Free Republic

It was only when the coin was later identified as Viking that the game heated up. By then poor Mellegren -- who, Beachcombing must say was someone with a reputation for integrity -- had passed away. Beachcombing has no illusions about much of the nonsense written about pre-Columbian visits to North America. But in this case he would give a thumb and a half followed by two cheers and three quarters. There is a good chance that this really is what it seems: A European coin that found its way to North America in the twelfth century. Minted in Norway,...

Archaeologists have discovered a Roman cemetery from about 300 A.D. in suburban Copenhagen with about 30 graves, a newspaper reported Wednesday. "It is something special and rare in Denmark to have so many (ancient Roman) graves in one place," archaeologist Rune Iversen was quoted as saying by the Roskilde Dagblad newspaper. The graveyard's exact location in Ishoej, southwest of downtown Copenhagen, was being kept secret until the archaeologists from the nearby Kroppedal Museum have completed their work, the newspaper wrote... Archaeologists found necklaces and other personal belongings, as well as ceramics for containing food. "It shows that we're dealing with...

Links include http://uphellyaa.com/ http://www.SHETLAND.org Also up Hella Aa means the end of the holidays and also represemts the retirn of the sun to the far north. Shetland’s annual Up Helly Aa fire festival is almost upon us and you can join in the celebrations online - the spectacular torchlit procession will be broadcast live tomorrow on uphellyaa.com. The live coverage will begin at 19.00 (GMT) and run through until 21.00, culminating with the dramatic burning of the replica Viking galley. You can support this live webcast by subscribing to our 60 North Magazine - a quarterly publication which covers stories...

Tyler DurdenJanuary 14,2016 Last weekend, some 1,700 Germans turned out for a PEGIDA rally in Cologne to protest the wave of sexual assaults that unfolded in the city on New Year’s Eve in the town center. PEGIDA nearly faded into obscurity early last year when then-leader Lutz Bachmann posted a picture of himself dressed as Hitler on Facebook with the caption “He’s Back”, but thanks to the 1.1 million Mid-East asylum seekers that poured across Germany’s borders in 2015, the anti-immigrant group has seen something of a resurgence over the past six or so months. While the group claims to...

New clues suggest slaves were vital to the Viking way of life -- and argue against attempts to soften the raiders' brutish reputation... Archaeologists are using recent finds and analyses of previous discoveries -- from iron collars in Ireland to possible plantation houses in Sweden -- to illuminate the role of slavery in creating and maintaining the Viking way of life. "This was a slave economy," said Neil Price, an archaeologist at Sweden's Uppsala University who spoke at a recent meeting that brought together archaeologists who study slavery and colonization. "Slavery has received hardly any attention in the past 30...

All around the hull of the longest Viking warship ever found there are swords and battle axes, many bearing the scars of long and bloody use, in an exhibition opening in Copenhagen that will smash decades of good public relations for the Vikings as mild-mannered traders and farmers... The exhibition, simply called Viking, which will be opened at the National Museum by Queen Margrethe of Denmark on Thursday, and to the public on Saturday, will sail on to to London next year to launch the British Museum's new exhibition space. In contrast to recent exhibitions, which have concentrated on the...

A hoard of Viking coins could change our understanding of English history, after showing how Alfred the Great 'airbrushed' out a rival king A Viking hoard discovered by an amateur metal detectorist could prompt the re-writing of English history, after experts claimed it shows how Alfred the Great "airbrushed" a rival king from history. Ceolwulf II of Mercia is barely mentioned in contemporary records and largely forgotten by history, only briefly described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as an "unwise King's thane". But as of today, his reputation might be rescued after a haul of coins dug up after more than...

Archaeologists have found the figure of a goddess that dates back to the early Hittite period as well as a Viking amber necklace during an ongoing excavation in the ancient city of Bathonea by Lake Kucukcekmece in Istanbul. An archaeological excavation was launched in 2009 near Lake Kucukcekmece in the Avcilar district of Istanbul to uncover the ancient city of Bathonea, which is estimated to be 1,600 years old. The excavation is being conducted under the supervision of Associate Professor Fengul Aydingun from Kocaeli University. in an earlier interview with the press, she had said the first two years of...

It has often been cited as one of the classic examples of how changes in climate have shaped human history. Circa the year 985, Erik the Red led 25 ships from Iceland to Greenland, launching a Norse settlement there and giving the vast ice continent the name "Greenland." Within just a few decades, the Norse -- sometimes also dubbed Vikings -- would make it to Newfoundland as well. They maintained settlements of up to a few thousand people in southwest Greenland for several centuries, keeping livestock and hunting seals, building churches whose ruins still stand today, and sending back valuable...

A former Hollywood stunt man now living in the Netherlands launched his greatest project to date Tuesday: a 45-foot replica Viking ship made of millions of wooden ice cream sticks and more than a ton of glue. Rob McDonald named the ship the "Mjollnir" after the hammer of the mythic Norse god of thunder, Thor. After the 13 ton boat was lifted into the water by crane, "Captain Rob," as he is known, stood calmly on the stern as a team of volunteers rowed the apparently sturdy vessel ... "I have a dream to show children they can do anything,"...

Goran Olsen was enjoying a leisurely hike recently in Norway when he stopped near the fishing village of Haukeli, about 150 miles west of Oslo. Under some rocks along a well-traversed path, he made a discovery that's now the envy of every detectorist in Scandinavia: a 30-inch wrought-iron Viking sword, estimated to be about 1,200 years old, CNN reports. One would think a sword that old would be so decrepit it could never be wielded again, but a Hordaland County archaeologist says it just needs a little polish and a new grip to be good to go. "The sword was...

A hiker travelling the ancient route between western and eastern Norway found a 1,200-year-old Viking sword after sitting down to rest after a short fishing trip. The sword, found at Haukeli in central southern Norway will be sent for conservation at the The University Museum of Bergen. Jostein Aksdal, an archeologist with Hordaland County said that the sword was in such good condition that if it was given a new grip and a polish, it could be used today. "The sword was found in very good condition. It is very special to get into a sword that is merely lacking...

Thanks to "Game of Thrones," television just can't get enough of the Middle Ages. Those flickering smoky interiors, enormous woolly coats and bloody, ax-heavy battles; the remarkable décolletage, the picaresque foliage and mud. Sometimes there's magic, sometimes there isn't, but, by gosh, there's always plenty of bloody hacking and mud. Certainly "The Last Kingdom," the BBC drama that premieres Saturday and is based on the first book of Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Tales," checks all these boxes in short order. Don't let the exposition-heavy first episode fool you; this may be a sword 'n' longboat epic with a handsome hero at...

When archaeologists found the first Viking Age fortress in Denmark for 60 years last September, it was hailed as a fantastic archaeological discovery... "With the grant, the Danish Castle Centre -- a division of Museum Southeast Denmark and Aarhus University -- has worked out a unique research project seeking to explore the secrets Borgring is hiding beneath Danish soil," the Danish Castle Centre said. "With the use of modern archaeological methods the scientists and archaeologists will investigate how the fortresses were used, how they were organised, how quickly they were built, their age and what environment, landscape and geography they...

The Minnesota Vikings announced plans on Tuesday to become the first franchise to install lactation suites for nursing mothers in an NFL stadium. The team will install two Mamava lactation suites at its temporary home stadium of TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis by its home game with the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 18, according to a statement released by the team. Another two of the suites will be installed at the Vikings' training facility and headquarters in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie and in the team's downtown Minneapolis office.

For more than two decades, Ragnar the Viking got Minnesota football stirred into a frenzy with his motorcycle-riding, endzone-dancing antics. According to his website, he was the only NFL mascot who appeared as an actual human. It turns out maybe Ragnar is a little too human.

Are there enough shows about bearded European-y people brandishing swords and shields and shouting at each other? Not according to BBC America, which will stake a claim in the medieval drama genre with The Last Kingdom, debuting Saturday, October 10 at 10pm. And to prove it, BBC America released the first full-length trailer for the series. Adapted from Bernard Cornwell's novels The Saxon Stories, The Last Kingdom chronicles the rise of young Saxon warrior Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) and the birth of England in the 9th century in Northumbria. And if you're a fan of History's Vikings, get ready for some...

A Vikings fan was attacked by a pack of 49ers fans outside Levi’s Stadium Monday night. Video posted on Facebook shows the attack after San Francisco’s 20-3 win over Minnesota. A man in an Adrian Peterson jersey is repeatedly kicked and punched in the face while trying to get up off the pavement while a handful of 49ers fans surround him. One event security staffer, in a yellow coat, runs in to break up the fight but some of the 49ers fans still get a few more shots in on the Vikings fan before more help arrives.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 02 2001 Genetic survey reveals hidden Celts of England JOHN ELLIOTT AND TOM ROBBINS THE Celts of Scotland and Wales are not as unique as some of them like to think. New research has revealed that the majority of Britons living in the south of England share the same DNA as their Celtic counterparts. The findings, based on the DNA analysis of more than 2,000 people, poses the strongest challenge yet to the conventional historical view that the ancient Britons were forced out of most of England by hordes of Anglo-Saxon invaders. It suggests that far from being ...

Evidence of the beliefs and rituals of the inhabitants of the Danish island of Bornholm (Baltic Sea) over 5,500 years ago, have been discovered by Warsaw University archaeologists during excavations in Vasagard. The research project is the result of several years of collaboration between the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw and Bornholms Museum. This year also included students from the University of Copenhagen. Sun worship The study site -- Vasagard, is a puzzling one, but is thought to be a temple for Sun worship. During this season of excavations, archaeologists have discovered several ditches, in which, in...