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

Fifty “exceptionally well-preserved” Viking skeletons have been unearthed in Denmark by archaeologists from the Museum Odense, west of Copenhagen, together with 5 cremated graves.

“It is truly unusual to find so many well-preserved skeletons at once, like those discovered in Åsum,” museum curator Michael Borre Lundø stated in an announcement.

“This discovery offers extraordinary opportunities to perform a wide range of scientific analyses, which can reveal more about the general health, diet, and origins of those buried. The analyses might even reveal whether the buried vikings were related, which would be particularly significant, as this has never been examined in similar graves.”

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The skeletons had been discovered within the Danish village of Åsum not removed from Odense, Denmark, over the previous six months and had been buried with artifacts from exterior the nation, proving that they traveled internationally for commerce, based on the museum.

Fifty “exceptionally well-preserved” Viking skeletons have been unearthed in Denmark by archaeologists from the Museum Odense, west of Copenhagen, together with 5 cremated graves. (Reuters/Tom Little)

“The graves in Åsum are so well-preserved that it may be possible, for the first time, to conduct special aDNA analyses on most of the skeletons — meaning DNA analyses on ancient material,” Sarah Croix, affiliate professor and PhD from the Division of Archaeology and Heritage Research at Aarhus College, stated in an announcement.

“It will be incredibly exciting to learn where these people came from and whether the same families were buried here across multiple generations.”

Excessive water ranges and good soil situations saved the skeletons from decomposing, Lundø stated.

A conservator at Museum Odense shows a brooch present in a Viking-age burial web site. (Reuters/Tom Little)

“Normally when we excavate Viking graves, we’d be lucky if there were two teeth left in the grave besides the grave goods,” he defined, “but here we have the skeletons fully preserved. The skeletons are so amazing. They are so well preserved. There are five fingers, five toes. And that opens up a whole new set of possibilities for discoveries.”

A few of the skeletons had been buried with objects equivalent to knives, brooches, glass pearls and even a wagon.

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“The woman was buried in the wagon she likely traveled in,” Lundø stated.

“We must imagine that she was buried with her finest clothes and belongings. She was given a beautiful glass bead necklace, an iron key, a knife with a silver-threaded handle, and, most notably, a small shard of glass that may have served as an amulet. At the foot of the wagon, there was a finely decorated wooden chest, the contents of which we still do not know.”

A drone view reveals archaeologists engaged on excavations within the Viking-age burial web site discovered within the village of Aasum, Denmark, September 25, 2024. (Reuters/Tom Little)

One other grave subsequent to the lady’s contained a bronze three-lobed brooch, a purple glass, an iron knife, and a small piece of rock crystal, which Lundø famous isn’t pure to Denmark. He stated it was doubtless imported from Norway.

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“Several items from the many graves in Åsum indicate that the buried Vikings were connected to international trade networks that developed during the Viking Age,” he stated.