How many Vikings did you dig up in the last year?
Well, archaeologists working with Denmarks Museum Odense found more than 50 viking graves in just six months.
Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good goingand the Vikings had goodies, too.
A recently excavated Viking burial.Photo: Skelet fra udgravning i Åsum
Vikings were seafarers, traders, and raiders that settled northwestern Europe in the 8th through 11th centuries.
The graves were found during excavations done in advance of plans to update the local electric grid.
The burials contained artifacts that originate well beyond Denmark, affirming that Vikings were well-traveled and traders.
Thats not all, though.
Beyond the material goods, theres a real possibility of genomic revelations to come.
It is truly unusual to find so many well-preserved skeletons at once, Lund added.
The Asum population could add more data to use in future comparative genetic analyses.
The 50-odd graves date to when Gorm the Old and Queen Thyra ruled Northern Denmark.
Bluetooth reportedly had a bluish-gray dead tooth, hence his name.
The more you know!
More analysis to come will hopefully yield information about the genetic background of the Asum population.
And we obviously still need to know whats in that old wooden chest!
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