The First Vikings

The First Vikings
(archaeology.org)

Two remarkable ships may show that the Viking storm was brewing long before their assault on England and the continent

A couple Viking war boats were found that may be among the earliest yet, dating from a transition period known as the Vendel period before proper Viking raids began.

The Vikings’ explosion across Europe and Asia and into the Americas was the result of the right combination of tools, technology, adventurousness, and ferocity. They came to be known as an unstoppable force capable of raiding and trading on four continents, yet our understanding of what led up to that June day on Lindisfarne is surprisingly shaky. A recent discovery on a remote Baltic island is beginning to change that. Two ships filled with slain warriors uncovered on the Estonian island of Saaremaa may help archaeologists and historians understand how the Vikings’ warships evolved from short-range, rowed craft to sailing ships; where the first warriors came from; and how their battle tactics developed. “We all agree these burials are Scandinavian in origin,” says Marge Konsa, an archaeologist at the University of Tartu. “This is our first taste of the Viking era.”

Between them, the two boats contain the remains of dozens of men. Seven lay haphazardly in the smaller of the two boats, which was found first. Nearby, in the larger vessel, 33 men were buried in a neat pile, stacked like wood, together with their weapons and animals. The site seems to be a hastily arranged mass grave, the final resting place for Scandinavian warriors killed in an ill-fated raid on Saaremaa, or perhaps waylaid on a remote beach by rivals. The archaeologists believe the men died in a battle some time between 700 and 750, perhaps almost as much as a century before the Viking Age officially began. This was an era scholars call the Vendel period, a transitional time not previously known for far-reaching voyages—or even for sails. The two boats themselves bear witness to the tremendous technological transformations in the eighth-century Baltic.

Photo caption:
(Courtesy Marge Konsa, University of Tartu)

The first boat to be found (top), called Salme 1, was a light vessel that would have been rowed and not sailed. As with the larger sailing ship, Salme 2, the smaller boat contained skeletons (above), but in this case the men were buried haphazardly.

The find is not only a great look into a proto-Viking period but it presents a bit of a mystery over the nature of the hasty burial.

Very interesting article. Maybe the hasty burial was because they simply didn't have time to hang around the area where they were raiding? That is the whole point of raiding after all, get in and get out before the enemy can mass an army.

My ancestor's were supposedly Vikings that invaded Ireland and decided to stay.

www.doyle.com.au...

HARP SONG OF THE DANE WOMEN

Ah, what is a woman that you forsake her,
And the hearth-fire and the home-acre,
For to go with the old grey Widow-maker?

She has no house to lay a guest in—
But one chill bed for all to rest in,
That the pale suns and the stray bergs nest in.

She has no strong white arms to fold you,
But the ten-times-fingering weed to hold you
Bound on the rocks where the tide has rolled you.

Yet, when the signs of summer thicken,
And the ice breaks, and the birch-buds quicken,
Then yearly you turn from our side, and sicken—

Sicken again for the shouts and the slaughters,—
You steal away to the lapping waters,
And you look at your ship in her winter quarters.

You forget our mirth, and our talk at the tables,
The kine in the shed and the horse in the stables—
For to pitch her sides and go over her cables!

Then you drive out where the storm-clouds swallow:
And the sound of your oar-blades falling hollow
Is all we have left through the months to follow.

Ah, ah, what is a woman that you forsake her,
And the hearth-fire and the home-acre,
For to go with the old grey Widow-maker?

– Rudyard Kipling

reply to post by kdog1982


Mine invaded Normandy and later mixed with real Danes

reply to post by Hanslune


Hail King Rollo ....i am a Norman also.

Perhaps those in the larger ship were victors, those in the smaller ship the defeated? I presume it was normal to give honour(English spelling) to both sides in death?

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Great find

I love when finds like this throw what was previously thought by historians right out the window

Originally posted by Lady_Tuatha
reply to post by Blackmarketeer

 

Great find

I love when finds like this throw what was previously thought by historians right out the window

That's what science does it finds new information and what was previously not known is added to our history. The previous identification of the start of the Viking age still holds, it was the first recorded incident of the Northerners attacking. Obviously they had been doing so for many centuries prior to that nearer to home but until now there was no definite indication of such

Scholars have long debated why the Vikings expanded as rapidly and aggressively as they did—and why the Viking raids on western Europe didn’t happen earlier. The theories range from climate change, with a warm period in Europe around 800 creating overpopulation that forced young men to seek their fortune elsewhere, to a coincidence of greed, wanderlust, and the technology to make long-distance raids possible.

I hate to be pedantic, but "viking" was something they did, not a race

usually danes and my ancestors too

reply to post by expatwhite

A Norman was only a kind of Viking, really.

Damn, Hans has his reversing lights on in the car park again.

Originally posted by Astyanax
reply to post by expatwhite

 

A Norman was only a kind of Viking, really.

Damn, Hans has his reversing lights on in the car park again.

Muhahahhaha, no the use of the name Viking is a common term for all those pesky northern folk, Norse is probably a better descriptive term but not used as much amongst us mere commoners.

reply to post by kdog1982


Doyle mean's fisherman in Gaelic but yes Limerick was founded by Viking's and such clans as the Mc. Mac (they later emigrated to Scotland - which is were the claymore evolved from) etc are all Viking of Danish origin whom first settled in the area of England known as Lancashire and Yorkshire before as was the way the eldest son only inherited so they then invaded Eira and settled (they became native and adopted the gaelic language) but unlike the British Gaelic whom had been softened up by roman rule there Irish cousins were never conquered but were now civilised with some early university amongst other things, nevertheless the Viking assault and invasion was successful until the rebel clans led by King Bryan Beru were united and they defeated the Viking's, the majority of the civilians stayed and became Irish but the warrior's fled and as you know the story at the final battle a group of Vikings sneaked around and found Bryan in prayer were they murdered him with his lungs spread out like an eagles wing's, this incensed the Irish warriors whom then showed no quarter to the Danish army and drove them into the sea, You can only wonder what might have been had Beru lived to keep the clans united and forge a nation and perhaps even liberated Britain the entire history of the world would be different.

I am as you can guess also partially of Viking descent (also part Maori another great sea faring people-arguably the Polynesians are the greatest and the Maori are one of there offshoots and also I am part Jew - well Noah was swallowed by a wale wasn't he) as are most western European's, it was in part spurred on by the laws in the Nordic land's that ensured only the eldest son could inherit.

The best place for Nordic Treasure is definitely the Island of Gotland which despite the plunder having been plundered still reveals secrets from time to time though Sutton Hoo here in England is my favourite though it is actually Anglo Saxon not Danish or Swedish, en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

There is a good argument that many of the scot's of Irish descent that helped throw the Viking out of Scotland were in fact Vikings themselves and also they had been in Ireland, the Anglo Saxon's, Dane's, Swedes and Norwegians at the time shared common ancestry and cultural ties that included a shared language we call old Norse today but religion and time settled changed the settlers as did intermarriage with the people whom they had conquered.

I got back a little further back on the family tree, so I was getting close to the beginning of the Viking era, but here is one of my ancestors from my mother's side.

Ragnar Lodbrok of Denmark/Sweden. King Ivar Ragnarsson of Ireland. Died 873.

Ivar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless (inn beinlausi), was a Danish Viking chieftain (and by reputation also a berserker), who, in the autumn of 865 A.D., with his brothers Halfdan Ragnarsson (Halfdene) and Ubbe Ragnarsson (Hubba), led the Great Heathen Army in the invasion of the East Anglian region of England.

reply to post by LABTECH767


Thanks for that very interesting look into my ancestors that I never new about.

Thanks OP, nice find.

Gruesome death, unless of course they were already dead and were buried together in their boat.

Originally posted by Hanslune

Originally posted by Lady_Tuatha
reply to post by Blackmarketeer

 

Great find

I love when finds like this throw what was previously thought by historians right out the window

That's what science does it finds new information and what was previously not known is added to our history. The previous identification of the start of the Viking age still holds, it was the first recorded incident of the Northerners attacking. Obviously they had been doing so for many centuries prior to that nearer to home but until now there was no definite indication of such

Scholars have long debated why the Vikings expanded as rapidly and aggressively as they did—and why the Viking raids on western Europe didn’t happen earlier. The theories range from climate change, with a warm period in Europe around 800 creating overpopulation that forced young men to seek their fortune elsewhere, to a coincidence of greed, wanderlust, and the technology to make long-distance raids possible.

edit on 14/6/13 by Hanslune because: (no reason given)

Hey there Hans,
The statement about climate nails it, The climatic conditions that led to a cool moist southern and western Europe created a mild environment in Scandinavia. This did lead to a huge population explosion, I remember seeing some stats years ago that the population more than doubled in two hundred years.
Also the climatic conditions changed ocean currents and winds such that the Scandinavians could easily sail west, to Britain and Iceland and the new world. In fact when the climate swung back the other way in the 12th century it sealed the fate of the Greenland colonies and severely hampered trade with Iceland. Instead of an easy 10-15 day sail to Iceland it became nearly a month to get there and almost impossible to get back from. They would have sail far to the south to catch the winds back.
And in scandavian societies, the first son inherated the family property, and any other sons were left to fend for themselves, but without a holding of cattle or property, there was no chance of marriage for any other sons. But befrore the warm up few families had excess children that survived to adulthood, so the second son situation was not a problem. But after the population explosion of the 7th-8th centuries, two, three, or even four sons survived to adulthood, thus leaving three son to make their fortunes to get some cattle and a wife.
In pre warm-up period this lead to contests of martial prowess, where the victor could earn a cow or bull and there by establish himself.
During the mild period raiding replaced inter tribal competition to the obtainment wealth and status.
It eventually led to an entire economy based on raiding and slave taking.

reply to post by punkinworks10


Sounds about right!

reply to post by Hanslune


Right on, thanks Hans
your approval means a lot.
I actually wrote a paper for a class on the subject some 25 years ago, long before the change in climate was accepted. And when it came to settling the new world the whole idea was taken to extremes. People who had a beef with some one more powerful would sail to the west to get away, it is attested to in certain tails that have been confirmed by archeological work.
My rough example is a clan fued that starts in Norway, where the protagonist chases the antagonist to Iceland where the progaonist breaks the back of the antagonist, thusly kling him. Recently a burial in Iceland, revealed a Skelton of a warrior who's back was broken in the fashion described in the saga.
P

Originally posted by MichiganSwampBuck
I got back a little further back on the family tree, so I was getting close to the beginning of the Viking era, but here is one of my ancestors from my mother's side.

Ragnar Lodbrok of Denmark/Sweden. King Ivar Ragnarsson of Ireland. Died 873.

Ivar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless (inn beinlausi), was a Danish Viking chieftain (and by reputation also a berserker), who, in the autumn of 865 A.D., with his brothers Halfdan Ragnarsson (Halfdene) and Ubbe Ragnarsson (Hubba), led the Great Heathen Army in the invasion of the East Anglian region of England.

Wasnt Ivan killed by Uhtred?

(if you havent already, you MUST read the Bernard Cornwell books starring Uhtred of Bebbanburg. They are simply fantastic and all those people mentioned above are characters. Cant wait for the new one!)