50 well-preserved Viking Age skeletons unearthed in Denmark

AASUM, Denmark (AP) —

In a village in central Denmark, archeologists made a landmark discovery that could hold important clues to the Viking era: a burial ground, containing some 50 “exceptionally well-preserved” skeletons.

“This is such an exciting find because we found these skeletons that are so very, very well preserved,” said archeologist Michael Borre Lundø, who led the six-month dig. “Normally, we would be lucky to find a few teeth in the graves, but here we have entire skeletons.”

The skeletons were preserved thanks to favorable soil chemistry, particularly chalk and high water levels, experts from Museum Odense said. The site was discovered last year during a routine survey, ahead of power line renovation work on the outskirts of the village of Aasum, 5 kilometers (3 miles), northeast of Odense, Denmark’s third-largest city.

Experts hope to conduct DNA analyses and possibly reconstruct detailed life histories, as well as looking into social patterns in Viking Age, such as kinship, migration patterns and more.

“This opens a whole new toolbox for scientific discovery,” said Borre Lundø as he stood on the muddy, wind-swept excavation site. “Hopefully we can make a DNA analysis on all the skeletons and see if they are related to each other and even where they come from.”

During the Viking Age, considered to run from 793 to 1066 A.D., Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raids, colonizing, conquering and trading throughout Europe, even reaching North America.

The Vikings unearthed at Aasum likely weren’t warriors. Borre Lundø believes the site was probably a “standard settlement,” perhaps a farming community, located 5 kilometers from a ring fortress in what’s now central Odense.

The 2,000-square meter (21,500-square foot) burial ground holds the remains of men, women and children. Besides the skeletons, there are a few cremated bodies.

In one grave, a woman is buried in a wagon -- the higher part of a Viking cart was used as a coffin — suggesting she was from the “upper part of society,” Borre Lundø told The Associated Press.

Archeologists also unearthed brooches, necklace beads, knives, and even a small shard of glass that may have served as an amulet.

Borre Lundø said the brooch designs suggest the dead were buried between 850 and 900 A.D.

“There’s different levels of burials,” he explained. “Some have nothing with them, others have brooches and pearl necklaces.”

Archeologists say many of the artefacts came from far beyond Denmark’s borders, shedding light on extensive Viking trade routes during the 10th century.

“There’s a lot of trade and commerce going on,” said Borre Lundø. “We also found a brooch that comes from the island of Gotland, on the eastern side of Sweden, but also whetstones for honing your knife … all sorts of things point to Norway and Sweden.”

The burial site was discovered last year, and the dig, which started in April, ended Friday. Boxes of artefacts have shipped to Museum Odense’s preservation labs for cleaning and analysis.

Conservator Jannie Amsgaard Ebsen hopes the soil may also hold other preserved organic material on the backs of brooches or knife handles.

“We’re really hoping to gain the larger picture. Who were the people that were living out there? Who did they interact with?” she said. “It’s a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle: all the various puzzle parts will be placed together.”

Skeletons and skulls sit in graves at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Skeletons and skulls sit in graves at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Skeletons and skulls sit in graves at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Kirsten Prangsgaard, archaeologist at Museum Odense, works at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Skeletons and skulls sit in graves at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Skeletons and skulls sit in graves at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Skeletons and skulls sit in graves at an excavation site of a 10th century Viking burial ground in Aasum, Denmark, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

MWEA, Kenya (AP) — As a helicopter hovers close to an elephant, trying to be as steady as possible, an experienced veterinarian cautiously takes aim.

A tranquilizer dart whooshes in the air, and within minutes the giant mammal surrenders to a deep slumber as teams of wildlife experts rush to measure its vitals and ensure it's doing OK.

Kenya is suffering from a problem, albeit a good one: The elephant population in the 42-square-kilometer (16-square-mile) Mwea National Reserve, east of the capital Nairobi, has flourished from its capacity of 50 to a whopping 156, overwhelming the ecosystem and requiring the relocation of about 100 of the largest land animals. It hosted 49 elephants in 1979.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Erustus Kanga, the overpopulation in Mwea highlighted the success of conservation effort s over the last three decades.

“This shows that poaching has been low and the elephants have been able to thrive,” Kanga said.

Experts started relocating 50 elephants last week to the expansive 780-square-kilometer (301-square-mile) Aberdare National Park in central Kenya. As of Monday, 44 elephants had been moved from Mwea to Aberdare, with six others scheduled for Tuesday.

Tourism Minister Rebecca Miano oversaw the move of five of the elephants on Monday, saying: “This will go down in history as a record, as it is the biggest exercise of its kind. It is the first time we are witnessing the translocation of 50 elephants at a go.”

The process started at dawn and involved a team of more than 100 wildlife specialists, with equipment ranging from specially fitted trucks to aircraft and cruisers. A fixed-wing aircraft conducted aerial surveillance to track down herds of elephants, which naturally move in small families of about five. The craft was in constant communication with two helicopters used to herd and separate the elephants to ensure they were relocated with their family units.

Aboard one of the helicopters is a spotter, on the lookout for elephants, and a veterinarian with a tranquilizer gun.

Once an elephant is sedated, a ground team of veterinary specialists and rangers rushes to find it and clear thickets to make way for transport crews. Its vitals are monitored as another group of rangers works on lifting the massive animal, weighing hundreds of kilograms, onto specialized trucks, to be driven 120 kilometers (74 miles) to their new home.

Kanga, the wildlife service director, said the relocation also aimed at curbing human-wildlife conflict.

Boniface Mbau, a resident of the area, said: “We are very happy that the government has decided to reduce the number of elephants from the area. Due to their high numbers, they did not have enough food in the reserve, and they ended up invading our farms."

A second phase to relocate 50 other elephants is planned, but the date has not been disclosed.

The project has cost at least 12 million Kenyan shillings ($93,000), the wildlife agency said.

Kenya’s national parks and reserves are home to a variety of wildlife species and attract millions of visitors annually, making the country a tourism hotspot.

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Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team release five elephants at Aberdare National Park, located in central Kenya, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team relocate an elephant at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service vet with a thermometer prepares to take a temperature of an elephant at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service vet takes a temperature of an elephant at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Elephants captured by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers loaded on a truck at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team weigh an elephant at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team load an elephant into a truck at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team take records of an elephant at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team release five elephants at Aberdare National Park, located in central Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Members of the public watch as Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team release five elephants at Aberdare National Park, located in central Kenya, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team release five elephants at Aberdare National Park, located in central Kenya, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team release five elephants at Aberdare National Park, located in central Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team hold a briefing at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team cool down a sedated elephant at Mwea National Park, east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)