Body In Well Confirms Viking Saga

Past Horizons ^ | June 10, 2016 | editors

[SunkenCiv]

Archaeologists working in Trondheim in Norway are amazed by the discovery of a human skeleton in the bottom of an abandoned castle well. The skeleton provides evidence that confirms dramatic historical events mentioned in the Sagas.

The location and contents of the well are mentioned in Sverre's Saga, a chronicle of one of the kings of Norway, and one of very few historical manuscripts describing events in the Norwegian Viking age and medieval period.

Scholars have questioned the chronicle's trustworthiness as a historical document. But now, at least one part of the saga seems to hold truth -- down to the tiniest detail...

In 1197 King Sverre Sigurdsson and his Birkebeiner-mercenaries were attacked and defeated in his castle stronghold, Sverresborg, by his rivals, the Baglers. According to the Saga, the Baglers burned down buildings and destroyed the castle's fresh water supply by throwing one of King Sverre's dead men into the well, and then filling it with stones.

Now, following a trial excavation in the well, archaeologists can confirm this dramatic story. Archaeologists managed to retrieve part of the skeleton they found in the well in 2014. A fragment of bone produced a radiocarbon date that confirmed that the individual lived and died at the end of the 12th century, the same time as the incident described in the Saga...

The excavation of the stone debris down to the very first stone that hit the Birkebeiner's body has given the archaeologists additional insight into the nature of events in 1197. In addition, it exposed the timber posts and lining for the large castle well.

[central_va]

Oh well....

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[SunkenCiv]

It’s amazing how there’s always been a small percentage of humans who cause most of the problems and anguish that are not of natural origin.

[SunkenCiv]

LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

I was born here, so I’m a native American. That’s the only real criteria I’d accept. Unless human origins in general are from the Americas, there is no group that can claim to be native per se. NAGPRA is an abomination, figures McCain supports it.

By rediscovery, I mean, the oceans are not barriers to maritime people, and there is and always has been plenty of evidence for visitors. I used to think there was evidence for PreColumbian Americans from a Roman account, but I’ve also seen it written that it was faked (no doubt by some “Native American” nationalist; in the 1960s some leftwing demagogue concocted a bogus claim that the name “America” didn’t come from Amerigo Vespucci — btw, yes it did — but from some tribe in the Central America — btw no it didn’t). OTOH, Basque is generally considered a language isolate, but...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/1642165/posts?page=22#22

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3164863/posts?page=18#18

[SunkenCiv]

Finding the body was on someone's bucket list.

[central_va]

All’s well that ends well.

[SunkenCiv]

That guy really got the shaft.

[central_va]

Things didn’t work out very well for him.

[Lurker]

Njorl’s Saga.

L

[SunkenCiv]

ever heard this version? I’ve got the CD, but never much cared for it, then this resurfaced not long ago as one of my Facebook memories.

Mike Gordon Leo Kottke “Oh Well”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmuT_fTEzZ4

[SunkenCiv]

At least he made a splash.

[SunkenCiv]

;’)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4ju0rrU9hs

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Let’s not forgot Darby Trent something’s song “Wishing Well”. It had a catchy tune.

[SunkenCiv]

Thomas Trent Darby? The hard line according to... yeah, that’s been a while... and I have zero familiarity with him, I generally avoid stuff that gets over the top reviews.

[SunkenCiv]

I’m sure that guy was wishing he wasn’t down in that well, particularly after the rocks started falling.

Oh, how fancy — Terence Trent D’arby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynIHsHYaig0

I prefer Blackfoot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IFd583RMQo

[blam]

[SteveH]

inspiration for a vignette in the current tv series the walking dead, perhaps?

[Cronos]

I have an uncle who moved to Norway about 40 years ago and married a Norwegian lady - they have two daughters: one married a dane and the other a swede. He tells me that he can converse reasonably well with the Dane, but the Swede can’t understand him at times (though he can understand the Swede most of the time)

[Cronos]

I think the Frankish kingdom was king of like the Mittani or Hittite or Bulgarian or Scythian kingdoms with a ruling warrior “race” (Franks or Indo-Aryans or INdo-Aryans or Turkic Bulgars or Iranis respectively) ruling over a large 90%+ other ethnicity(Gaulo-Roman, Hurrian, Hattian, Slavic, Slavic) and either getting absorbed or assimilated.