The Viking Rune Blog

Beheaded Vikings in Weymouth Execution Pit

March 23, 2010 Viking Burials

In June 2009 a thousand-year-old execution pit was discovered at Ridgeway Hill, on a hilltop by the ancient main road from Dorchester to Weymouth. The pit contained the remains of 51 robust young warriors, most of whom were in their late teens to early 20s. Since no pins or toggles were found, it is suggested [...]

Mel Gibson to Direct a Viking Movie Starring Leonardo DiCaprio

December 16, 2009 Viking History

Last Monday Variety reported that Mel Gibson is going to direct a Viking movie with Leonardo DiCaprio set to star. The screenplay is by William Monahan. The project will be financed by Mel Gibson and Graham King. The Viking film is expected to begin shooting in fall 2010. Before it happens, Gibson will star in [...]

Odin from Lejre

November 16, 2009 Norse Mythology

Last Saturday, November 14, Roskilde Museum site published an article (in Danish), entitled “Odin fra Lejre” (“Odin from Lejre”). It tells about an exciting archaeological find, a small silver figurine discovered early in September at Lejre (municipality on the island of Zealand, Denmark). Amateur archaeologist Tommy Olesen was metal detecting near the site where archaeologists [...]

Viking Ship from Gokstad

October 20, 2009 Viking Burials

The Gokstad ship is a Viking ship excavated in 1880 not far from Sandefjord (Vestfold, Norway) by Nicolay Nicolaysen. The ship was buried in a trench. On board, it had a burial chamber of a wealthy chieftain. Above a large mound was raised. Along with the 24 meters long ship, its oars, pulleys, yards and [...]

Remains in the Oseberg Ship Burial

October 15, 2009 Viking Burials

The Oseberg ship was buried in a trench dug into blue clay that preserved the oak almost intact for more than a millennium. The trench was filled with rocks and layers of peat, grass-side down. The Viking ship was tied to a rock, with its bow pointing towards the sea. It had an anchor, but [...]

Viking Ship from Oseberg

October 8, 2009 Viking Burials

The Oseberg ship is perhaps the most exciting Viking ship ever found. August 8, 1903 Norwegian farmer named Knut Rom visited Professor Gabriel Gustafson of the University Museum of Antiquities in Oslo. There was a large mound within Rom’s farm Lille Oseberg located in Vestfold county, on the western coast of the Oslofjord, near Tønsberg. [...]

Odin as Weapon Dancer

October 4, 2009 Norse Mythology

To the left is the mirrored image of one of the four cast-bronze dies from Torslunda, which were used for striking helmet-plates. It is mirrored advisedly, in order to get the actual image that appeared on the helmets when the matrice was applied to them. This die (dated to c. 600) was found at Björnhovda [...]

Viking Words in English

October 1, 2009 Old Norse

How many loanwords from Old Nose are there in the standard English language? Viking origin of the words ‘ransack’ and ‘slaughter’ probably would not surprise anyone, but very “peaceful” words like ‘leg’, ‘sky’ or ‘window’ are also of Scandinavian provenance. The verb ‘get’, one of the most used in English, was actually borrowed from Old [...]

The 13th Warrior: Ten Years Later

September 28, 2009 Vikings

The 13th Warrior was released in 1999. Rumored to be a loss of $100 million at the box office worldwide, it is not the best film by McTiernan (Die Hard, The Thomas Crown Affair) in any sense. However, it was rather entertaining to watch it again, taking a few notes in the process. From the [...]

Marriage Imperative of the Viking Age

September 22, 2009 Viking History

In September 2008 Dr James H. Barrett, who is deputy director of Cambridge University’s McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, published a paper that provoked lively discussion. The paper was entitled “What caused the Viking Age?”. It was published in Antiquity v.82 n.317, pages 671-685 (available for subscribers here). The Viking Age began dramatically in 793, [...]

Viking Food – Scandinavian Cuisine

September 22, 2009 Scandinavia

Climate, lifestyle and isolation: these three factors largely shaped Viking food. Lengthy, dark and cold winter has always been and still is one of the basic facts of life in the Nordic countries that have to be dealt with seriously. Surviving through the winter depended on food supplies stored during the short growing season. Lack [...]

Oseberg Buddha

August 21, 2009 Viking Hoards

Oseberg ship was found in a large burial mound in 1904 near Oseberg farm, Vestfold county, Norway. It is believed to be one of the best preserved and most exciting Viking ship finds, even though the burial (dating to 834 AD) was looted as early as in the Middle Ages. The ship’s prow and the [...]

Thor’s Hammer – A Norse Viking Symbol

August 21, 2009 Norse Mythology

Mjöllnir or Thor’s hammer is the weapon of the Viking god of thunder. Initially, Thor’s hammer was thought of as made of stone, but in the Eddaic tradition it is an iron weapon forged by Svartálfar (black elves, correlated with the dvergar, dwarves) named Sindri and Brokkr. In the Norse myths Thor’s hammer is often [...]

More on Max Payne Tattoos

August 12, 2009 Norse Mythology

For quite a long time I have been wondering what kind of a book the tattoo artist (Stephen R. Hart) shows to Max (Mark Wahlberg) and Mona (Mila Kunis) in Max Payne movie. Now I have the answer: no such book ever existed. The page to the left is numbered 290, and the page to [...]

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