Wonder Woman lived: Viking

warrior skeleton identified

as female
For 128 years, researchers assumed she was
a he

A 1889 drawing of the Viking warrior grave discovered in Birka, Sweden. For
more than 120 years, it was assumed to be the skeleton of a man.
(Hjalmar Stolpe)
Adapted from a story by The Washington Posts Amy Ellis Nutt.

In 1889 in Birka, Sweden, artifacts entombed with 1,000-year-old

bones were unearthed.

These included two shields, a sword, an ax, a spear, armor-

piercing arrows and a battle knifenot to mention the remnants
of two horses.

Such weapons of war among grave goods,

archaeologists long assumed, meant the Viking
had been male.

Finally, 128 years later, its been discovered that the warrior was,
in fact, female.

And not just any female, but a Viking warrior

woman, a shieldmaiden, like the ancient Brienne
of Tarth from Game of Thrones.

Modern DNA testing

Modern-day genetics testing on the DNA extracted from a tooth
and an arm bone has confirmed the remains belong to a woman.
The skeleton, known as Bj 581, belonged to someone with two X
chromosomes.

We were blinded by the warrior equipment, one

of the researchers, Anders Gotherstrom, said in an
email to The Washington Post this week. The
grave-goods shout warrior at you, and
nothing else.

Viking women as warriors

Gotherstrom, along with nine other scientists from Stockholm and
Uppsala universities, announced their results in a paper in the
American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Theirs is the first
genetic proof that at least some Viking women were warriors.

About the remains

A shieldmaiden
At least 30 years of age
Also appeared to be of high status. (Her grave chamber is on a
prominent, elevated piece of ground between the town and a
hilltop fort.)
Grave also contained a full set of gaming pieces and a gaming
board, typically used by military leaders to work out battle
tactics and strategy

Although some weapons have been found in other female Viking

graves, none included only weaponsor so many of them.

Making the wrong assumptions

But some experts warn against making additional assumptions
beyond gender.

The artifacts could have been heirlooms from a male relative,

they say, or were symbolic.
 Perhaps the grave once held a second individual who was male.
One of the major arguments against assuming the grave
belonged to a woman is that she could be someone who lived
like a man, Jarman said. Someone buried her, but what she
was buried with might not have been of her choosing. Thats
who she was in death, but it doesnt mean thats who she was in
life.

The researchers who tested and analyzed the DNA agree.

Our results caution against sweeping

interpretations based on archaeological contexts
and preconceptions, they write in their paper,
but the findings are highly suggestive that
women, indeed, were able to be full members of
male-dominated spheres.

More than 3,000 Viking graves have been discovered encircling

Birka, in western Sweden, but only about 1,100 have been
excavated. The location is one of the largest Viking burial grounds
ever discovered, yet only three graves with artifacts suggesting
warrior ideals have been associated with the female gender, the
authors said.

Women in Viking culture

Vikings who werent engaged in battle usually were cremated,
Gotherstrom said, and with burials of women there would not
have been much, or any, of the weaponry, but a stronger tendency
for jewelry, broaches and everyday utensils.
Until recently, female Viking warriors were largely the stuff of
literature or mythology. Camilla, in Virgils Aeneid, was raised to
be a huntress and was an expert in the javelin and bow. But she
was also suckled by a mare, according to Virgil, and could run over
the ocean without getting her feet wet.

Norse legends feature such female warriors as

Hervor and Brynhildr. And neither meek nor
mild, Viking women were depicted in medieval art
and literature as political leaders and priests.

The fascination with female warriors is long and varied, from the
Amazons to Joan of Arc to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the 20th
and 21st centuries, this obsession has brought us Wonder Woman,
Xena and Katniss Everdeen.

But for archaeologists, the confirmation of a real Viking woman

warrior leaves them fumbling for words. As Gotherstrom finally
described it:

Simply super cool.

https://thelily.com/wonder-woman-lived-viking-warrior-skeleton-identified-as-female-ba60d99db766