Viking news, features and articles

Viking ships moored on a beach.
(Image credit: Azim Khan Ronnie/500px via Getty Images)

The Vikings are best known for raiding Europe in their longships, but there is so much more to these mysterious seafarers.

With each new discovery of a Viking burial or hoard of buried treasure, archeologists are slowly piecing together the Viking Age. From how their warriors sailed the seas with their pets to why they might not have been as blond as we think, Live Science's expert writers and editors reveal the latest news, features and articles about Vikings.  

Discover more about Vikings

—Who were the Vikings, the warriors who raided Europe and explored the New World?

—Lindisfarne: The 'Holy Island' where Vikings spilled the 'blood of saints'

—Fierce fighters: 7 secrets of Viking seamen

Latest about Vikings

an illustration of a woman lying down in a grave with weapons behind her

'If it was a man, we would say that's a warrior's grave': Weapon-filled burials are shaking up what we know about women's role in Viking society

By Laura Geggel published

New research is finding that some women in Viking Age Scandinavia were buried with war-grade weapons. Experts are divided about what that means.

Vikings
A painting of a Viking man on a boat wearing a horned helmet

7 myths about the Vikings that are (almost) totally false

By Tom Metcalfe published

All that you've heard about the Vikings may not be true.

Vikings

Hårby Valkyrie: A 1,200-year-old gold Viking Age woman sporting a sword, shield and ponytail

By Kristina Killgrove published

This tiny figurine may represent a mythical warrior maiden who assisted Odin, the Norse god of war.

Vikings
a painting of vikings at sea

Viking quiz: How much do you know about these seaborne raiders, traders and explorers?

By Kristina Killgrove published

See if your Viking Age trivia knowledge is in ship-shape condition with our quiz.

Vikings
A collage of 3 photos including a coin, brooch and group of beads found at the viking burial site.

'Vulva stone' and coin jewelry among remarkable treasures discovered at Viking burial site in Norway

By Stephanie Pappas published

An excavation of three Viking graves in Norway reveals beads, coin jewelry and a stone carved to look like female genitalia.

Vikings
An illustration of Viking ships attacking a city

Were the Vikings really that violent?

By Margaret Osborne published

The Vikings' reputation for bloodlust compared to other medieval fighters may have been exaggerated over the years.

Vikings
Two archaeologists excavate a burial site

1,200-year-old Viking cemetery with 'stone ship' burials discovered in Sweden

By Kristina Killgrove published

Archaeologists in Sweden were expecting to find an ancient settlement, but they were surprised to discover a Viking Age cemetery with boat-shaped burial outlines.

Vikings
An illustration of Vikings on a boat

Why didn't the Vikings colonize North America?

By Owen Jarus published

The Vikings landed in what is now Newfoundland, Canada around the year A.D. 1000. So why didn't they colonize the region like other Europeans did centuries later?

Vikings
A fairly complete skeleton in a dirt grave

50 Viking Age burials discovered in Denmark, including a woman in a rare 'Viking wagon'

By Tom Metcalfe published

Finding a Viking Age burial ground of this size is rare, in part because Scandinavian soil doesn't preserve skeletons well.

Vikings
A skull with a crack in the forehead

Vikings in Norway were much more likely to die violent deaths than those in Denmark

By Owen Jarus published

Viking Age skeletons in Norway were much more likely to bear signs of lethal violence than those in Denmark, possibly because society in Norway was less stratified and centralized.

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