Romanian Authorities Recover ‘Unique’ Stolen Viking Helmet

Romanian police specialising in heritage crimes on February 7 recovered a medieval helmet “of Viking origin” that disappeared a decade ago, and which they called “unique in Romania” and very rare in the rest of Europe in an announcement issued on Friday.

A Romanian expert in historical illustration, Radu Oltean, said the helmet dated from the 11th century. It was first discovered in 2010 during refurbishment work on the river Siret, in northeast Romania, but it was never handed over to the state preservation services and the authorities lost track of it.

The investigation that led to the recovery of the precious item started in December 2020, when police officers got information about its whereabouts.

The helmet “can be dated to between the 11th and the 13 centuries and represents a type of helmet most often found in the Baltics and Kiev Rus,” the police said, offering no additional information on how the helmet disappeared, or where it was kept.

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Viking Warriors in Poland: Overcoming Identity Crisis

Viking Warriors in Poland: Overcoming Identity Crisis

Paper by Leszek Gardeła

Given at the 2019 European Association of Archeologists conference in Bern, in September 2019

Abstract: Since the discovery of a richly furnished Viking Age weapon grave in the cemetery at Ciepłe in Pomerania in the year 1900, there has been an uncritical tendency among many Polish archaeologists to consider male graves with opulent goods and military equipment as belonging to Scandinavian warriors. To this day, numerous scholars are convinced that the people buried with lavishly decorated spurs and horse tack in the cemetery at Lutomiersk in Central Poland also came from Northern Europe or at least that they had strong connections with Scandinavia or Rus. The same conviction pertains to rich weapon graves from places like Luboń and Łubowo in Greater Poland.

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Viking age artefacts discovered on Isle of Man declared treasure

Kath Giles, left, who found the hoard, and Allison Fox, curator for archaeology at Manx National Heritage, with the Viking age items. Photograph: Manx National Heritage Museum

Hoard found by amateur detectorist dates to AD950 and includes gold arm ring and large silver brooch

A collection of Viking age artefacts has been discovered on the Isle of Man and been declared treasure by the island’s coroner of inquests.

The find, which is considered to be internationally significant and believed to be more than 1,000 years old, consists of a gold arm ring, a large silver brooch, at least one silver armband and other associated finds. They are believed to have been buried in about AD950, and were discovered late last year by an amateur metal detectorist on private land.

As the items have been legally declared as treasure, Manx National Heritage on behalf of the Isle of Man government will be custodians of the finds. The findings will eventually be part of the permanent collections on display at the Manx National Heritage Museum.

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Isle of Man Viking jewellery found by metal detectorist

The items, dating back to 950 AD, include a rare gold arm ring MNH

A "stunning" collection of 1,000-year-old gold and silver Viking jewellery has been discovered on the Isle of Man by a metal detectorist.

Retired police officer Kath Giles made the find on farm land in the north of the island.

The horde includes a gold arm ring and a "massive" silver brooch dating back to 950 AD.

It was unearthed in December but has been revealed for the first time during a coroner's hearing.

Manx National Heritage's curator of archaeology Allison Fox said the arm ring in particular was a "rare find".

Ms Fox said she immediately knew she had found "something very special" and was "thrilled" at the discovery, which is likely to be worth several thousand pounds.

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France Puts Its Historic Bayeux Tapestry Online for Virtual Viewing

France's famed Bayeux Tapestry, which has been off-limits to viewers in Normandy since the start of the pandemic, has gone digital.

Thanks to high-definition cameras, it's now possible to see the historic tapestries in even closer detail than you could have in real life pre-pandemic. Online visitors can zoom into the fabric and see its images, down to a single thread.

The tapestry is believed to have been woven in the 11th century. It depicts the tale of William, Duke of Normandy, who became the King of England after the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings.

Known for its, sometimes bloody, attention to detail, the tapestry is an intricate work of embroidery. The wool thread on linen cloth comprises both pictures and text, made of nine panels joined together. The entire tapestry stretches more than 220 feet across and depicts more than 600 characters including kings, soldiers, bishops, and their horses.

Remarkably, the original colors of the tapestry have changed very little over the past almost-1,000 years. But the restorations done in the 19th century have badly faded, almost becoming white in certain sections. A restoration is planned for 2024 to fix the tapestry's wear and tear.

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Jorvik plans largest online Viking Festival

York Archaeological Trust is planning to host the world’s largest online Viking Festival later this month.

Currently all of its attraction are closed and its annual Viking Festival has been cancelled as a result of the pandemic.

So, instead it is going to host a 6 day festival including chart-topping music, livestreamed events for all ages, virtual tours and the first ever 360 degree immersive video of JORVIK Viking Centre’s world-famous ride through Viking-age York.

“For many people, the February half term is synonymous with Vikings as we’ve been hosting a festival for over 35 years, whether that be families drawn by the thrilling combat displays and spectacle of hundreds of Vikings marching through the city, or academics here for our annual Symposium, where the latest research from all over the world is presented by leaders in the field of Viking studies,” said Gareth Henry, Events Manager for York Archaeological Trust.

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The Dig: Archive shows real-life archaeologist from Netflix film

Archive footage from a 1965 BBC documentary shows the real-life archaeologist who discovered Anglo-Saxon treasures at Sutton Hoo.

Basil Brown found the ship burial in Suffolk in 1939 and the event has been turned into Netflix film The Dig starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes.

Speaking about the moment he made the discovery, Mr Brown said: "I carefully followed it down with bare hands and a trowel, thinking it was a small boat because you wouldn't expected a ship 80 feet long."

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The Dig: Pandemic delays Woodbridge Sutton Hoo replica ship build

The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company wants to build a lifesize replica of the
1,400-year-old Anglo-Saxon ship 

The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company 

Volunteers hoping to create a replica of the Anglo-Saxon ship found at Sutton Hoo have had their schedule put back because of the pandemic.

The story of the ship's discovery in 1939 near Woodbridge, Suffolk, is explored in the hit Netflix film The Dig.

Two oak trees intended for the keel were delivered to the Sutton Hoo Ship's Company in January.

It had hoped to launch the seaworthy 90ft (27m) replica next year. 

Archaeologists, historians, shipbuilders and volunteers are behind the Sutton Hoo Ship's Company. In 2019 they launched a £1m campaign to fund a replica of the 1,400-year old ship. 

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Archaeology breakthrough as 'dark earth' at Vindolanda site discovers rich 'secrets'

Vindolanda: The ancient site held 'dark earth' which pointed to untold secrets
(Image: GETTY)

ARCHAEOLOGISTS were stunned by a patch of "dark earth that held untold secrets" about Vindolanda's rich post-Roman history.

The Roman Empire's conquest of Britain got underway nearly 2,000 years ago. Emperor Claudius led the charge, a move that would alter the path of this island's history forever. Invasion began slowly at first, with the number of Romans entering gradually increasing over the centuries.

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Inside 'The Dig': how the star-studded film squares with reality of Sutton Hoo

Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown in The Dig. © Netflix 2021

This month sees the release of The Dig, a star-studded Netflix film about the discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial in 1939. The grave, made in Suffolk in the early seventh century, centred on a 27-metre-long ship beneath a three-metre-high mound. Inside was a vast assemblage of exquisite objects from an incredible geographical range, spanning Britain, Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and South Asia. Nothing like this had ever been encountered before and it transformed our understanding of England’s early medieval past.

Despite their glitzy appeal, The Dig (based on John Preston’s 2007 book) largely eschews these objects to focus upon the discovery itself and the individuals involved: landowner Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan), Suffolk archaeologist Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes), Cambridge academic Charles W Phillips (Ken Stott), and his team, including Peggy Piggott (Lily James), who found the first piece of gold inside. The story of the excavation, overshadowed by impending war, is just as dramatic as the archaeology it uncovered and I am thrilled that The Dig will bring it to a wider audience.

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UN CIMETIÈRE MÉROVINGIEN À MORTAGNE-SUR-SÈVRE (VENDÉE)

À Mortagne-sur-Sèvre, une équipe de l'Inrap a fouillé une petite nécropole des VIe-VIIe siècles. Si la plupart des défunts sont inhumés simplement en pleine terre, un petit groupe d’individus a bénéficié d’inhumations dans des sarcophages en calcaire coquiller, témoignant d’un statut social différent. Fait inédit pour la région, la fouille a même révélé une tombe double renfermant deux sarcophages.

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Cambridge Anglo-Saxon graveyard found under King's College halls

Archelogists uncovered the graves after the 1930s halls were demolished

KING'S COLLEGE/DRONESCAPES

An Anglo-Saxon graveyard with "huge potential" has been unearthed beneath former university student housing.

King's College, Cambridge discovered the extensive cemetery, containing more than 60 graves, after demolishing a group of 1930s buildings.

Evidence of Iron Age structures and Roman earthworks was also identified.

Dr Sam Lucy, from the University of Cambridge, said the discovery of graves spanning different periods was "very unusual and really interesting".

Since the 19th century, archaeologists have believed there was an early Medieval/Anglo-Saxon cemetery in west Cambridge.

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A Viking Archaeologist Shares 6 of the Most Fascinating Finds From a Slew of Recent Discoveries Made in Melting Ice

Archaeologists working to discovered Viking artifacts uncovered by ice melt at the Lendbreen ice patch. Photo courtesy of Secrets of the Ice.

Global warming has unlocked hundreds of Viking artifacts from the ice of the Norwegian mountains in recent years.

In November, archaeologists from the Secret of the Ice project, part of Norway’s Glacier Archaeology Program, discovered 68 arrows spanning a period of 6,000 years—a record for any frozen archaeological site—on the Langfonne ice patch, an ancient Viking hunting ground.

A few months earlier, scientists announced discoveries that had been frozen in the rapidly melting Lendbreen ice patch, which was once part of a Viking trade route.

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