The Best of Viking Archaeology - Myths, Legends, and Navigation 🧭

This episode reprises some of our content around the archaeology of the Vikings - fearsome sailors from Scandinavia.

The first story explores the mystery of Viking-era stone disks unearthed in Ukraine. These artifacts, made from a soft, shiny mineral called pyrophilite, are now believed to be primitive solar compasses used for navigation. Researchers uncovered this possibility by comparing the disks to similar objects found in Poland and Greenland, raising intriguing questions about Viking seafaring innovation and the need for further experimental archaeology to confirm these hypotheses.

The second story examines how dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, lends credibility to the real-world origins of the Norse myth of Ragnarok. By studying tree-ring samples from Denmark, scientists have linked a series of catastrophic volcanic eruptions in the 6th century—triggering years of famine, summer snow, and widespread disaster—to the apocalyptic scenarios described in Norse mythology. This compelling intersection of science and legend paints a vivid picture of how natural disasters may have shaped cultural narratives that endure to this day.

Links & Resources
• The impact of the volcanic double event in AD 536 and AD 539/540 on tree-ring growth and felling activity in Danish oak trees: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X24003171
• A Middle Palaeolithic incised bear bone from the Dziadowa Skała Cave, Poland: the oldest marked object north of the Carpathian Mountains: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440324000372

Chapters
0:00: Mystery Viking objects: ancient navigational instrument?
3:25: Dendrochronology reveals the truth behind the Norse myth of Ragnarok

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#archaelogy #archeology #vikings #ragnarok