From The Guardian: 1,000 years on, perils of fake Viking swords are revealed.

It must have been an appalling moment when a Viking realised he had paid two cows for a fake designer sword; a clash of blade on blade in battle would have led to his sword, still sharp enough to slice through bone, shattering like glass.

"You really didn’t want to have that happen," said Dr Alan Williams, an archaeometallurgist and consultant to the Wallace Collection, the London museum which has one of the best assemblies of ancient weapons in the world. He and Tony Fry, a senior researcher at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, south-west London, have solved a riddle that the Viking swordsmiths may have sensed but didn’t quite understand.[continue].

From The Telegraph: Vikings preferred male grooming to pillaging.

The Vikings are traditionally known for leaving destruction in their wake as they travelled around Europe raping, pillaging and plundering.

But Cambridge University has launched a campaign to recast them as "new men" with an interest in grooming, fashion and poetry.

Academics claim that the old stereotype is damaging, and want teenagers to be more appreciative of the Vikings’ social and cultural impact on Britain.

They say that the Norse explorers, far from being obsessed with fighting and drinking, were a largely-peaceful race who were even criticised for being too hygienic.

The university’s department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic has published a guide revealing how much of the Vikings’ history has been misrepresented.

They did not, in fact, [continue]

From Media Newswire: Excavated burials reveal the Viking world-view.

Research into pagan Viking burials has provided an Aberdeen academic with new revelations into the way the early Norse led their lives and their attitude towards mortality.

Studies led by Professor Neil Price, Chair of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, exploring thousands of excavated graves known from the Viking world, revealed that no two of these burial monuments were the same.

The research also showed that Viking funerals involved complex elements of mortuary theatre — ritual plays which were literally performed at the graveside.

Detailed analysis of the burials revealed the sheer variety of objects found alongside the bodies — from everyday items to great longships and vehicles such as wagons and sleds, together with animals of many different species and even human sacrifices. [continue]

From discovery.com: Viking Age Triggered by Shortage of Wives?

During the Viking Age from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, Scandinavians tore across Europe attacking, robbing and terrorizing locals. According to a new study, the young warriors were driven to seek their fortunes to better their chances of finding wives.

The odd twist to the story, said researcher James Barrett, is that it was the selective killing of female newborns that led to a shortage of Scandinavian women in the first place, resulting later in intense competition over eligible women. [continue]

From the Beeb: Irish Viking trade centre unearthed.

One of the Vikings’ most important trading centres has been discovered in Ireland.

The settlement at Woodstown in County Waterford is estimated to be about 1,200 years old. (…)

Almost 6,000 artefacts and a Viking chieftain’s grave have been discovered at the site, which was established by the year 860. The grave contains a sword, shield and silver mark. [continue]

From the BBC: 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.

He believes the vessel could be carefully removed and exhibited in a museum.

Professor Harding said: "The next stage is the big one. Using the GPR technique only cost £450, but we have to think carefully about what to do next. [continue]

Goodness. Here’s an image of the Viking hoarde unearthed in Yorkshire. Can you imagine digging that up in your neighbourhood? (The worst thing about living in Canada is that I know I’ll never find any Viking or Roman artifacts lying about the place.) Here’s the story from the BBC: Viking treasure hoard uncovered.

The most important Viking treasure find in Britain for 150 years has been unearthed by a father and son while metal detecting in Yorkshire.

David and Andrew Whelan uncovered the hoard, which dates back to the 10th Century, in Harrogate in January.

The pair kept their find intact and it was transferred to the British Museum to be examined by experts, who said the discovery was "phenomenal". [continue]

From the CBC: Danish replica of Viking ship sets sail for Ireland.

A 30-metre replica of a Viking longship glided out of Denmark’s Roskilde fjord Sunday, with 65 crew members determined to sail the ship across the North Sea and around Scotland to Ireland.

Irish Environment Minister Dick Roche was among the roughly 4,000 people watching the Sea Stallion of Glendalough begin the attempt to relive the perilous journey its Viking forebear made 1,000 years ago.

The ship is billed as the world’s biggest and most ambitious Viking ship construction.

It was modelled after a warship excavated in 1962 from the Roskilde fjord after being buried in the seabed for nearly 950 years. [continue]

From the International Herald Tribune: Giant Viking longship to sail across North Sea to Ireland.

ROSKILDE, Denmark: On the skipper’s command, deckhands hauled in tarred ropes to lower the flax sail. Oars splashed into the water. The crew, grimacing with strain, pulled with steady strokes sending the sleek Viking longship gliding through the fjord.

A thousand 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. Now it is preparing for a journey across the legendary Viking waters of the North Sea — leaving Roskilde in eastern Denmark on July 1 and sailing 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) to Dublin, which was founded by Vikings in the 9th century. [continue]

From iol.co.za: Viking ship to retrace route.

An 11th century Viking longship that has been entirely restored to its original condition will cross the North Sea this summer powered only by its sails, a Danish Viking ship museum said on Tuesday.

The ship will leave Roskilde, Denmark, where the museum is located, on July 1 and is expected to arrive in Dublin on August 14, project leader Preben Rather Soerensen said.

"This is a new challenge. We used the tools the Vikings used to rebuild the Havhingsten fra Glendalough and now we are going to test the ship’s resistance," he said.

Sixty-five sailors will man the 30m vessel, which will [continue]