Professor Neil Price, a Vikings expert and archaeological consultant on the project, believes that the findings challenge assumptions: “There are so many other burials in the Viking world… It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we find more. While she acknowledges that women risked being overpowered in hand-to-hand combat, she argues that they could have been long-distance killers, firing deadly arrows from horseback, making them “an equal match for men”. Until recently, it was assumed to be the remains of a man, but science has proved that it was female.Īl-Shamahi said that she “could have been a military commander”, although some experts still resist the idea that women could have been such warriors. In the documentary Al-Shamahi travels across Scandinavia to examine Viking burial sites, using visualisation techniques to reconstruct their contents, noting that such discoveries are “transforming” our knowledge.Īmong other skeletons in the new research is the Birka Warrior, which was unearthed in Sweden over a century ago, surrounded by a stash of weapons, including arrows. New technology also recreated the grave, showing how weapons were placed around the skeleton.
She added: “The resulting reconstruction is never 100% accurate, but is enough to generate recognition from someone who knew them well in real life.”
Photograph: National Geographicĭr Caroline Erolin, a senior lecturer at the University of Dundee in the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification which worked on the reconstruction, said that the face was built up anatomically working from the muscles and layering skin. “I’m so excited because this is a face that hasn’t been seen in 1,000 years… She’s suddenly become really real,” said the expert in ancient human remains, who is to present a forthcoming National Geographic documentary featuring the reconstruction.The skeleton was always identified as female, but never as a warrior, even though her grave was “utterly packed with weapons”, added Al-Shamahi.Ī facial reconstruction image of the skull of the Viking woman found at Solør, Norway shows a large head injury, possibly sustained in battle. But Al-Shamahi believes that this is “the first evidence ever found of a Viking woman with a battle injury”. Whether the wound was the cause of death is unclear as scientific examination has revealed signs of healing.
Her head, resting in her grave on a shield, was found to have a dent in it serious enough to have damaged the bone. Yes, it should.As they worked on reconstructing her face for a 21st-century audience, scientists found that not only was the woman buried amid an impressive collection of deadly weaponry, including arrows, a sword, a spear and an axe, she also had suffered a head injury consistent with a sword wound. So, as Forbes puts it, ‘This finding should make all archaeologists question previous identifications of the sex of Viking warriors.’ Yes. Male individuals in burials with similar material record are not questioned in the same way.” Surprised? Me neither. Researchers noted, “similar associations of women buried with weapons have been dismissed, arguing that the armaments could have been heirlooms, carriers of symbolic meaning, or grave goods reflecting the status and role of the family rather than the individual. For centuries, burial sites like this one were just assumed to have male skeletons in them. What’s VERY exciting about this confirmation, is not only the need to restructure the way some have thought about Viking culture and female agency within it, but the need to restructure the SCIENCE of Viking research. The conclusion: “The individual in grave BJ581 is the first confirmed female high-ranking Viking warrior,”. Researchers tested a tooth root and part of the upper arm. She noticed that the skeleton looked female. The Valkyries appeared at the scene of battle. Their name comes from two Old Norse words, valr referring to those who died in battle and kjosa meaning to choose.
Researcher Anna Kjellström re-examined the skeleton from this burial, which was of high interest among researchers because of the bevy of items the skeleton was buried with suggesting that this was a very important, high-ranking individual. The Valkyries are most well-known for the role they played in battle. RELATED: SDCC 2017: VIKINGS Season 5 Trailer and Big Surprise at Panel They also assumed, despite skeletal characteristics, that the warrior must be male. Given the burial, complete with an arsenal of weapons, gaming equipment and two horses (a mare and a stallion), those who discovered it determined that this was the grave of a powerful Viking warrior. The grave was first discovered in Birka, Sweden in the 1880’s. Holy Lagertha! There is finally scientific proof of female Viking warriors! DNA tests of a known high-ranking Viking warrior have come back as all woman, baby! And, while we may not be surprised… as there have been many and consistent historical accounts of Viking women fighting along side men… we should feel some form of vindication or pride.
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