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The Romans, Vikings and Normans may have ruled or invaded the British for hundreds of years, but they left barely a trace on our DNA, the first detailed study of the genetics of British people has revealed. The analysis shows that the Anglo-Saxons were the only conquering force, around 400-500 AD, to substantially alter the country’s genetic makeup, with most white British people now owing almost 30% of their DNA to the ancestors of modern-day Germans.

In August 2014 a hobby archaeologist found a Viking Age sword with metal detector in a field in Skaun, just south of Trondheim in Central Norway. Now, archaeologists have examined the finding and have some exciting news about the owner. Having examined the grave, archaeologists at the NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology in Trondheim tell NRK that it is dated to about the year 950. In addition to the sword, researchers found the remains of a shield. 'We have not managed to find out who owned the sword, but we know that he was a well traveled man",...

The Norwegian archaeologists Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad's famous identification, in 1961, of a Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, from just after A.D. 1000 is, of course, a notable exception, no longer in dispute. But that discovery has so far gone nowhere. The Norse settlers, who may have numbered as many as 160 and stayed for three years or longer, seem to have made no lasting impression on the aboriginal skraellings that, according to Norse sagas, they encountered, and to have avoided being influenced in turn. The traditions of the Micmac people, modern-day inhabitants of the area, have...

Artifacts included a battle axe, a knife, and a bronze buckle, all associated with burned human bones, initially thought to be dated to around 1000 - 1200 CE before analysis. Similar objects have been discovered in the Baltic Sea area and in Ladoga Karelia. Identical cape buckles have also been found in Gotland. But based on the University of Helsinki analysis, the cremation grave finds date to a time that is significantly earlier -- during the Viking Age between 775-980 CE, based on their application of AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) techniques... ...in the area between the towns of Loviisa and...

In the autumn of 2010, local amateur archaeologists discovered a large harbor, dating from around 1000-1200 AD, in Ahvenkoski village, at the mouth of western branch of the Kymijoki River in Finland. The findings included a smithy, a iron smelting furnace, forceps, as well as hundreds of iron objects such as boat rivets, similar to those found at Viking settlements in different parts of the Baltic, Scandinavia, Scotland and Iceland. More recently, in August of 2012 and in the same area, a 2 x 3 meter wide late Viking Age or Crusade period cremation grave was uncovered. Artifacts included a...

A small gold plate belonging to Polish family Sielscy from the Swedish Malmoe turned out to be an archaeological sensation. According to the researchers, it is probably a souvenir from the funeral of the Danish King Harald Bluetooth on the island of Wolin, dated to c. 986 AD. The discovery was made by 11 years old Maja Sielska, who diligently did her school homework about the Middle Ages. While looking through pictures of coins from this period in the textbook and on the Internet, the girl saw a plate with mysterious inscriptions similar to the one she had received from...

In what they describe as a 'sensational' discovery, archaeologists from Århus find the remains of 10th century king's royal residence. After speculating for centuries about its location, the royal residence of Harald Bluetooth has finally been discovered close to the ancient Jellinge complex with its famous runic stones in southern Jutland. The remains of the ancient wooden buildings were uncovered in the north-eastern corner of the Jellinge complex which consists of royal burial mounds, standing stones in the form of a ship and runic stones. Harald ruled Denmark between 940 and 985 AD and is reputed to have conquered Norway...

A town that was briefly capital of England is looking to make more of its links with a Viking king who ruled for just 40 days. Sweyn Forkbeard, the nation's shortest reigning monarch, began his rule on Christmas Day, 1001 years ago in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Officials want to twin the town with Sweyn's birthplace of Roskilde, Denmark and stage a festival. They also hope to mark his death with a re-enactment of a Viking burial.

Dr Garcia Losquino, who is from the region, was compelled to visit Galicia in Northern Spain unexpectedly when a number of Viking anchors were washed ashore in a storm in March 2014... "On the beach where the anchors were found there was a big mound which locals thought might have been a motte-and-bailey construction, which was used by the later Vikings in France. But with the help of a geographer using tomography we now think this was a longphort -- a Viking construction only found in Ireland during the early Viking age, and very similar to English Viking camps, where...

The earliest people in the North American Arctic remained isolated from others in the region for millennia before vanishing around 700 years ago, a new genetic analysis shows. The study, published online Thursday, also reveals that today's Inuit and Native Americans of the Arctic are genetically distinct from the region's first settlers. Inuit hunters in the Canadian Arctic have long told stories about a mysterious ancient people known as the Tunit, who once inhabited the far north. Tunit men, they recalled, possessed powerful magic and were strong enough to crush the neck of a walrus and singlehandedly haul the massive...

Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. There are many stories of “Qalunaat,” white-skinned strangers who were encountered in Inuit occupied lands in times of old. Much of the traditional life had changed by the 1840s when Hinrich Johannes Rink went to Greenland to study geology and later became the governor of Greenland. Johannes was soon drawn to a new interest in the Inuit language and folklore, which he viewed as national treasures. He published old stories collected in 1866 “Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo” in which he included some early contact stories with the Qalunaat. In...

DNA tests debunk blond Inuit legend Last Updated Tue, 28 Oct 2003 11:36:10 CAMBRIDGE BAY, NUNAVUT - Two Icelandic scientists have shot holes in the theory of the missing Norse tribes of the Arctic. Agnar Helgason and Gisli Palsson say their DNA tests have failed to find any evidence that Europeans mingled genetically with Inuit half a millennium ago. Agnar Helgason The scientists made the statement after a visit to Cambridge Bay last week. Rumours of blue-eyed, blond-haired Inuit have circulated through the Arctic since the turn of the century. They were thought to possibly descend from a group of...

A bone which came from the penis of a walrus (Os penis) and is believed to be 10,000 to 12,000 years old, was discovered in a gravel mine by Lambafell in Ölfuss in south Iceland a few weeks ago. Sigurdur Sigurdsson, a veterinarian, handed the bone over to the Museum in Thorlákshöfn at a special ceremony last weekend, RÚV reports. The bone was found at an altitude of 285 meters above sea level. Sigurdsson said it is unprecedented that a bone from a sea animal is discovered at such a high altitude. Barbara Gudnadóttir, the cultural representative of Ölfuss, told...

Plain Talk on the Genetic Issue For some, a world outlook entails a vision of permanence and stability; that like the day, time commenced at some point and will continue to another; that the world is fixed, unchanging, and immutable - all that is necessary for human comfort is written for the ages as preparation for a coming Winter.Others see the universe in constant flux; that when the Lord made time, He made it in plenty - perhaps to see that not everything would happen all at once - that all things ~ all life ~ is in motion; that...

While Christopher Columbus is generally credited with having discovered America in 1492, a 1521 Spanish report provides inklings of evidence that there were, in fact, Irish people settled in America prior to Columbus’ journey. […] In 1520, Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, a historian and professor, was appointed by Carlos V to be chronicler for the new Council of the Indies. Though Martyr died in 1526, his report, founded on several weeks of interviews, was published posthumously in a book named De Orbe Novo (About the New World). […] While interviewing Spanish colonists, Martyr took note of their vicious treatment of Chicora...

It was the sword of choice for the discerning Viking - superstrong, and almost unbeatable in battle. Yet mystery surrounds a small number of Viking swords researchers have uncovered. They are all inscribed with a single word - 'Ulfberht', which experts believe may reveal their maker.

A small stone container found by archaeologists a half-century ago has now been recognized as further evidence of a Viking or Medieval Norse presence in Arctic Canada during the centuries around 1000 A.D. Researchers reporting in the journal Geoarchaeology discovered that the interior of the container, which was found at an archaeological site on southern Baffin Island, contains fragments of bronze as well as small spherules of glass that form when rock is heated to high temperatures. The object is a crucible for melting bronze, likely in order to cast it into small tools or ornaments. Indigenous peoples of northern...

LONDON (Reuters) - A hoard of Viking gold and silver artifacts dating back over 1,000 years has been discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland, in a find hailed by experts as one of the country's most significant.

Adrian Peterson was the face of the Vikings and marketing magic, his brushes with the law and personal life ignored – until suddenly no one could look away.With a new season, a new coach and a $1 billion stadium on the way, the Minnesota Vikings turned to their undisputed star last summer to appear on the team’s yearbook cover: Adrian Peterson, standing confidently in a dirty purple jersey. In an accompanying interview, Peterson said it was easy being the public face of the Vikings because “I don’t really get into a lot of trouble.” Just a few weeks later, he...

(U.S. Coast Guard photo) WWII veteran given Viking funeral; Coast Guard agreed to Norse send-off World War II veteran Andrew Haines decided years ago that he wanted a Norse-inspired funeral upon his death, and the U.S. Coast Guard obliged. Mr. Haines, who emigrated from Norway in 1927, scaled down blueprints for a 100-foot ship to a few feet in the years before he died. It was then up to the Coast Guard to decide whether it would ignite the boat and send-off Mr. Haines‘ cremated remains in accordance with his wishes. “Oh, I was thrilled,” Mr. Haines’ son Andy...