In Denmark, 50 well-preserved Viking Age skeletons have been unearthed, a rare discovery

Associated Press

AASUM, Denmark (AP) — Archaeologists in Denmark have unearthed a Viking Age burial ground containing some 50 “exceptionally well-preserved” skeletons. The question is now: who are they? Not warriors, it seems. They were preserved thanks to favorable soil chemistry, particularly chalk and high water levels. The burial site was discovered last year during a routine survey, ahead of infrastructure work on the outskirts of Odense, Denmark’s third-largest city. Experts hope to conduct special DNA analyses and maybe reconstruct detailed life histories as well as looking into social patterns in Viking Age, such as kinship, migration patterns and more. They’ll now start putting pieces of the puzzle together.