Archaeologists Reveal Viking Treasure Left Buried for 1,000 Years: 'Unique'

The Viking treasure discovered in Årdal, Norway. The hoard consists of silver bracelets that are thought to be more than 1,000 years old.
Volker Demuth/Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger

"This is undoubtedly the most significant event of my career," Demuth told ScienceNorway.

The treasure was first spotted by UiS field archaeologists Mari Krogstad Samuelsen and Ola Tengesdal Lygre. The researchers were part of a team, alongside Demuth, who were brought in to survey the site before the construction of a tractor road on the mountainside by a local farmer, who owns the land.

"At first I thought it was a question of some twisted copper wires that you can often find in agricultural land, but when I saw that there were several lying next to each other and that they were not copper at all, but silver, I realized that we had found something exciting," Lygre said in the press release.

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Remote Ancient Mountain Shelter Used by Viking Age Travelers Found

A lake in Hardangervidda National Park, Norway. The shelter used during the Viking Age was found in the Hardanger Plateau, much of which is protected as part of the park.
Pascal Goetzinger/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Archaeologists have found a remote mountain shelter used by travelers during the Viking Age.

The team identified the rock cabin along an ancient transport route across the Hardanger Plateau, a mountain plateau in central southern Norway, ScienceNorway reported.

The historic transport route, known as the Nordmannslepa, was long used to move goods and animals between eastern and western Norway.

In this mountainous landscape, weather conditions are harsh, making it difficult for ancient travelers to find shelter. As a result, people in ancient times constructed stone huts at suitable distances so that travelers could seek shelter and rest after a long day's journey.

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Danish archaeologists unearth 50 Viking skeletons

The excavation of a large Viking-era burial site in Denmark has unearthed 50 unusually well-preserved skeletons that archaeologists expect will help shed light on the lives of the Nordic people best known for their seafaring exploits in the Middle Ages

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