Face of 1,000-year-old Viking warrior woman with gruesome battle wound across her skull revealed
THE FACE of a 1,000-year-old Viking warrior women has been reconstructed by scientists.
The amazing reconstruction is complete with a gruesome battle wound on her skull and layered skin.
British scientists brought the Viking woman to life using facial reconstruction technology.
They based their work on a skeleton found in a Viking graveyard in Solør, Norway, which is now preserved in Oslo's Museum of Cultural History.
The female warrior was buried surrounded by deadly weapons but was not initially considered to be a warrior because of her gender.
She was buried with a hoard of weapons including arrows, a sword, a spear and an axe but the dent in her head was a bigger clue about her past.
The dent in her skull was consistent with a sword wound and she was placed in her grave with her head resting on a shield.
Experts are unsure whether the head injury is what caused the Viking woman's death.
However, archaelogist Ella Al-Shamahi told that this is "the first evidence ever found of a Viking woman with a battle injury".
She added: "I’m so excited because this is a face that hasn’t been seen in 1,000 years… She’s suddenly become really real."
Scientists built such a realistic face by anatomically working upwards from the muscles to the layering of skin on top of a cast of the skull.
Reconstructive technology is never 100% accurate but the researchers think people who knew the Viking woman well would have been able to recognise her reconstruction.
They used similar tech to recreate the woman's grave, including the placement of all the weapons she was buried with.
Archaeologist Al-Shamahi will be presenting a National Geographic documentary about the reconstruction and female Viking warriors that will be released next month.
Viking Warrior Women will air on the channel on Tuesday December 3 at 8pm.
A brief history of the Vikings
Here's what you need to know...
- The Viking Age is a period in European history and dates from around 800 to 1050AD
- Some groups of Vikings did live on for a bit longer after this period in different countries across the globe
- They originated in Scandinavia and travelled all over the world on their famous Viking ships
- They are well known for colonising and brutally raiding new areas
- Vikings created a trade network that spanned the globe and evidence of similar house styles, jewellery, tools and lots of other everyday equiptment can be found in many different countries
- The Viking Age in Britain ended when the Norwegian king Haraldr harðráði was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066
- Vikings are usually depicted as having horns on their helmets but there is only one well preserved helmet from the Viking Age and this does not have horns
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And, a treasure hunter has found an ancient coin ‘with an engraving of Donkey from Shrek’ in Buckinghamshire.
What do you think of the Viking reconstruction? Let us know in the comments...
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