Brits Uncover Mass Grave of Headless Vikings

(NEWSER) - Vikings were just as interested in preening and handicrafts as they were in war and pillaging, the Telegraph reports. In a bid to educate youngsters who could well have Viking ancestry, British researchers are trying to change the popular view of the Norse explorers. "It seems that the Vikings may not have been as hairy and dirty as is commonly imagined," says a Cambridge University guide. More»

Rare, delicate pottery found at site

(NEWSER) - A huge cache of Bronze Age weapons were unearthed today in Essex, England, the BBC reports. Axe heads, spear tips, and other objects dating back some 3,000 years were found under a field, where they had been buried for safe-keeping by their original owners. "To find a hoard still located in its Bronze Age context, below the level of plowed soil, is very rare," says a local archaeologist. More»

8th-century structure was gateway to the Viking Empire

(NEWSER) - The Vikings are known for their raping and pillaging but they were pretty good wall-builders, too, say archaeologists. A Danish team has uncovered the long-sought gate to a 19-mile "Great Wall" the Vikings built in what is now northern Germany, Der Spiegel reports. Millions of rocks were used to build the surrounding wall, which archaeologists believe was constructed to protect a Viking overland trade route. More»

Experts ask if head was severed by sacrifice or ritual burial

(AP) - British archaeologists have unearthed an ancient skull carrying a startling surprise—an unusually well-preserved brain. Scientists said today that the mass of gray matter was more than 2,000 years old, making it the oldest ever discovered in Britain, the AP reports. One expert unconnected with the find called it "a real freak of preservation." More»

Extraordinarily well-preserved Revolutionary War sloop located in Lake Ontario

(NEWSER) - Two intrepid explorers using sonar and a remote-controlled submersible have discovered what may be the oldest shipwreck in the Great Lakes, the AP reports. HMS Ontario, a British warship carrying as many as 130, sank in a storm in Lake Ontario in 1780. Since 1781, when six sailors’ bodies washed ashore, there had been no sign of the 80-foot sloop before the find announced yesterday. More»