The Viking Age: the Seafaring Norse

Mats is an archaeologist. Archaeologists look for traces of people who lived a long time ago. Right now, he is investigating a place where he thinks there was a settlement in the past with a metal detector. What is this - a silver hoard! Mats knows that silver treasures are not uncommon from the Viking Age.

The Viking Age is a period of time at the end of the Iron Age in what is today Sweden, Norway, and Denmark - Scandinavia. It starts around the year 750 common era, and ends in 1050. How do we know the Viking Age starts at this time? On an island that is part of modern-day Estonia, graves are found that date to around 750. Many objects in the graves, as well as the way the people are buried, show that the people come from what is now Sweden.

At this time, Scandinavians are starting to travel the world more, on trade and looting voyages. That is why we say that the Viking Age begins then. In Viking times, large stones are carved with a type of lettering called runes, and then erected. Some of the stones have pictures of ships. The stones are common in Sweden, but are also found in Norway and Denmark.

Today they are called runestones. On the runestones you can sometimes read about trips that the northerners make. On some of them is the word viking. So we know the word was used in Viking times, but we don’t really know what it means. Maybe it means pirates?

Another possibility is that “viking” comes from "vika," an old word that means to travel away. Only those Scandinavians who travel the seas with their ships are called Vikings. Most people are farmers who grow gardens, hunt and fish. Many live in villages. Others live along the coasts, and some are skilled shipbuilders.

One reason why travel is increasing is probably that the Scandinavians are getting better at building ships at this time. The ships make it easier to travel farther and trade or steal riches. Sometimes, Vikings take work as warriors for payment. They fight for the then great empires: the Frankish Empire or the Byzantine Empire. It's called being a mercenary.

Many Scandinavians move to other countries. They emigrate and become farmers there instead. The Vikings travel to what is today the Baltics, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, the British Isles, Italy, the north coast of Africa, Iceland, Greenland, all the way to North America and many more countries. Archaeologists find traces of these travels, including Persian and Arabic coins, but also many other objects made far away from Scandinavia. Archaeologists in the 19th century decide that there should be a period called the Viking Age.

The 19th century is a troubled time with several wars. Many countries want to highlight their own history. In Scandinavia, people dream back to the Viking Age. They invent that Norway, Denmark and Sweden have a common history where strong, blonde, and cruel Vikings with terrifying horned helmets conquer the world. Did the Vikings really have horned helmets?

No, archaeologists do not find any horned viking helmets. DNA also shows that many Scandinavians in the Viking Age are mixed with people from other parts of Europe, and that they often have brown hair rather than blonde. Today, archaeologists know that most people in the Viking Age were farmers. Of those who travel, many are traders, not just looters. We also know that the Viking Age was a time of unrest, with Scandinavians often fighting against, and plundering, each other.

We better hide the silver…