1,100-year-old ‘ceremonial’ Viking shields were actually used in battle, study suggests

Dozens of Viking round shields from a famous ship burial unearthed in Norway were not strictly ceremonial as long thought; instead they may have protected warriors in battle, a new study finds.

1000 YEAR OLD SHIELD FOUND IN DENMARK.   CARRUTHERS ANCESTORS WERE MAINLY DANISH VIKINGS.

A reanalysis of the wooden shields, which were unearthed in the Gokstad ship in southern Norway in 1880, suggests they may have once been covered with rawhide (untanned cattle skin) and used in hand-to-hand combat, according to a new study published on March 24 in the journal Arms and Armour.

“The [Gokstad] shields are generally in accordance with our understanding of shields that have been used in combat,” study author Rolf Warming , a doctoral student of archaeology at Stockholm University, told Live Science in an email. “The craftsmanship is in the tradition of the Germanic flat round shield tradition, which is a widespread weaponry technology in Scandinavia between the early 3rd to late 13th centuries.”

A total of 64 shields — possibly one for each of the crew on board, Warming said — were tied along the top edge of the hull of the ship, just above its oar-holes.

The vessel was once used at sea, probably for warfare, trade and transportation. But about 900, it was dragged onto land and used for the burial of a Viking king .

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