Views and News from Norway

New archaeological findings suggest that the Vikings considered Stone Age objects to have magical qualities, and that such "antiques" were more important in Viking culture than previously understood.

The latest revelations are linked to discoveries from Vikings who had travelled to Iceland, and who have been found carrying Stone Age items with them. Previously, such findings were not considered to be significant, but recent analysis links them to similar, earlier-overlooked evidence from several locations over the former Viking lands.

As well as being buried with the dead, as were some of their ships, Stone Age arrowheads and daggers were sometimes buried under Viking houses. Hemdorff suggests that "by including objects from their ancestors, the Vikings legitimized and gained 'control' over the past."

The custom of burying Stone Age treasures has also been identified in Iron Age communities and excavations from the age of migration (400-600 BC) found in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Indeed, the practice is mentioned in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, where it is stated that flint, pottery, round stones and shards are thrown into Ophelia's grave.

Hemdorff speculates that Shakespeare "probably built his own description on an old custom that we now know goes back to Viking times."

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Related News:

• Skeleton at Llanbedrgoch, Anglesey, sheds light on Viking Age
• What Vikings really looked like
• Lost Viking Military Town Unearthed in Germany?
• Legendary Viking town unearthed
• Viking era piggy bank yields silver treasure
• Vikings carried mice to colonies
• New Norway Viking settlement discovered
• Viking axe head discovery is evidence of battle
• Evidence suggests Vikings grew grain in south Greenland
• Vikings Explore Hudson Bay