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Archaeology & History

Ancient Viking settlement found in Norway

By T.K. Randall
December 26, 2015 · Comment icon 15 comments

The area was originally inhabited by a fishing community. Image Credit: Oscar Wergeland
A huge 1,500-year-old Viking fishing village site has been unearthed during excavations at an airport.
The discovery, which covers an area of more than 13 football pitches, was made during the construction of an expansion at Ørland Airport on Norway's northwest coast.

Artifacts recovered from the site include jewelry, animal bones and the remains of a glass goblet.
The items are thought to be some of the oldest ever recovered from this time period in Norway and archaeologists believe that the soil's low acidity levels would have likely helped to preserve them.

"This was a very strategic place," said project manager Ingrid Ystgaard. "It was a sheltered area along the Norwegian coastal route from southern Norway to the northern coasts. And it was at the mouth of Trondheim Fjord, which was a vital link to Sweden and the inner regions of mid-Norway."

"Nothing like this has been examined anywhere in Norway before."

Source: Independent.ie | Comments (15)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #6 Posted by questionmark 8 years ago
Amazing discovery, and it would be really cool to be able to see it... That being said this is one of my pet peeves... It was NOT a Viking settlement... It was a Norse settlement... Viking was an action, an "occupation", not a people... You don't make a settlement if you are on a quick "Grab, slash and burn" raid, and since only those who were actively participating in a raid were "On a Viking", there are probably NO "Viking" settlements anywhere in the world... The Norse, Danes, Swedes etc that sailed in the long ships back in those days were either explorers, traders (they were actually very... [More]
Comment icon #7 Posted by Taun 8 years ago
It was not Hollywood but an opera director called Richard Wagner who initiated the horny part of the Vikings (archeologist have not found a single horned Viking helmet to this day).... and since we know that we cannot say anymore: "Blessed the Vikings as their horns were artificial". True.. I'd forgotten about Wagner...
Comment icon #8 Posted by pallidin 8 years ago
You guys are great ! First, I didn't know before that the term "Vikings" is widely misused, and just barely remembered that the horns on helmets are a myth. Anyway, nice find on the article!
Comment icon #9 Posted by poohbear 8 years ago
Horns do look the part in the cartoons though don't they? Unfortunately from a foot combat point of view helmets were designed to deflect a slicing or glancing blow. I've had the pleasure of reproducing armour over the years from the originals of all periods in museum collections. A blow from a broadsword or an axe coming into contact with a fixed horn would to say the least give the wearer a severe headache.
Comment icon #10 Posted by highdesert50 8 years ago
Interesting that the government restricts archaeological digs until an area is slated for construction or other activity. Wondering how many other identified sites are awaiting exploration by the experts.
Comment icon #11 Posted by Harry_Dresden 8 years ago
Interesting that the government restricts archaeological digs until an area is slated for construction or other activity. Wondering how many other identified sites are awaiting exploration by the experts. Europe is like that. If you build there, its a huge expense if you encounter anything during construction.
Comment icon #12 Posted by Noteverythingisaconspiracy 8 years ago
Amazing discovery, and it would be really cool to be able to see it... That being said this is one of my pet peeves... It was NOT a Viking settlement... It was a Norse settlement... Viking was an action, an "occupation", not a people... You don't make a settlement if you are on a quick "Grab, slash and burn" raid, and since only those who were actively participating in a raid were "On a Viking", there are probably NO "Viking" settlements anywhere in the world... The Norse, Danes, Swedes etc that sailed in the long ships back in those days were either explorers, traders (they were actually very... [More]
Comment icon #13 Posted by PersonFromPorlock 8 years ago
Viking culture is generally dated from 800 AD on, so a 1500-year old site wouldn't technically be a 'Viking' one. Proto-viking, maybe.
Comment icon #14 Posted by Thorvir Hrothgaard 8 years ago
You guys are great ! First, I didn't know before that the term "Vikings" is widely misused, and just barely remembered that the horns on helmets are a myth. Anyway, nice find on the article! While misused in this general sense, it's still correct to refer to them as "vikings", and the "viking" age. Not as bad as viking horned helmets, of course. By going a-viking, you are a viking.
Comment icon #15 Posted by cookemeister 8 years ago
am i the only one who went "helllooo?" is this really news ? of course there was an ancient viking settlement found in Norway....is that not like saying ancient briton settlement found in England?


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