Ancient mtDNA from Iron Age Denmark

Rare mtDNA haplogroups and genetic differences in rich and poor Danish Iron-Age villages.

Melchior L, Gilbert MT, Kivisild T, Lynnerup N, Dissing J.

The Roman Iron-Age (0-400 AD) in Southern Scandinavia was a formative period, where the society changed from archaic chiefdoms to a true state formation, and the population composition has likely changed in this period due to immigrants from Middle Scandinavia. We have analyzed mtDNA from 22 individuals from two different types of settlements, Bøgebjerggård and Skovgaarde, in Southern Denmark. Bøgebjerggård (ca. 0 AD) represents the lowest level of free, but poor farmers, whereas Skovgaarde 8 km to the east (ca. 200-270 AD) represents the highest level of the society. Reproducible results were obtained for 18 subjects harboring 17 different haplotypes all compatible (in their character states) with the phylogenetic tree drawn from present day populations of Europe.

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He digs less to learn more about Vikings

The joke is that, in John Steinberg's home, they know an awful lot about Vikings.

On one side you have his wife, Andrea Kremer, whose job requires her to be an expert on the Minnesota Vikings (and the other 31 National Football League teams) as a reporter for NBC Sports' football coverage.

And then there's Steinberg, a senior researcher at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, who is one of the world's foremost specialists on the real Vikings, the tough-guy (and girl) Scandinavian peoples who really knew how to blitz.

Steinberg, 41, has been exploring archeological sites in Iceland since 1999, and for the last two years has led the Skagafjord Archaeological Settlement Survey, which seeks to study the evolution of settlements in a northern fjord for clues as to how Iceland evolved from the era of Viking chiefdoms into a more organized central government.

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JORVIK VIKING CENTRE CELEBRATES 15 MILLIONTH VISITOR WITH SPECIAL TOUR

Jorvik Viking Centre in York is celebrating its 15 millionth visitor with a special event on December 6 for a select group including the actual 15 millionth visitor.

The group, made up of competition winners and the Chief Executive of the City of York Council, Bill McCarthy, as well as the lucky visitor no. 15 million, will take a journey on foot through Jorvik’s reconstructed Viking age streets. The village is normally only accessible to the public via cable car.

Leading the tour will be one of the men that made the whole place happen, Richard Hall. Hall, now Deputy Director of York Archaological Trust, began excavating the very site upon which the Jorvik Centre is built, back in 1972, with the help of a 600-strong team.

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Proof of Liverpool's Viking past

The region around Liverpool was once a major Viking settlement, according to a genetic study of men living in the area.

The research tapped into this Viking ancestry by focusing on people whose surnames were recorded in the area before its population underwent a huge expansion during the industrial revolution. Among men with these "original" surnames, 50% have Norse ancestry.

The find backs up historical evidence from place names and archaeological finds of Viking treasure which suggests significant numbers of Norwegian Vikings settled in the north-west in the 10th century. "[The genetics] is very exciting because it ties in with the other evidence from the area," said Professor Stephen Harding at the University of Nottingham, who carried out the work with a team at the University of Leicester led by Professor Mark Jobling.

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Ancient Greenland mystery has a simple answer, it seems

(AXcess News) QASSIARSUK, Greenland - A shipload of visitors arrived in the fjord overnight, so Ingibjorg Gisladottir dressed like a Viking and headed out to work in the ruins scattered along the northern edge of this tiny farming village.

Qassiarsuk is tiny (population: 56), remote, and short on amenities (no store, public restrooms, or roads to the outside world), but some 3,000 visitors come here each year to see the remains of Brattahlid, the medieval farming village founded here by Erik the Red around the year 985.

When they arrive, Ms. Gisladottir, an employee of the museum, is there to greet them in an authentic hooded smock and not-so-authentic rubber boots. "There were more visitors this year than last," she says. "People want to know what happened to the Norse."

The Greenland Norse colonized North America 500 years before Christopher Columbus "discovered" it, establishing farms in the sheltered fjords of southern Greenland, exploring Labrador and the Canadian Arctic, and setting up a short-lived outpost in Newfoundland.

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A VIKING LANDSCAPE: THE MOSFELL ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

Location: Iceland Length: 16 min.

This video describes the Mosfell Archaeological Project, an interdisciplinary research project employing saga studies, archaeology, physical anthropology, and environmental sciences. The project's goal is to construct a picture of human habitation and environmental change in the Mosfell region of southwestern Iceland. Work at Kirkjuhll in 2002 revealed a conversion period wooden stave church and a Christian cemetery with skeletons. The Mosfell Project contributes to the larger study of Viking Age and later medieval Iceland.

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Archeologists Discovered a 10th Century Tomb in Pskov

Another chamber entombment dating back to the epoch of Princess Olga (approximately 10th century) has been found at the Starovoznesensky digging site in Pskov.

According to the director of Pskov Archeological Centre Elena Yakovleva, the grave is not smaller than the two other tombs discovered in the previous years.
“The findings are in a very bad condition; it is difficult to say whether the remains are those of a man or a woman” - she says. Most probably the buried person once belonged to a noble family.

Let us recall that in the end of 2003 a grave of a Scandinavian woman of the tenth century was found at the 4 meters depth. The archeologists called the finding “a Varangian guest”. The second similar tomb was excavated in 2006. In the course of digging works the archeologists found out that the entombment had been pillaged some centuries earlier.

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Sea Stallion from Glendalough: Newsletter 20

The latest news letter about the Sea Stallion from Glendalough - the replica Viking ship that sailed from Roskilde to Dublin - is on the Internet.

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Ancient Russian Birchbark Manuscripts Now on the Web!

Russian scholars have set about translating relic birchbark manuscripts into English, the Novgorod Museum Reserve informs. The translated texts will be posted on the already existing web site www.gramoty.ru.

The project on translating texts of birchbark manuscripts and placing them on the internet is realized for the first time ever – a representative of the Novgorod Museum Reserve added.

The unique site already presents 1049 manuscripts of the 11th – 15th centuries, discovered during archeological excavations in Veliki Novgorod, Vitebsk, Zvenigorod, Tver, Torzhok, Pskov, Staraya Russa and Rurik site. On www.gramoty.ru you will find photos of the burchbark manuscripts (gramoty in Russian) and their text copies in the Old Slavonic language and translations into the modern Russian, as well as basic information about the archeological rarities.

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Ancient rune stone found

Archeologists were very pleasantly surprised to discover an unknown rune stone under the floor of Hauskjeen church in Rennesøy, Rogaland in western Norway.

The rune stone likely stems from the 11th century, and tells of Halvard's powers or Halvard's magnificence. The stone slab has been broken off at both ends, and the text ("Mæktir haluar") is just a small part of the original inscription.

Archeologists from the Archeological Museum in Stavanger thought at first that they had rediscovered a rune stone documented in 1639 and 1745, but closer examination revealed that the stone has not been reported before.

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Viking longhouse project is right on track

MANY hands are making light work of an ambitious £78,000 living history project at the Ard Whallan outdoor education centre.

After months of fundraising, work began in April to build an authentic Viking longhouse on the slopes overlooking West Baldwin, designed to give a taste of life in the Island 1,000 years ago.

It will eventually form part of a Viking homestead where school parties will be able to make clothes and furniture, as well as cook, weave and tend to hens and sheep.

The Department of Education-led project required a lot of tough physical labour to build solid dry-stone walls and sturdy wicker fences by hand, but staff from Scottish Provident International Life Assurance (SPILA) were happy to help.

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Dig unearths part of city's Viking times

The secrets of Norwich's past are being unearthed as part of archaeological digs in the north of the city - where city walls which date back to the Vikings have been discovered.

Archaeologists have discovered remains from the city's old walls, dating back from the 10th century, as part of excavation work being carried out in the Botolph Street area, near Anglia Square.

The work, which started two weeks ago, is being carried out in advance of a planning application to assess what lies under the ground and is expected to continue until early November.

It is believed the discovery of the ancient city walls reveals Norwich's historic links with the Vikings.

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Cabin from Viking Era Discovered in West Fjords?

An archeological expedition on the island Hrútey in Mjóifjördur fjord in Ísafjardardjúp, the West Fjords, have revealed the ruins of a cabin which may have been built during the Viking Era.

According to Ragnar Edvardsson, an archeologist at the West Fjords’ Natural Science Center, diggings had revealed an oval building structure with a double layer of rocks and turf in between that can at least be traced back to the Middle Ages.

“Such thick walls could indicate that the building derives from the Viking Era,” Edvardsson told Morgunbladid. “It was obviously a place where someone lived, probably in relation to mountain dairy farming.”

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Archaeologists discover portable altar

Archaeologists have uncovered a one thousand-year-old portable altar at an excavation site in Varnhem in western Sweden.

The stone object was found resting on the skeleton of a heavy set man believed to have been a priest.

Archaeologist Maria Vretemark from Västergötland's Museum describes the miniature altar as "a fabulous find".

"When a priest travelled around to say mass in areas where there weren't many sacred altars, he would bring with him this little stone.

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Rain uncovers Viking treasure trove

A bout of torrential rain left a surprising legacy in the garden of one Swede: a Viking treasure trove.

Two coins were uncovered by the rain on the lawn of farmer Tage Pettersson, on the island of Gotland, in early August. He called in Gotland's archaeologists, who last week found a further 52 coins on the site.

Most of the coins are German, English and Arabic currency from the late 900s and early 1000s. But archaeologists are most excited about the presence of six very rare Swedish coins, from the reign of Olof Skötkonug, king of Sweden from 994-1022.

One of the Swedish coins has never been found in Sweden before, although an example has been found in Poland. One of the other coins is only the second of its kind to have been found.

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Treasure trove is found in Cumbria

AN ALADDIN’S cave of treasure has been found in Cumbria.

A medieval silver brooch, 16 coins and 253 bits of broken Viking silver went before a treasure trove inquest in Penrith this week when south and east Cumbria coroner Ian Smith declared them officially treasure.

The brooch, which is more than 10 per cent silver, was found on farm land in the Lupton area in April 2006 by metal detectorist Carol Handley.

“It was a stray find in soil,” said Dot Bruns, finds liaison officer for Cumbria.

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Treasure found in Cumbria

A medieval silver brooch, 16 coins and 253 bits of Viking silver went before a treasure trove inquest in Penrith yesterday when south and east Cumbria coroner Mr Ian Smith declared them officially treasure.

The brooch was found on farm land in the Lupton area in April 2006 by metal detectorist Carol Handley.

Dot Bruns, finds liaison officer for Cumbria, said: “It was a stray find in soil. It was broken in three small pieces.”

Experts say the brooch dates back to the late 13th century.

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Viking remains found intact

Archaeologists carefully extracted the human remains of two Viking women from an ancient burial mound this week, in an effort to keep them from disintegrating. Their fears proved to be unfounded.

The experts from Norway's Museum of Cultural History in Oslo had been unsure of the condition of the two women, believed to be an Oseberg queen and her servant. They're hoping their bones can reveal new information about them through DNA testing.

The bodies had been sealed in an aluminium casket in the late 1940s in an earlier attempt at preservation. The casket was then replaced in the burial mound's sarcophagus.

Workers at the gravesite southwest of Oslo discovered Monday that the casket was damaged at one end and that it was sitting in nine centimeters of water, believed to be formed from condensation inside the sarcophagus.

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Archaeologists open Viking grave to seek secrets of women buried there

OSLO, Norway: Archeologists opened a Viking burial mound on Monday, seeking to learn more about two women — possibly a queen and a princess — laid to rest there 1,173 years ago.

In 1904, the mound in southeastern Norway's Vestfold County surrendered one of the country's greatest archaeological treasures, the Oseberg Viking longboat, which is now on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

The ship, which measures more than 20 meters, or 65 feet, was buried in 834 in the enormous mound at the Slagen farm as the grave ship for a rich and powerful Viking woman, according to the Viking Ship Museum.

The remains of the two women, one believed to have been in her 60s and the other in her 30s, were first exhumed during the ship excavation. They were reburied in the mound in 1948 — in a modern aluminum casket placed inside a five-ton stone sarcophagus — in hopes that future scientific methods might reveal their secrets.

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Bodies Exhumed From Viking Burial Mound

Archaeologists opened a Viking burial mound on Monday, seeking to learn more about two women _ possibly a queen and a princess _ laid to rest there 1,173 years ago.

In 1904, the mound in southeastern Norway's Vestfold County surrendered one of the country's greatest archaeological treasures, the Oseberg Viking longboat, which is now on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

The 65-foot vessel was buried in 834 in the enormous mound as the grave ship for a rich and powerful Viking woman, according to the museum.

The remains of the two women, one believed to have been in her 60s and the other in her 30s, were first exhumed during the ship excavation. They were reburied in the mound in 1948 _ in a modern aluminum casket placed inside a five-ton stone sarcophagus _ in hopes that future scientific methods might reveal their secrets.

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Viking queen may be exhumed for clues to killing

OSLO, Norway (Reuters) -- The grave of a mysterious Viking queen may hold the key to a 1,200 year-old case of suspected ritual killing, and scientists are planning to unearth her bones to find out.

She is one of two women whose fate has been a riddle ever since their bones were found in 1904 in a 72 feet longboat buried at Oseberg in south Norway, its oaken form preserved miraculously, with even its menacing, curling prow intact.

No one even knows the name of the queen, but the Oseberg boat stirred one of the archeological sensations of the 20th century two decades before the discovery of the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings.

Scientists now hope to exhume the women, reburied in the mound in 1947 and largely forgotten, reckoning that modern genetic tests could give clues to resolve whether one was the victim of a ritual sacrifice.

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Viking queen exhumed to solve mystery

SLAGEN, Norway (Reuters) - Archaeologists exhumed the body of a Viking queen on Monday, hoping to solve a riddle about whether a woman buried with her 1,200 years ago was a servant killed to be a companion into the afterlife.

As a less gruesome alternative, the two women in the grass-covered Oseberg mound in south Norway might be a royal mother and daughter who died of the same disease and were buried together in 834.

"We will do DNA tests to try to find out. I don't know of any Viking skeletons that have been analyzed as we plan to do," Egil Mikkelsen, director of Oslo's Museum of Cultural History, told Reuters at the graveside.

As rain pelted down, four men lifted an aluminum coffin containing the bones of two women after digging a 1.5 meter (5 ft) deep hole in the mound where the women were originally buried in a spectacular Viking longboat.

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Probe for 1,000-year-old Viking ship

LONDON (AFP) - An archaeologist using radar technology said Monday he has found the outline of what he believes is a 1,000-year-old Viking longship under a pub car park in north-west England.

Professor Stephen Harding used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to trace the outline of a vessel matching the scale and shape of a longship, perhaps from the time Vikings settled in Meols, on the Wirral peninsula in Merseyside.

Meols has one of Britain's best preserved Viking settlements, buried deep beneath the village and nearby coastal defences.

Harding, from the University of Nottingham in east central England, is now seeking funds to pay for an archaeological dig to search for the vessel which lies beneath two-to-three metres of waterlogged clay.

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Viking ship 'buried beneath pub'

A 1,000-year-old Viking longship is thought to have been discovered under a pub car park on Merseyside.

The vessel is believed to lie beneath 6ft to 10ft (2m to 3m) of clay by the Railway Inn in Meols, Wirral, where Vikings are known to have settled.

Experts believe the ship could be one of Britain's most significant archaeological finds.

Professor Stephen Harding, of the University of Nottingham, is now seeking funds to pay for an excavation.

The Viking expert used ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment to pinpoint the ship's whereabouts.

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'Viking longship' discovered under pub car park

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be a Viking longship buried beneath a pub car park in Merseyside.

The vessel - a 1,000-year-old relic from the Norse occupation of the Wirral peninsular - was detected using state-of-the-art ground radar technology.

The site has not yet been excavated, but the dimensions and shape of the boat revealed by the scan match those of the Vikings' iconic transport vessels.

It is thought to lie beneath 6ft to 10ft (2m to 3m) of waterlogged clay under the nearby Railway Inn in Meols.

Parts of a ship were originally uncovered by workmen in the 1930s, when the original pub was knocked down and rebuilt further away from the road and a car park put in its place.

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Viking longship 'buried under pub car park'

A 1,000-year-old Viking longship may have been discovered buried under a pub car park in Merseyside, archaeologists have said.
Experts used radar technology to map the location of what they believe could be one of Britain's most significant archaeological finds.

The technology has been used to trace the outline of an object which matches the scale and shape of a longship, possibly from the time Vikings settled in Meols, on the Wirral peninsular in Merseyside.

Meols is known to have one of Britain's best preserved Viking settlements, buried deep beneath the village and nearby coastal defences.

The vessel is thought to lie beneath about 10ft of water-logged clay under the nearby Railway Inn.

Viking expert Professor Stephen Harding, of the University of Nottingham, is seeking funds to pay for a major archaeological dig to excavate the site. He believes the ship could be carefully removed and exhibited in a museum.

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1,000-YEAR-OLD VIKING LONGSHIP COULD BE BURIED UNDER PUB CAR PARK

Experts have discovered what they think may be one of Britain’s most important archaeological finds – a Viking longship buried under a pub car park in Merseyside.

The ship was located used a high-tech Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) device, which traced its outline under 2-3 metres of waterlogged clay below the car park of the Railway Inn in Meols, the Wirral.

Professor Stephen Harding of the University of Nottingham, who made the discovery, is now looking for funding to excavate the site, and believes that its shape and outline matches that of a 1,000-year-old Norse transport vessel.

The ship was first uncovered in 1938 by workmen who were knocking down the old Railway Inn to be rebuilt further away from the road. They found parts of a clinker-built ship but covered it up again to finish converting the site into a car park.

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Workmen Hid Viking Longship Under Pub

Builders who uncovered the remains of a Viking ship in a pub cellar did what any self-respecting workmen would do - they hid it, just like their foreman told them.

Instead they told no one, knocked down the Railway Inn in Meols, rebuilt it further from the road and turned the old pub into a car park.

Fifty years on, one of the builders mentioned it to his son who drew a sketch and passed it on to the local university.

Now archaeologists believe their find was a 1,000-year-old Viking longship and could be one of Britain's most significant archaeological finds.

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Discovery films archeological findings in Iceland

A team from the Discovery Channel is currently filming archeological diggings supervised by Adolf Fridriksson in Hringsdalur valley by Arnarfjördur fjord in the Westfjords in a series about the work of archeologists around the world.

Discovery’s filming in Iceland revolves around archeological findings in Hringsdalur and in Skriduklaustur, an old monastery in east Iceland, and the new series will air next year, Morgunbladid reports.

The diggings by Skriduklaustur are finished, but archeologists are still unearthing a pagan grave discovered in Hringsdalur last weekend.

“The script was made in the last few weeks and now shooting is taking place,” Fridriksson said. “This has been very exciting and the people who came here [the Discovery Channel crew] are obviously very professional and well traveled.”

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Queen Margrethe has contributed to a foundation aimed at digging deeper into the roots of ancient Denmark’s fortresses

Danes need to know more about the land’s ancient Viking fortresses, according to Queen Margrethe, whose foundation is behind a new project with that goal in mind.

The foundation, known as the Augustinus Foundation and Queen Margrethe II’s Archaeological Foundation, will cover all expenses relating to a major research and excavation project led by Moesgård Museum outside Århus in Jutland.

It is the first time in 27 years that the foundation has itself initiated an archaeological digging in Denmark, although it has funded many through the years.

Project leaders hope the work will unearth more information about Harald Bluetooth’s massive coastal fortress network of Trelleborg, Aggersborg, Fyrkat and Nonnebakken. Harald ruled Denmark from 958-987 and is considered one of the nation’s great kings.

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Danes say sorry for Viking raids on Ireland

More than 1,200 years ago hordes of bloodthirsty Viking raiders descended on Ireland, pillaging monasteries and massacring the inhabitants. Yesterday, one of their more mild-mannered descendants stepped ashore to apologise.

The Danish culture minister, Brian Mikkelson, who was in Dublin to participate in celebrations marking the arrival of a replica Norse longboat, apologised for the invasion and destruction inflicted. "In Denmark we are certainly proud of this ship, but we are not proud of the damages to the people of Ireland that followed in the footsteps of the Vikings," Mr Mikkelson declared in his welcoming speech delivered on the dockside at the river Liffey. "But the warmth and friendliness with which you greet us today and the Viking ship show us that, luckily, it has all been forgiven."

The Havhingsten (Sea Stallion) sailed more than 1,000 miles across the North Sea this summer with a crew of 65 men and women in what was described as a "living archaeological experiment".

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Replica Viking warship hoisted into National Museum

The replica Viking warship that arrived in Ireland from Denmark today is being hoisted into the National Museum at Collins Barracks this morning.

The 40-metre Sea Stallion of Glendalough, which weighs 13.5 tonnes, is being lifted out of the River Liffey and into the museum grounds, where it will be on display as part of a Viking exhibition.

The vessel will remain at Collins Barracks until next summer, when it will make a return journey back to Denmark.

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Viking ship ends voyage in Dublin

A replica Viking ship has pulled into Dublin nearly 1,000 years after the original sank off Denmark's coast.

The arrival of the Sea Stallion in Dublin's harbour on Tuesday capped a 1,700km (1,000 mile) journey across the waters of northern Europe.

The 65 crew were overjoyed after the six-week voyage, during which they faced unfavourable sailing conditions.

The endeavour took the crew from Scandinavia, around Scotland and into the Irish Sea.

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Viking Ship Completes 1,000-Mile Journey

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - A replica Viking ship sailed triumphantly into Dublin's harbor Tuesday after attempting to re-enact the arduous 1,000-mile journey Scandanavian warriors made more than a millenium ago.

But this time around, there was a little towing with the rowing, and absolutely no pillaging.

The six-week journey of the ship ``Stallion of the Sea'' crossed the waters of northern Europe from Scandinavia, around Scotland and into the Irish Sea, retracing the path of Vikings who invaded Ireland. At times, it passed through violent waters and high winds.

Spectators cheered and sailors blew their horns as the ship drew into the harbor in Dublin, which was founded by Vikings in the 9th century.

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The Sea Stallion is in Dublin!

The seven weeks' voyage is over: The Sea Stallion is in Dublin!

At 13.39, local time, the Sea Stallion moored at Custom House Quay in Dublin.


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Replica viking ship sails in

An Irish-built replica Viking ship arrives in Dublin today under the power of 64 oarsmen at the end of a two month voyage from Denmark.

The Sea Stallion of Glendalough, the biggest reconstruction of a Viking long ship in the world, is modelled on a 900-year-old vessel.

It put into Irish shores at Clogherhead, Co Louth last week after sailing 1,000 miles from the Danish port of Roskilde, via Norway and the Orkneys.

It is to be put on show in the National Museum in a homecoming of sorts after it arrives in the capital city.

It is a reconstruction of a ship, the Skuldelev 2, built in Dublin in 1042 which is believed to have sunk in Roskilde Fjord, near Copenhagen, some 30 years later.

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Viking Voyage

From Denmark to Dublin

Follow the reconstructed Viking ship, 'Sea Stallion', on one of the most perilous archaeology experiments ever attempted. Check back regularly for updates.

This BBC site features a number of videos.

Click here to go to the website...

Viking replica ship to arrive in Ireland

After six weeks at sea, 65 crew members will row the Sea Stallion Viking ship up the Liffey this week.

The ship began its 1,000 nautical mile journey in Roskilde, Denmark, and, although the voyage was hampered by bad weather, it will arrive in Dublin on time, at 1.30pm this Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Visit Denmark, one of the organisers of the event, said each crew member had a tiny space on board where they sat, slept and kept their belongings. ‘‘All 65 of them take it in turn to row and sail,” she said. ‘‘It’s all voluntary and it’s a private holiday for them.”

Most of the crew are Danish, but there are also crew members from Germany, the US and Australia, among others. Kildarewoman Triona Nicholl, a PhD student in archaeology at UCD, is the sole Irish representative and is one of a number of archaeologists and scientists on board.

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Modern Vikings sail replica in epic journey

An extraordinary voyage by a team of archaeologists and historians has begun to solve some of the greatest riddles of the Viking age. On Tuesday, a giant Viking warship, an exact replica of one built nearly 1,000 years ago, will complete a 1,200-mile trip from Scandinavia to Ireland.

Throughout the six-and-a-half-week voyage, experts from Denmark's Viking Ship Museum have conducted experiments into 11th-century life and tested sailing technology. And they have found the famed longships were slower and more complex than thought. The vessel they replicated had been discovered and lifted by archaeologists in Denmark 50 years ago. Research showed it had been built in Dublin in 1042 and scuttled in Denmark 30 years later.

On this voyage, the vessel sailed from Roskilde in Denmark to southern Norway, then across the North Sea (where it was forced by poor winds to accept a tow from its escort vessel to Orkney), then via the Western Isles and the Isle of Man to Ireland. It will arrive in Dublin on Tuesday.

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WORLD'S BIGGEST VIKING SHIP SAILS INTO ISLE OF MAN ON EPIC VOYAGE

A Danish crew has arrived in the Isle of Man on board the world’s biggest Viking ship ever reconstructed in an epic voyage from Denmark to Ireland that retraces the journey made by Norse ancestors almost 1,000 years ago.

The 16-strong volunteer crew set sail on the historic voyage from Roskilde in Denmark on July 1 2007, and arrived in Peel Harbour in the early hours of Wednesday morning (August 8). The Viking longship Sea Stallion from Glendalough is on a 1,000 mile journey with the goal of reaching her 'birthplace' in Dublin on August 14 2007.

The Sea Stallion from Glendalough is a reconstruction of a 30-metre long warship – the largest of five Viking ships discovered at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord, Denmark in 1957. Following excavations in 1962, archaeologists discovered the vessel was built in Dublin in 1042 using traditional Scandinavian ship-building methods.

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Viking longship at Isle of Man

On its historic voyage from Roskilde in Denmark to Dublin in Ireland the ’Sea Stallion fom Glendalough’ moored at Peel Harbour at Isle of Man this morning at five o’clock.

The worlds largest reconstruction of a Viking longship will probably set its course for the coast of Ireland Thursday arriving to Dublin Tuesday 14th of August.

The Sea Stallion and her 65 men crew left the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark June 1st. So far the ship visited Norway, The Orkney Islands, the west coast of Scotland and Islay. The sail from Islay to Isle of Man prooved to be one of the most dramatic, however.

Going through The North Channel between Ireland and Scotland winds went up to 23 metres per second – Beaufort 9 that is. In waves up to 5-6 metres in height the crew faced problems as the rope and leather band holding the rudder in place collapsed. Repairments were made and all reefs in the 112 square metre sail were taken to reduce the impact of the harsh weather to the ships steering system.

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New Viking graves discovered

While most parts of Norway have experienced the wettest summer in years, the county known as Nord-Trøndelag, not far from Norway's third largest city Trondheim, has experienced extreme drought. But due to the dry summer, supposedly the driest in a century, more traces from Norway's Viking past have appeared.

The most recent findings include around 120 Viking graves, traces of houses, and even traces of what could be the Viking Chief's hall. A total of 145 antiquities have been found in the area.

"These are some of the most exciting antiquities ever found in this part of Norway," said county archaeologist Lars Forseth to newspaper Aftenposten.

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Family discovers Viking treasure

The most important haul of Viking treasure to be discovered in Britain since the 19th century was unveiled by the British Museum on Thursday.

Discovered earlier this year by a father and son detecting team near Harrogate in northern England, the find includes coins, ornaments, ingots and precious metal objects all hidden in a gilt silver bowl and buried in a lead chest.

"The size and quality of the hoard is remarkable, making it the most important find of its type in Britain for over 150 years," the museum said.

"The find is of global importance, as well as having huge significance for the history of North Yorkshire," it added.

Vikings, sailor-warriors from modern day Norway and Denmark, began raiding the undefended coast of ancient Britain at the end of the eighth century AD.

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Viking hoard ‘is of global significance’

THE most important haul of Viking treasure to be discovered in Britain since the 19th century has been unveiled by the British Museum.

The objects, which date to the 10th century, come from as far as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.

Discovered this year by a father and son detecting team near Harrogate in northern England, the hoard includes coins, ornaments, ingots and precious metal objects all hidden in a gilt silver bowl and buried in a lead chest.

The museum said: “The size and quality of the hoard is remarkable, making it the most important find of its type in Britain for more than 150 years. The find is of global importance, as well as having huge significance for the history of North Yorkshire.”

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Treasure hunters share £1m Viking hoard looted from round the world

A Viking treasure hoard of silver and gold, traded and looted from across Europe and as far afield as Asia and north Africa, and lost for more than 1,000 years, was revealed to public view again yesterday at the British Museum.

The find is one of the most spectacular recent discoveries from anywhere in the Viking empire: 600 coins, some unique, from as far as Samarkand in central Asia, Afghanistan, Russia and north Africa, hidden in a silver and gold pot. "This is the world in a vessel," said Jonathan Williams of the British Museum.

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Lucky landowner in line for share of £1m treasure trove

A HARROGATE landowner could receive a share of £1m after a hoard of Viking treasure was unearthed in fields in the area.

The collection of 617 silver coins and 65 artefacts has been described by archaeology experts as the most important British find for 150 years.

The hoard was confirmed as treasure by North Yorkshire coroner Geoff Fell at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon.

Mr Fell said the find held global significance and described the most spectacular single object as a gilt silver vessel, made in what is now France in the first half of the ninth century.

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Sea Stallion from Glendalough 2007

This is the official Website for the Sea Stallion from Glendalough – the reconstruction of the Viking longship (Skuldelev 2) which sailed on Sunday from Roskilde and is intended to reach Dublin in six weeks’ time.

This interesting Website contains a wealth of information over the voyage, including a Google Earth satellite picture showing the Sea Stallion’s current position.

You can also sign up to receive a daily newsletter about the voyage.

You can find the Website at : www.havhingsten.dk

Vikings set sail

A Viking ship leaves Danish shores for Ireland to retrace the journey of the Nordic tribe.

At the Danish port of Roskilde, the Sea Stallion, a ship crafted from 300 oak trees, set sail for Ireland in a bid to recreate the adventures of the Vikings.

Thousands of people came to wave off the reconstructed Viking ship and to enjoy the delights that a Viking market had to offer.

Blacksmiths, carpenters and craftsmen provided spectators with a show that transported them back to the time of the original Nordic tribe.

The vessel's sixty strong crew are aiming to answer questions about viking ship-building and travel. Like the vikings, the Sea Stallion crew will brave the elements and be put to the test of spending time at sea in an open ship.

The journey is expected to take six weeks.

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Viking ship sets sail for Dublin

A Viking ship has set sail for Dublin from the Danish port of Roskilde, in an attempt to recreate the voyages undertaken by early Norsemen.

The 30m (100ft) long replica, called Sea Stallion, is said to be the world's largest reconstructed Viking vessel.

It is based on a ship made nearly 1,000 years ago in Ireland, which in 1962 was excavated from the Roskilde fjord.

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Rare carving on display at Cathedral

An "exceptional" 8th century limestone carving is set to return to permanent public display for the first time in more than 1,100 years.

The return of the Lichfield Angel, which was destroyed by a Viking raid in 873 and lay undiscovered under Lichfield Cathedral until 2003, comes as part of an £8 million development plan to dramatically transform the Cathedral's image. Yesterday senior clergy announced the start of the Lichfield Inspires campaign, which aims to change the way tourists and pilgrims view one of the country's most historic cathedrals.

The proposals, which are still in the development stage, will see improvements to the entrance of the building as well as new educational facilities and a visitor centre. It also features the restoration of the artwork, which depicts the Archangel Gabriel. This will go on show permanently from midday on Sunday.

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Angel is back after 1,100 years

An 8th-century limestone religious carving is to go on display for the first time in more than 1,100 years.

The Lichfield Angel was destroyed by a Viking raiding party in 873 and its remains lay buried under Lichfield Cathedral until archaeologists dug it up in 2003. The carving, which depicts the Archangel Gabriel, was made originally in 700, and formed part of a shrine to St Chad. It will go on show at the cathedral from noon tomorrow, after 14 months of conservation work.

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Viking Longship to Sail Across North Sea

ROSKILDE, Denmark (AP) - On the skipper's command, deckhands haul in tarred ropes to lower the flax sail. Oars splash into the water. The crew, grimacing with strain, pull with steady strokes sending the sleek Viking longship gliding through the fjord.

A thousands years ago, the curved-prow warship might have spewed out hordes of bloodthirsty Norsemen ready to pillage and burn.

This time, the spoils are adventure rather than plunder.

The Sea Stallion of Glendalough is billed as the world's biggest and most ambitious Viking ship reconstruction, modeled after a warship excavated in 1962 from the Roskilde fjord after being buried in the seabed for nearly 950 years.

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ROMAN COFFIN LIDS GO ON DISPLAY IN NORTH YORKSHIRE

English Heritage is putting three rare coffin lids on display for the first time at its store in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, after solving a riddle that has defied archaeologists for the past three decades.

The heavyweight relics, excavated from Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village, near Malton, were used for the burial of a high-status Viking family, but experts have now discovered they entombed Romans up to 800 years earlier.

Unearthed at Wharram 30 years ago as part of Britain’s longest running dig (1950-1990), the re-used coffin lids concealed the burials of a child up to five years old, a female in her early twenties and a male aged between 40 to 50, found in the churchyard and dating between 1060 to 1160.

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Viking woman had roots near the Black Sea

The bones of one of the women found in one of Norway's most famous Viking graves suggest her ancestors came from the area around the Black Sea.

The woman herself was "Norwegian," claims Professor Per Holck at the University of Oslo, who has conducted analyses of DNA material taken from her bones.

But Holck says that while she came from the area that today is Norway, her forefathers may have lived n the Black Sea region.

Holck, attached to the anthropological division of the university's anatomy institute (Anatomisk institutt), isn't willing to reveal more details pending publication of an article in the British magazine "European Archaeology" later this year.

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YAT Training Excavation 2007

York Archaeological Trust has begun excavations as part of the Hungate
(York) Regeneration. Over the next five years excavations and research will be conducted on the largest scale urban archaeological excavation in the city for 25 years.

Following the great success of Archaeology Live! training excavations at previous sites in the City of York, St Leonard’s (2001–2004), St Mary’s Abbey (2005) St Saviour’s Church (2006), Archaeology Live! will be running in conjunction the excavations at Hungate during 2007 and beyond. You have the unique opportunity to join in with this exciting journey in to the last 2000 years of the history of York.

The excavation will be looking to answer a number of questions about the site, which has proven to contain deeply stratified archaeology from the Roman period onwards. Small-scale excavations in 2000 and 2002 revealed a complex sequence of burials, structures, occupation deposits and road surfaces dating from as early as the 3rd Century. Significant archaeology, including the burials, lay relatively close to the modern ground surface and was generally well preserved. Excavation which is currently underway has revealed the outlines of buildings and other structures from the 18th and 19th Centuries, with finds including medieval and Viking pottery, carved animal bone, and significant amounts of architectural stone which has been re-used from a medieval church.

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£2m Viking centre bid launched

THE preservation of Wirral's Viking Heritage begins later this week with the launch of a £2million three-year project.

Friday morning's event follows the publication of a report detailing the borough's links with the Norse invaders. It also made five key recommendations so that local history can be fully developed for tourist and educational purposes.

Following a successful bid for development funding from the Mersey Waterfront and English Heritage. It was submitted by Friends of Hoylake and Meols Gardens and Open Spaces' steering group The Heritage Project, set up to oversee the study. Chairman, Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford hopes the launch will help put the borough's Norse links firmly on the map.

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Irish river find may be first discovery of Viking ship

An ancient boat discovered in a riverbed north of Dublin may be the first Viking longship found in the country, Environment and Heritage Minister Dick Roche said.

The wreck in the River Boyne, close to the northeastern port of Drogheda, was described by Roche as potentially an "enormously exciting discovery".

The vessel, nine metres (30 feet) wide by 16 metres long, was discovered accidentally during dredging operations last November but the find was not made public until now.

"It is described as clinker built, a shipbuilding technology dating from the Viking era but also still in use centuries later," Roche said.

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ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS GO ON SHOW AT MELTON CARNEGIE MUSEUM

Melton Carnegie Museum in Leicester is hosting an exhibition that showcases many of the rare archaeological artefacts unearthed by local residents.

The exhibition, Found in Leicestershire, runs until 23 March 2007 and features an array of exciting finds including a wonderful collection of Roman brooches, a rare prehistoric flint dagger, Viking age objects and many medieval items, all from the Melton area.

The display tells the story of everyday life for our ancestors and gives a compelling picture of our past. The finds also include an assortment of domestic items made of metal, stone and pottery, whilst accompanying literature reveals their historical importance and how they were found.

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Treasure hunters – the new heroes of national heritage

Members of the public unearthed 57,566 ancient objects last year, according to the British Museum — an increase of 45 per cent on 2005. The items included a spectacular Viking hoard of 20 silver bracelets.

Two reports published yesterday show how finds by people walking, gardening, farming or actively searching for treasure provide a wealth of information about our past.

David Lammy, the Culture Minister, described metal detector users as “the unsung heroes of the UK’s heritage”.

The Treasure Act 1996 requires the reporting of all gold and silver objects more than 300 years old, and groups of coins that are more than 300 years old and found on the same site.

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'Unsung heroes of heritage' extolled for unearthing hoard of treasure

A missing gold finial from the Sedgeford torc, excavated almost in its entirety more than 40 years ago, and a stash of Viking silver bracelets that may have helped finance an attack on Dublin were among a glittering hoard of treasure disclosed yesterday, the discovery of amateurs and their metal detectors.
The culture minister, David Lammy, yesterday called metal detectorists "the unsung heroes of the UK's heritage", a phrase that will cause a sharp intake of breath among some archaeologists who still regard them as little better than legalised looters.

However, in most parts of the country a truce is in place, with archaeologists and hobbyists working together, a code of conduct agreed by both sides. The amateurs, in fact, are often called in to help at excavation sites, valued for their equipment and expertise at telling a buried coin from a can ring-pull.

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New Viking treasures found

Archaeologists have made a major discovery in Western Norway, unearthing well-preserved Viking graves from the 9th century full of riches.

The Viking treasures were found at Frøyland in Rogaland County. Local newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad reported Monday that items recovered from the graves indicate they belonged to wealthy Vikings of the time.

In one of the graves, belonging to a woman, archaeologists found jewellery, many pearls, glass beads, scissors, a knife and other household utensils.

"The size, quality and design of the jewellery is highly unusual," said archaeologist Olle Hemdorff. "She took with her many things."

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Viking longships' last voyage strikes fear into the heart of archaeologists

A ROW has broken out in Norway over a decision to move three ancient Viking ships, which may not survive the journey.

The University of Oslo has decided to move three longships, probably by lorry and barge, to a new museum, despite dire warnings that the thousand-year-old oak vessels could fall apart en route.

A retired curator of Oslo's current Viking Ship Museum has said that the delicately preserved ships, two of which are nearly 80ft long, were almost equal in archaeological importance to the Pyramids.

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