Author Archives: Shane Graham
Why Vikings Put Other People’s Bones Into New Graves
A Viking-Age grave did not always contain only the person for whom it was apparently built. Across Scandinavia and Scandinavian communities in Britain, Ireland and Iceland, archaeologists have repeatedly found extra fragments of human bone mixed into later burials. Some … Continue reading
Posted in Mythology & Culture
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Why Pukkila’s AD 700 Boat Burial Makes “Finn,” “Sámi,” And “Scandinavian” Too Simple
Around AD 700, someone in Pukkila, Isokyrö, in western Finland received an extraordinary funeral. The deceased was cremated and placed in a boat with weapons, ritual objects and prestigious artefacts whose closest parallels reach across Scandinavia, eastern Europe and northern … Continue reading
Posted in Literature & Texts
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Why Norway’s Possible 5,000-Year-Old Anchor Changes The Deep History Of North Sea Seafaring
A grooved stone weighing more than 27 kilograms may push the history of deliberate anchoring on Norway’s exposed Atlantic coast back more than 5,000 years. Archaeologists discovered the stone underwater beside Hespriholmen, a small island off Bømlo in western Norway … Continue reading
Posted in Norse History & Archaeology
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Why Lios Mòr’s Rediscovered Monastery Changes The Pre-Viking Map Of Western Scotland
A newly published archaeological study has transformed Lismore in western Scotland from a monastery known mainly through medieval texts and local tradition into one of the strongest archaeological candidates for a major early Christian centre in the kingdom of Dál … Continue reading
Posted in Literature & Texts, Mythology & Culture, Norse History & Archaeology
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Why Oslo’s Rediscovered Franciscan Choir Changes The Map Of Medieval Oslo
A nearly complete church choir hidden beneath Oslo Hospital has given archaeologists a sharper map of one of medieval Oslo’s least visible religious complexes. Ground-penetrating radar surveys carried out in 2018 and 2023 traced the choir of the former Franciscan … Continue reading
Posted in Norse History & Archaeology
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Why A 1,300-Year-Old Textile Grave In West Jutland Could Change Viking Clothing History
A grave excavated at Skonager near Varde is giving Danish archaeologists something the Viking Age rarely preserves: clothing still attached to the ornaments that once held it in place. The burial, uncovered in 2024 by Arkæologi Vestjylland, contained a pair … Continue reading
Posted in Literature & Texts, Mythology & Culture, Norse History & Archaeology
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Why Bergen’s Vågen Seabed Turns Harbor Waste Into A Viking-To-Medieval Archive
Bergen’s Vågen seabed turns harbor waste into a Viking-to-medieval archive because the same mud that holds pollution also preserves centuries of discarded life. On June 15, 2026, NIKU, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, reported that the cleanup of … Continue reading
Posted in Literature & Texts, Mythology & Culture, Norse History & Archaeology
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Why Á Sondum’s Rare Faroe Runestone Needs Careful Reading Before Big Claims
Á Sondum’s rare Faroe runestone needs careful reading before big claims because the first visible runes have appeared before specialists have finished the work that gives an inscription historical meaning. On July 22, 2026, Tjóðsavnið, the National Museum of the … Continue reading
Posted in Literature & Texts, Mythology & Culture, Norse History & Archaeology
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Why Sweden’s Fragile Runestones Need Conservation Before New Interpretation
Sweden’s fragile runestones need conservation before new interpretation because every reading depends on a surface that weather, lichen, cleaning, repainting, visitor pressure, and older repairs can change. The Swedish National Heritage Board, Riksantikvarieämbetet, warned in its November 6, 2025 article … Continue reading
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Why Anundshög Makes Viking-Age Power Visible In Mounds And Ship Settings
Anundshög makes Viking-Age power visible because its landscape turns authority into scale, alignment, road control, burial memory, and stone-built display. Sweden’s National Heritage Board lists Archaeology Day at Anundshög for Sunday, August 30, 2026, from 10:00 to 16:00, at Anundshög … Continue reading
Posted in Mythology & Culture, Norse History & Archaeology
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