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Title : The grave of the FEMALE Viking: 10th century skeleton buried in Sweden was high-status warrior woman
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The grave of the FEMALE Viking: 10th century skeleton buried in Sweden was high-status warrior woman

The grave of the FEMALE Viking warrior: Researchers confirm 10th century skeleton buried in Sweden with the decorations of a high-status fighter was a woman

• Researchers have doubled down on 2017 findings that Viking skeleton is female
• The skeleton was first discovered at the Swedish Viking town Birka in 1878
• Body was buried with weapons, gaming pieces, two horses - signifying status 
• Despite assumptions that the bones belong to a man, DNA shows they're female 

By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com

Published: 00:45 GMT, 21 February 2019 | Updated: 00:58 GMT, 21 February 2019

A controversial set of remains that has long sparked debate among archaeologists does, in fact, represent a female Viking warrior, a new study has concluded.

The 10th century skeleton unearthed from the Swedish Viking town, Birka in 1878 was initially assumed to be male due to its decorated burial.

But, morphological traits suggested otherwise, and a DNA study published in 2017 determined the bones were of a woman.

Following up on the recent research, the same authors have now doubled down on their findings that the high-ranking warrior buried at Birka is ‘biologically female.’

The Birka skeleton (illustrated left) was buried with an array of offensive weapons, including a sword and armour-piercing arrows, leading many experts to insist the deceased Viking was male. Inside the grave, excavators also found two horses and a full set of gaming pieces

THE VALKYRIES OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Norse mythology tells of the fierce female spirits who served as helpers to the god Odin.

Known as the Valkyries, or ‘choosers of the slain,’ they were among numerous female figures who were tasked with selecting who on the battlefield would die, and who would live.

The deceased warriors chosen by the Valkyries were then sent to Valhalla, the hall of the dead.

It’s thought that the image of the Valkyrie is based on another mythical figure called the ‘Shieldmaiden.’

These were the legendary women who had chosen to fight as warriors.

The existence of female Viking warriors has been heavily debated.

While there are many tales of individual women fighting in battles in Viking folklore, there is little convincing evidence of their presence, nor of a community of trained female warriors like the Shieldmaiden myth.

Though Viking lore is rife with tales of mythological Valkyries and women who fought side-by-side with men on the battlefield, little concrete evidence of their presence has ever been found.

So, in the 2017 study published to the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, researchers set out to confirm the sex of the Viking remains.

By analyzing DNA collected from the skeleton’s left canine and left humerus, the team found that the individual had two X chromosomes and no Y chromosome – or, in other words, the warrior was female.

This discovery, however, sparked international controversy and a slew of counter-arguments.

The Birka skeleton was buried with an array of offensive weapons, including a sword and armour-piercing arrows, leading many experts to insist the deceased Viking was male.

Inside the grave, excavators also found two horses (one mare, one stallion) and a full set of gaming pieces.

The inclusion of the latter stood as evidence that the warrior had a knowledge of tactics and strategy, according to the researchers. And, it emphasized that person’s role in life as a high-ranking officer.

Following up on the 2017 DNA study, the same authors have now doubled down on their findings that the high-ranking warrior buried at Birka is ‘biologically female.’ An artist's impression is shown

In a detailed re-analysis published to Antiquity, the researchers behind the 2017 study pick apart the grave and its contents to support their findings, which they say remain unchanged.

While the skeleton was initially recorded as male after its discovery, at the time, ‘warriorhood was presumed to be an exclusively masculine pursuit,’ the researchers write.

But, the DNA evidence shows otherwise.

The inclusion of gaming pieces (left) stood as evidence that the warrior had a knowledge of tactics and strategy, according to the researchers. And, it emphasized that person’s role in life as a high-ranking officer

‘The simple and secure conclusion is that we have the right individual, who was buried alone, and that this person has been proven to be biologically female,’ the authors write.

‘It is worth stating that, despite the controversy following our 2017 article, the human and artefactual contents of grave remain entirely unchanged since their excavation in 1878.

‘The buried person has always carried two X chromosomes, even if this was unknown before our recent work; the occupant of [the grave] will never be biologically male again.’

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