Flash footage and another Punisher teaser. Spoilers now! Bond 25 Speaking with Screen…

io9 James Whitbrook Sep 13

Genetic Analysis Offers First Strong Evidence of Female Viking Warriors

Stories and poems from the Medieval era contain accounts of fearsome female Viking warriors, yet historians and anthropologists have argued that such accounts are based in myth. A DNA analysis of a 10th century skeleton found in an iconic Swedish Viking Age grave suggests there’s some truth to these old tales—and that women stood alongside…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 11

Watch Rope Get Made From a Tree Using a Thousand-Year-Old Technique

Making rope is hard. Making rope the way the Vikings did it over a thousand years ago is even harder. First, you have to find the right tree. Then, you have to strip the bark of the tree when the sap is rising. And then, you soak the bark you just harvested in the sea…

Sploid Casey Chan Dec 28

Viking Larper Fights Ninjas with Odin in Funny Short Film

It’s basically what you get when you combine The History Channel’s Vikings with Geek & Sundry’s LARP. Vikings & Pirates has released its first short film, Total Awesome Viking Power, on YouTube. Directed by Morten Forland, it’s about a Viking Larper who’s sentenced by his crew to the Land of the Dead for breaking the…

io9 Beth Elderkin Dec 10

Seeing a Medieval Viking Ulfberht Sword Get Made Today Is So Damn Awesome

Medieval Viking Ulfberht swords are some of the most famous swords in history because they were so obscenely strong that it’s almost unbelievable that bladesmiths in the 9th century were even able to make them. Made from crucible steel, the swords stood out from everything from that time period. Hell, the process of forging these…

Sploid Casey Chan Oct 3

This Week’s TV: Gravity Falls Ends With The Coming of the Weirdmageddon!

The Series finale of Gravity Falls! The Return of Vikings! Mulder & Scully meet their sexy doppelgangers! And would you believe TWO episodes of Agent Carter? It’s all on This Week’s TV! Tonight Teen Titans Go! (6PM, CARTOON) How Bout Some Effort?/Pyramid Scheme “It’s Valentine’s Day and Cyborg goes to great lengths to make it…

Television Gordon Jackson Feb 15

A Hiker Found a 1,200-Year-Old Viking Sword, and Experts Say You Could Still Fight With It

It sounds like something from a fantasy video game: While trekking the mountainous wild, a man in Norway recently stumbled upon an ancient, intact sword. And with the right treatment, it could still be used to vanquish baddies today, experts say. CNN reports that outdoorsman Goran Olsen made the rusty discovery when he took a…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Oct 23

A Stunning Late-Era Viking Sword is Now on Display For the First Time

For the first time since its discovery in 2011, this ornate 1,000-year-old Viking sword is being shown to the public. Dating back to the final days of the Vikings, it has been linked to battles in England. The sword was found alongside a corpse in a Langeid grave in the Setesdal Valley four years ago.…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 17

An Ancient Viking-Age Hut Has Been Uncovered in Downtown Reykjavik

A team of Icelandic archaeologists working in central Reykjavik were looking for the remnants of a farm cottage built in 1799—so imagine their surprise when they found a longhouse dating back to the 9th century AD instead. Above: The “long fire” in the center of the hut. As reported in the Iceland Monitor, the longhouse…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 14

Ancient Viking Armor Did Not Look How We Thought It Did

The Vikings were responsible for crafting some weapons that smiths still look back on with admiration today — but did that ingenuity extend to also building something capable of stopping those weapons? Yes, but it might not look exactly as you imagined. In response to reading about this super strong ancient sword, commenter LaurenShaw shared…

io9 Ria Misra Jun 1

This Week’s TV: A Jamaican Superhero Battles Evil In A Dystopian Future

Orphan Black is back! While we’re excited to find out what’s in store after last season’s big clone reveal, there’s more TV goodness in store this week: Major Lazer gets its own cartoon; we learn Melinda May’s secret origin on SHIELD, and The CW debuts its new angel drama The Messengers. Tonight Gotham (8 PM,…

Television Lauren Davis Apr 13

This Week’s TV: Clear Your Weekend Schedule To Binge-Watch Daredevil

The Man Without Fear is about to make his Netflix debut, and judging from what we’ve already seen, a lot of you will be up late this weekend watching all 13 episodes of Daredevil. Plus, Game of Thrones is back — and the current seasons of 12 Monkeys and Helix are coming to an end.…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 6

Melting Ice Exposes Mountain Pass Used by Vikings, Including Ancient Dog and Leash

Viking Runes Warned of a Climate Catastrophe, New Research Suggests

Over-Hunting Walruses Likely Forced Vikings to Abandon Greenland

Why Did Vikings Bury Two People in Boats on Top of Each Other, 100 Years Apart?

Norse Mythology? Zack Snyder? Anime? Netflix? Sure, Why Not?

How Industrial-Scale Tar Production Powered the Viking Age

Ancient Viking Ship Found Buried Next to Busy Norwegian Freeway

Experts Cast Doubt On Viking Textile With ‘Allah’ Inscription

Fresh Updates on Bond 25, The Flash, Glass, and More

Genetic Analysis Offers First Strong Evidence of Female Viking Warriors

Watch Rope Get Made From a Tree Using a Thousand-Year-Old Technique

Viking Larper Fights Ninjas with Odin in Funny Short Film

Seeing a Medieval Viking Ulfberht Sword Get Made Today Is So Damn Awesome

This Week’s TV: Gravity Falls Ends With The Coming of the Weirdmageddon!

A Hiker Found a 1,200-Year-Old Viking Sword, and Experts Say You Could Still Fight With It

A Stunning Late-Era Viking Sword is Now on Display For the First Time

An Ancient Viking-Age Hut Has Been Uncovered in Downtown Reykjavik

Ancient Viking Armor Did Not Look How We Thought It Did

This Week’s TV: A Jamaican Superhero Battles Evil In A Dystopian Future

This Week’s TV: Clear Your Weekend Schedule To Binge-Watch Daredevil

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