Norse

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Finland Makes New Move to Defend Itself From Russia

Nation votes to exit treaty on land mines, which critics say may put lives at risk

(Newser) - Finland's Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines, or APLs, as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland, which joined NATO in 2023, shares an 830-mile land border with Russia...

Hairy Skin Covering Medieval Texts Traveled Quite a Ways

Seal fur harvested by Norse might have appeared 'quite magical' to Europe's monks

(Newser) - A set of medieval manuscripts detailing real and imagined creatures was bound in the skin of a slippery animal that hailed far from the books' creators, according to new research that reveals an extensive medieval trade network. Bestiaries, a type of animal encyclopedia, were popular in medieval Europe and often...

He Was Thrown in a Well 800 Years Ago. Now He's Out

Medieval text logged his fate, and scientists think they've identified his remains in Norway

(Newser) - An ancient Norse text retelling the raid on a castle makes a passing reference to someone who didn't live to tell the tale: "They cast a dead man into a well, and then filled it up with stones," reads the 800-year-old Sveriss Saga. Now, scientists say they...

Metal Detectorist Makes 'Gold Find of the Century'
Guy With Metal Detector
Makes 'Find of the
Century'
in case you missed it
Sep 10, 2023 10:40 AM CDT

Guy With Metal Detector Makes 'Find of the Century'

Erlend Bore of Norway uncovers 1,500-year-old necklace with symbol from Norse mythology

(Newser) - When doctors told Erlend Bore to get off the couch, he went out and bought his first ever metal detector. The Norwegian had always dreamed of being an archaeologist and figured if he didn't find anything, at least he'd get some exercise. He did get out walking, but...

Airline Accidentally Lets Passengers Skip Immigration

Norse Airlines tells customers to come back to JFK the next day

(Newser) - A week into its Paris-New York service, Norse Atlantic Airways suffered what it calls a "disembarkation issue"—in which arriving passengers were able to step off their plane, walk through JFK, grab their luggage, and leave without going through customs. The April 5 flight evidently was treated as...

Disc Reading 'He Is Odin's Man' Alters Timeline for Norse God

Find dates to 5th century, experts say

(Newser) - A gold disc unearthed in Denmark has changed experts' understanding of Norse mythology. The bracteate, which was found in the village of Vindelev last year, bears the inscription, "He is Odin's man," providing the earliest reference yet to one of the primary gods in the pre-Christian pagan...

Evidence of 'New' Whale Behavior Found in Ancient Myth

Dismissed as inaccurate, old texts hold evidence modern scientists have missed: study

(Newser) - In 2011, researchers described what they thought was a new phenomenon. They'd observed humpback and Bryde's whales opening their jaws, then waiting for prey fish to swim into their waiting mouths, in what's been dubbed trap fishing, per Smithsonian . The practice has been observed at least a...

The CPAC Stage Itself Caused Quite a Commotion

Observers say stage and lighting display above it were in shape of symbol adopted by Nazis

(Newser) - CPAC found its way into plenty of headlines over the past few days, but the conservative conference held at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., is now raising eyebrows for something that usually escapes notice: the shape of the stage. The Washington Post reports that over the weekend, observers started...

Vikings' Collapse Had a Lot to Do With Walruses
Vikings' Collapse Had a
Lot to Do With Walruses
in case you missed it
Jan 11, 2020 2:30 PM CST

Vikings' Collapse Had a Lot to Do With Walruses

Decline in walrus ivory left Vikings with little to trade: researchers

(Newser) - The Vikings' disappearance from Greenland in the 15th century came not in an epic battle but with a decline in the walrus ivory trade, according to researchers, who may have cracked "one of history's big mysteries," per Newsweek . Walrus ivory was a hot commodity in medieval Europe....

Huge Discovery About Vikings Just Came From Space

They may have made it further into America than we ever knew

(Newser) - A "high-tech Indiana Jones" may have just done what no one else has been able to for 55 years: find a second Viking settlement in North America, the Washington Post reports. "Typically in archaeology, you only ever get to write a footnote in the history books, but what...

Iceland Erecting First Norse Temple in 1K Years

Membership in neo-pagan tribe has recently tripled

(Newser) - Norse paganism fell by the wayside in Iceland when Christianity swept through some 1,000 years ago. Now a modern movement—which views gods as metaphors with lessons to impart, reports the Guardian —is erecting the first temple to Norse gods since the age of the Vikings. "I...

Vikings Recast as Cultured Fashionistas

(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...

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