Dozens of ‘exceptionally well-preserved’ Viking skeletons unearthed in Denmark: ‘Truly Unusual’

Fifty "exceptionally well-preserved" Viking skeletons person been unearthed successful Denmark by archaeologists from the Museum Odense, westbound of Copenhagen, on with 5 cremated graves. 

"It is genuinely antithetic to find truthful galore well-preserved skeletons astatine once, similar those discovered successful Åsum," depository curator Michael Borre Lundø said successful a statement. "This find offers bonzer opportunities to execute a wide scope of technological analyses, which tin uncover much astir the wide health, diet, and origins of those buried. The analyses mightiness adjacent uncover whether the buried vikings were related, which would beryllium peculiarly significant, arsenic this has ne'er been examined successful akin graves."

The skeletons were recovered successful the Danish colony of Åsum not acold from Odense, Denmark, implicit the past six months and were buried with artifacts from extracurricular the country, proving that they traveled internationally for trade, according to the museum. 

Fifty "exceptionally well-preserved" Viking skeletons person been unearthed successful Denmark by archaeologists from the Museum Odense, westbound of Copenhagen, on with 5 cremated graves.  (Reuters/Tom Little)

"The graves successful Åsum are truthful well-preserved that it whitethorn beryllium possible, for the archetypal time, to behaviour peculiar aDNA analyses connected astir of the skeletons—meaning DNA analyses connected past material," Sarah Croix, subordinate prof and PhD from the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies astatine Aarhus University, said successful a statement. "It volition beryllium incredibly breathtaking to larn wherever these radical came from and whether the aforesaid families were buried present crossed aggregate generations."

High h2o levels and bully ungraded conditions kept the skeletons from decomposing, Lundø said. 

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A conservator astatine Museum Odense displays a brooch recovered successful a Viking-age burial site. (Reuters/Tom Little)

"Normally erstwhile we excavate Viking graves, we'd beryllium fortunate if determination were 2 teeth near successful the sedate too the sedate goods," helium explained, "but present we person the skeletons afloat preserved. The skeletons are truthful amazing. They are truthful good preserved. There are 5 fingers, 5 toes. And that opens up a full caller acceptable of possibilities for discoveries." 

Some of the skeletons were buried with items specified arsenic knives, brooches, solid pearls and adjacent a wagon. 

"The pistillate was buried successful the wagon she apt traveled in," Lundø said. "We indispensable ideate that she was buried with her finest apparel and belongings. She was fixed a beauteous solid bead necklace, an robust key, a weapon with a silver-threaded handle, and, astir notably, a tiny shard of solid that whitethorn person served arsenic an amulet. At the ft of the wagon, determination was a finely decorated woody chest, the contents of which we inactive bash not know."

A drone presumption shows archaeologists moving connected excavations successful the Viking-age burial tract recovered successful the colony of Aasum, Denmark, September 25, 2024.  (Reuters/Tom Little)

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Another sedate adjacent to the woman’s contained a bronze three-lobed brooch, a reddish glass, an robust knife, and a tiny portion of stone crystal, which  Lundø noted isn’t earthy to Denmark. He said it was apt imported from Norway. 

"Several items from the galore graves successful Åsum bespeak that the buried Vikings were connected to planetary commercialized networks that developed during the Viking Age," helium said. 

An archaeologist excavates skeletons successful a pit astatine the Viking-age burial tract successful the colony of Aasum, Denmark. (Reuters/Tom Little)

The excavation took spot successful mentation for renovating an electrical grid. 

While those graves were for precocious presumption individuals, the bulk of skeletons belonged to a assemblage of farmers, the depository said. 

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The burial crushed covers astir 2,000 quadrate meters eastbound of Odense and is believed to beryllium from the 9th and 10th centuries. 

Reuters contributed to this report.