50 Viking Age skeletons unearthed in Denmark

AASUM, Denmark (AP) —

In a village in central Denmark, archeologists made a landmark discovery that might maintain essential clues to the Viking period: a burial floor, containing some 50 “exceptionally well-preserved” skeletons.

“That is such an thrilling discover as a result of we discovered these skeletons which are so very, very nicely preserved,” stated archeologist Michael Borre Lundø, who led the six-month dig. “Usually, we’d be fortunate to search out just a few tooth within the graves, however right here we’ve got whole skeletons.”

The skeletons had been preserved because of favorable soil chemistry, notably chalk and excessive water ranges, consultants from Museum Odense stated. The location was found final 12 months throughout a routine survey, forward of energy line renovation work on the outskirts of the village of Aasum, 5 kilometers (3 miles), northeast of Odense, Denmark’s third-largest metropolis.

Consultants hope to conduct DNA analyses and presumably reconstruct detailed life histories, in addition to wanting into social patterns in Viking Age, reminiscent of kinship, migration patterns and extra.

“This opens an entire new toolbox for scientific discovery,” stated Borre Lundø as he stood on the muddy, wind-swept excavation website. “Hopefully we will make a DNA evaluation on all of the skeletons and see if they’re associated to one another and even the place they arrive from.”

In the course of the Viking Age, thought of to run from 793 to 1066 A.D., Norsemen often called Vikings undertook large-scale raids, colonizing, conquering and buying and selling all through Europe, even reaching North America.

The Vikings unearthed at Aasum possible weren’t warriors. Borre Lundø believes the location was in all probability a “customary settlement,” maybe a farming neighborhood, positioned 5 kilometers from a hoop fortress in what’s now central Odense.

The two,000-square meter (21,500-square foot) burial floor holds the stays of males, ladies and kids. In addition to the skeletons, there are just a few cremated our bodies.

In a single grave, a lady is buried in a wagon — the upper a part of a Viking cart was used as a coffin — suggesting she was from the “higher a part of society,” Borre Lundø advised The Related Press.

Archeologists additionally unearthed brooches, necklace beads, knives, and even a small shard of glass which will have served as an amulet.

Borre Lundø stated the brooch designs counsel the useless had been buried between 850 and 900 A.D.

“There’s totally different ranges of burials,” he defined. “Some don’t have anything with them, others have brooches and pearl necklaces.”

Archeologists say lots of the artefacts got here from far past Denmark’s borders, shedding mild on in depth Viking commerce routes through the tenth century.

“There’s a variety of commerce and commerce occurring,” stated Borre Lundø. “We additionally discovered a brooch that comes from the island of Gotland, on the japanese aspect of Sweden, but in addition whetstones for honing your knife … all kinds of issues level to Norway and Sweden.”

The burial website was found final 12 months, and the dig, which began in April, ended Friday. Containers of artefacts have shipped to Museum Odense’s preservation labs for cleansing and evaluation.

Conservator Jannie Amsgaard Ebsen hopes the soil might also maintain different preserved natural materials on the backs of brooches or knife handles.

“We’re actually hoping to realize the bigger image. Who had been the those who had been dwelling on the market? Who did they work together with?” she stated. “It’s a bit bit like a jigsaw puzzle: all the varied puzzle elements will probably be positioned collectively.”