Viking warriors sailed the seas with their pets, bone analysis finds

Live Science ^ | February 1, 2023 | Kristina Killgrove

[SunkenCiv]

When the Vikings sailed west to England more than a millennium ago, they brought their animal companions with them and even cremated their bodies alongside human ones in a blazing pyre before burying them together, a new study finds.

These animal and human remains were found in a unique cremation cemetery in central England that has long been assumed to hold the remains of Vikings — in particular, the warriors who sailed west to raid the countryside in the ninth century A.D. However, the new analysis revealed that several of the burial mounds didn’t contain just the remains of humans but also those of domesticated animals that the warriors brought with them on their journey.

Although chemical analysis of burned bone is a relatively new technique, the Heath Wood remains produced an interesting set of results. According to the team’s study of the strontium isotopes — chemical variations that can indicate where a person or animal lived — the researchers found that all three animals and one of the adults were not born or raised in England. Rather, their strontium values were much closer to those found in the Baltic shield region of Scandinavia, a geological area that maps roughly to modern Norway and Sweden. This suggests that, shortly before their deaths, Viking warriors sailed west, bringing their animals with them.

[wildbill]

Bacon is #2 perhaps although I would give sex a hard look at that position, but after long thought I have decided that beer has driven all civilizations through their growth and declines.

[wildbill]

Bacon is #2 perhaps although I would give sex a hard look at that position, but after long thought I have decided that beer has driven all civilizations through their growth and declines.