Tag: archaeology

DNA-researcher: It’s not 'woke' to portray prehistoric Europeans with dark skin. It’s evolution.

Ancient DNA analyses suggest that prehistoric Europeans looked different from modern Europeans today, but some people find that hard to accept.

Researchers have analyzed over 1,000 bog bodies from across Scandinavia. Here's what we found

The Tollund Man, the Grauballe Man and the Huldremose Woman are not the only bog bodies that give us knowledge about the past. We have analyzed and dated over 1.000 bog bodies.

Seagrass meadows: an underwater time capsule for archaeology

…by providing a protective matt above exceptional archaeological treasures.

Historic building activity in Europe mirrors plague outbreaks and food prices

A new study shows that the dramatic upheaval and population decline known as the Late Medieval Crisis began much earlier than previously thought. Thanks to the use of felling dates from old construction timber a new picture emerges of past demographic changes in Europe.

Archaeologists celebrate spectacular discovery of Iron Age treasure

Evidence suggests that a recently uncovered treasure trove of Iron Age gold in Denmark, was a rich man’s gift to the Gods. And there turned out to be much more where that came from.

Thousands of objects discovered in Scandinavia’s first Viking city

Danish archaeologists have excavated the streets beneath Ribe to discover how the first city of the Viking age was established.

Ancient Palmyra: A story of urban resilience

The warrior queen of Palmyra, Zenobia, made a stand against the encroaching Roman Empire, but was ultimately defeated. But what happened next, after the Romans left is less documented. A new book reveals how Palmyra survived in Late Antiquity.

Are these Danish cities older than previously thought?

Odense could have been settled as early as the late eighth century, and many other towns could be older than you think, according to new study.

Archaeologists reveal new finds from legendary Swedish warship

The Mars warship was carrying hundreds of soldiers when it exploded in the Baltic Sea in 1564 during the Northern Seven Years’ War.

Following a new trail of crumbs to agriculture's origins

Archaeologists have found tiny pieces of ancient bread from hunter-gatherers that predate agriculture by about 4,000 years.

A tiny dragonhead illuminates life in a Viking trading town

This little head dates from the Viking Age and was produced in unique style.

Raw fish gave the Vikings tapeworms

“I’ve never thought about how they prepared their food – or didn’t,” says archaeologist.

1600-year-old evidence of beer brewing in Sweden

And there’s every reason to believe that people in the Nordic countries have been brewing beer much longer than that.

Leprosy DNA extracted from medieval skeletons in Denmark

The well-preserved bones contain DNA from multiple strands of one of medieval Europe’s biggest killers.

Archaeologists uncover remains of a horrifying Iron Age battle in Denmark

Thirteen-year-olds fought side by side with adult men and the dead were left where they fell, ripped to pieces by hungry animals.

No evidence that Danish bog bodies were gay

And it’s unlikely that they were mutilated and tortured before their death.

Once lost archaeology revealed by satellite images and aerial photography

Using a high tech approach, archaeologists have turned back time and reconstructed a hidden urban landscape in Jerash, Jordan.

Evidence uncovered of a 1500-year-old massacre in Sweden

The remains, discovered by researchers, appear to have been left in the same places where they had been slaughtered.

A bumper crop of ancient DNA solves key mysteries of ancient human societies

The largest combined study of DNA extracted from ancient skeletons reveals dynamic shifts in genetics, language, and culture in the past 11,000 years.

High definition archaeology reveals secrets of the earliest cities

A new approach to urban archaeology casts fresh light on daily life in some of the world’s first cities.

Archaeologists think they have found Copenhagen’s oldest church

If they are correct then Copenhagen was already a bustling city in medieval times, much earlier than previously thought.

The biggest status symbol in the Nordic Iron Age was a goose

Poultry was all you needed to signal your status.

English mass grave contains remains of Viking Great Army

Archaeologists are now certain that the 264 bodies buried in the English town of Repton were Vikings. A curious mystery has finally been solved.

Unique Viking runes discovered in Denmark

“These are the runes we’ve been missing,” says archaeologist.

First Scandinavians came from north and south

Scandinavia has been a melting pot of cultures ever since the first people arrived after the last ice age, new DNA analyses show.

Mysterious Stone Age rock shows up on Danish Island

Why did Stone Age people carve images of the sun, fields, and spider webs onto small stones?

Denmark’s first Viking king printed in 3D

Full reconstruction of Gorm the Old reveals a strange growth on his neck.

Lost medieval village discovered in Denmark

The village was described in written sources from the Middle Ages but archaeologists have only just found the site.

Pompeii residents were screwed before the volcanic eruption

A water pipe from Pompeii had alarmingly high levels of toxic chemicals.

Archaeologists excavate 400 Iron Age houses in Denmark

A spectacular and unique site, say archaeologists.

This tiny ornament may have belonged to Harold Bluetooth’s shaman

The small piece of silver was found at a Viking fortress in Køge, Denmark.

Our controversial footprint discovery suggests human-like creatures may have roamed Crete nearly 6m years ago

The Trachilos tracksite deserves to be protected and the evidence should be debated by scientists.

Ancient grain reveals the development of the earliest cities

How were the first cities established and how did they develop? The analysis of 8,000 years old grain from ancient Mesopotamia has some answers.

Did Vikings really fight behind a shield wall?

It could all be a big misunderstanding, says archaeologist.

Archaeologists: Cities deserve better treatment

Urban archaeology is one of our best archives of the development of society and people. Until now it has been neglected but this can and must change, say two archaeologists.

Scandinavia’s oldest cup mark rock carvings discovered on Bornholm

Archaeologists have long suspected that Stone Age Scandinavians produced cup mark rock carvings, but until now they had no examples to prove it.

Archaeologists finally know how old Denmark’s fifth Viking fortress is

A piece of well-preserved oak found close to the “Borgring” Viking fortress has provided a precise date for its earliest possible construction.

Wheel tracks discovered at Viking fortress in Denmark

Newly discovered wheel tracks by the Viking fortress “Borgring” is a rare witness to life in Denmark’s fifth Viking fortress. Archaeologists hope to learn more about the fortress when they know just how old the tracks are.

New discovery could rewrite Viking fortresses’ history

Pottery shards question conventional understanding of Denmark’s Viking ring fortresses.

1,000-year-old Viking toilet uncovered in Denmark

A deep hole containing human faeces has been discovered at a Viking settlement in Denmark. Is this Denmark’s oldest toilet?

A Bronze Age grape shakes up history

A small grape seed has set a remarkable archaeological record and casts new light on Scandinavia’s contact with southern Europe during the Bronze Age.

800-year-old well casts new light on medieval murder

How did a young woman come to be buried on unconsecrated ground almost 1,000 years ago? A new archaeological discovery could cast light over the story.

One of Greenland’s first inhabitants had a hole in their sock

Greenland’s earliest people developed advanced technology that allowed them to survive on the sea ice. A single dress object from that time, a little seal skin sock, reveals unrivalled sewing techniques.

See inside three Egyptian mummies

Scientists have scanned three mummies from the National Museum of Denmark for the first time. ScienceNordic was there to see the first results come in.

Another female Bronze Age icon is now known to have travelled across Europe

Egtved Girl is not alone: Skrydstrup Woman also travelled far and wide, say scientists after analysing Skrydstrup Woman’s hair, teeth, and bones.

Medieval shipwreck hints at psychological warfare

Details of a sunken Danish royal ship reveals colourful details about psychological warfare in the middle ages.

Archaeologist: Excavate more before climate change destroys our cultural heritage

Climate change threatens archaeology in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. We should re-think how we preserve our buried cultural heritage, says archaeologist.

High flames gave status to ancient funeral pyres

Funeral pyres were an important ritual for thousands of years in Denmark. The dead were paraded and the cremation was a spectacular show.

“Viking Tower” excavated in Denmark

Totally unique in construction and unknown to Danish archaeology, extraordinary discovery from the Viking Age uncovered in Jutland.

Did Stone Age people build a large labyrinth in Denmark?

Archaeologists have discovered a large enclosure from the Neolithic period near Stevns in Denmark--but the purpose of the site is a mystery.

Discovery in the Bay of Aarhus can solve the puzzle of our primordial origin

Scientists have discovered what could be our closest living relative among the microbes, casting new light on the origins of our species.

Archaeologists are hunting for Greece’s underwater past

There is so much to uncover that we most likely won’t be done during my lifetime, says the archaeologist leading the excavation.

3,500-year-old gemstones cast light on a forgotten civilisation

On a small island in Kuwait, archaeologists have discovered a jewellery workshop containing 3,500 year old semiprecious stones.

Fences are disrupting African wildlife on an unprecedented scale

An ecological tragedy is unfolding in Kenya, as fences go up and prevent migrating animals from accessing water and food.

The ‘Godfather’ of bioarchaeology is moving to Denmark

Professor Matthew Collins is one of the world’s leading experts in ancient proteins and what they can tell us about the Earth’s past.

Archaeology is being revolutionised by amateur collectors

A new database created with the help of amateur archaeologists provides an improved and quicker overview of archaeological finds.

A 2,500-year-old city found in Greece

Five hours north of Athens is the town of Vlochós. Archaeologists have now discovered that this spot has not always been such a backwater as it is today. A thriving city was located here in antiquity.

Bull fat, bats blood, and lizard poop were the drugs of choice in ancient Egypt

It took six months to describe and catalogue this A4 sized 3,500-year-old medical papyrus. See what Egyptologists have learnt so far.

The Viking Age should be called the Steel Age

OPINION: The Viking Age harks back to the glory days of the Nordics, but the name is all wrong. It should instead be called the Steel Age, says Danish archaeologist.

Burnt down Iron Age house discovered in Denmark

Scorched layers of earth have protected the site for almost 2,000 years, which is now helping archaeologists to form a better understanding of life in the Iron Age.

Archaeologists discover a Viking toolbox

Follow the archaeologists’ work as they pry into a 1,000-years-old Viking toolbox.

What colour did the Vikings paint their houses?

Archaeologists in Denmark are busy building one of the largest experimental archaeology reconstruction projects. But what colours would the Vikings have used?

Swedes uncover rich Cypriot graves

Here are gold necklaces, pearls and earrings as well as several hundred handsome ceramic vessels from the Bronze Age. The discovery testifies to a city which traded with much of its contemporary world.

Burnt cheese casts light on 3,000 year-old family drama

When someone in Bronze Age Denmark quickly disposed of a burnt pot, they unintentionally provided archaeologists with a unique find.

New Viking graves discovered in Denmark

A new archaeological excavation in Denmark reveals the remains of graves and buildings that span the Stone Age, Bronze Age, the Vikings, and right up to the Middle Ages.

New method reveals the secrets of bog bodies

Protein analyses on Denmark’s large collection of bog bodies gives archaeologists deeper insights into Iron Age culture and society.

New discovery rewrites history of Denmark’s biggest royal castle

Excavations of Denmark’s biggest castle show that an overlooked king, Knud VI, played a much bigger roll in its history than was previously thought.

Danish Viking grave reveals archaeological mysteries

New excavations in Scandinavia’s first city, Ribe, suggests rapid change at the end of the 9th century.

Unique Viking tomb contains remains of noble couple

A Viking tomb in Denmark contains the rare remains of two men and a woman and offers more evidence of an international Viking culture.

Archaeologists discover Athens’ oldest navy base

A team of scientists have discovered the remains of Athens’ first navy base built in the Greek golden age.

Viking fortress in Denmark stumps archaeologists

Archeologists have drawn a blank at one of Denmark’s most recently discovered Viking castles, after finding nothing except a single, solitary glass bead.

Arctic tomb preserves oldest known Inuit dress

GREENLAND: The oldest examples of clothing from the Arctic were discovered by hunters in a 500 year-old grave in north west Greenland and are now on display in the Greenland National Museum.

Ice Age Europeans migrated back to Africa

Fossil DNA suggests that the early Europeans migrated back to Africa during the Last Glacial Period, around 45,000 years ago.

Unique jewellery from the British Isles found in Danish Viking grave

A Danish Viking burial site contains a buckle that may have come from Ireland or Scotland.

1,750 skeletons tell stories of life during the industrial revolution

Analyses of bones unearthed during Copenhagen’s metro expansion are revealing details of everyday life and living conditions during the industrial revolution.

Neanderthals could have survived in Scandinavia

New research shows that southern Scandinavia was warm enough for Neanderthals to settle. So why didn’t they?

Two Danish discoveries among 2015's best archaeology

The history of the famous Egtved girl and a DNA study of African slaves are among this year’s greatest discoveries listed in the magazine Archaeology.

Archaeologists develop new technology to read ancient documents

Using X-rays and 3D-modelling, scientists have developed a new method to read ancient texts, which were until now considered unreadable.