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Viking warriors sailed the seas with their pets, bone analysis finds
Live Science ^ | February 1, 2023 | Kristina Killgrove

Posted on 02/10/2023 10:30:26 AM PST by SunkenCiv

When the Vikings sailed west to England more than a millennium ago, they brought their animal companions with them and even cremated their bodies alongside human ones in a blazing pyre before burying them together, a new study finds.

These animal and human remains were found in a unique cremation cemetery in central England that has long been assumed to hold the remains of Vikings — in particular, the warriors who sailed west to raid the countryside in the ninth century A.D. However, the new analysis revealed that several of the burial mounds didn’t contain just the remains of humans but also those of domesticated animals that the warriors brought with them on their journey.

Although chemical analysis of burned bone is a relatively new technique, the Heath Wood remains produced an interesting set of results. According to the team’s study of the strontium isotopes — chemical variations that can indicate where a person or animal lived — the researchers found that all three animals and one of the adults were not born or raised in England. Rather, their strontium values were much closer to those found in the Baltic shield region of Scandinavia, a geological area that maps roughly to modern Norway and Sweden. This suggests that, shortly before their deaths, Viking warriors sailed west, bringing their animals with them.

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; ancientnavigation; godsgravesglyphs; greatheathenarmy; heathwood; middleages; strontium; thevikings; vikings
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Cremated animal and human bone from the Heath Wood Viking cemetery.
Image credit: Julian Richards, University of York
Image credit: Julian Richards, University of York

1 posted on 02/10/2023 10:30:26 AM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: Red Badger; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Obviously not Vikings, none of the animals were kitties.

2 posted on 02/10/2023 10:31:19 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Viking kitties? FReepers knew this already!


3 posted on 02/10/2023 10:33:41 AM PST by HombreSecreto (The life of a repo man is always intense)
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To: SunkenCiv

4 posted on 02/10/2023 10:33:59 AM PST by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: SunkenCiv
I really doubt the pig was a pet.

More likely it was the guest of honor at the funeral feast.

5 posted on 02/10/2023 10:36:42 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

His was an invite he couldn’t refuse...


6 posted on 02/10/2023 10:37:42 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: gundog

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/43/7a/f4/437af44dede270e3dc770ec767826bf1.jpg


7 posted on 02/10/2023 10:38:29 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv
They gave him a herb and salt massage first to relax him.
8 posted on 02/10/2023 10:39:11 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: SunkenCiv

Food........................


9 posted on 02/10/2023 10:39:21 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: SunkenCiv

10 posted on 02/10/2023 10:39:52 AM PST by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: HombreSecreto

Not really a match, just a rivulet in the stream of consciousness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bx7QFFlV9M


11 posted on 02/10/2023 10:40:52 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
I really doubt the pig was a pet.

More likely it was the guest of honor at the funeral feast.


Hard to believe they would not have just thrown the remains of the pig's carcass to those pet dogs in that case. I have to think that pig meant something to one of the people who were cremated.
12 posted on 02/10/2023 10:41:13 AM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: SunkenCiv
Common among warrior races.


13 posted on 02/10/2023 10:42:01 AM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (You can never have enough clamps. Thanks Ben.)
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To: gundog

14 posted on 02/10/2023 10:42:19 AM PST by TexasGator (!!!)
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To: gundog

Came from the land of ice and snow 🌨️?


15 posted on 02/10/2023 10:43:11 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
Lunch!

Actually the American Guinea sows can be rather sweet. But they are also very tasty.

16 posted on 02/10/2023 10:43:14 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: TexasGator

17 posted on 02/10/2023 10:44:28 AM PST by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: SaveFerris
Viking Kittens


18 posted on 02/10/2023 10:46:15 AM PST by COBOL2Java (Gun laws empower criminals. Guns empower the people.)
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To: COBOL2Java

They iz on the loose!


19 posted on 02/10/2023 10:48:03 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

20 posted on 02/10/2023 10:49:56 AM PST by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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