Skeletons of half-brothers Viking men reunited

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Viking-Era Relatives Who Died on Opposite Sides of the Sea Reunited at Last in an Exhibition in Copenhagen this month.

DNA tests on the ancient bones suggest the men were either half-brothers or a nephew and an uncle, according to Prof Eske Willerslev, a Danish evolutionary geneticist based at the University of Cambridge. Both of the Norsemen died following violent incidents.

The skeleton of the first man, a farmer in his 50s, was excavated in 2005 near the town of Otterup in central Denmark. Analysis of the bones found that he was 6ft, had arthritis in most of his joints, and signs of inflammation potentially indicative of tuberculosis.

The second skeleton was unearthed in 2008 under the quadrangle at St John’s College, Oxford. There, archaeologists found the remains of at least 35 young men aged 16 to 25. 

On examining the bones, archaeologists found evidence of extreme violence at the mass grave. The man’s skull shows traces of at least nine strike or puncture points caused by a sword or another sharp object, and it appears he was speared several times in the back. “He died of massive injuries from several types of weapons,” said Lasse Sørensen, head of research at the National Museum of Denmark. Carbon dating suggests the bodies were buried between AD960 and AD1020.

The Viking age spanned from AD793 to AD1066 when Norsemen indulged in raids, conquests and trading across Europe and reached as far as Newfoundland in Canada. Having established their genetic relationship, the pair of skeletons are to go on display as part of an exhibition called Togtet meaning The Raid at the National Museum of Denmark.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jun/09/skeletons-of-viking-men-to-be-reunited-in-danish-exhibition

[bionic 50,111]

#TogetherAgain

I bet they were hot

[dynamite 66,592]

1 minute ago, bionic said:

#TogetherAgain

I bet they were hot