Thursday, July 19, 2007

Didn't the Vikings explore America?

Maybe stayed a bit... buried some treasure...

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Dr Jonathan Williams, keeper of prehistory in Europe at the British Museum, said: "[The cup] is beautifully decorated and was made in France or Germany at around AD900.

Betcha the earth around in Yorkshire gets a good shoveling....


Sorghum Crow said...

Wow, and double wow. For a really interesting account of (possible) really early vikings in the so-called new world, read Farfarers by Farley Mowat.

ellroon said...

I will look for the book, thanks.

Steve Bates said...

IIRC, "viking" was originally an activity, not a name for a people. I can see how the transition came about: imagine someone, seeing an onslaught of berserkers headed their way, shouting, "Gaaah! Lookit all them viking warriors!" Or something like that.

ellroon said...

'Viking' is a verb? Could it be kinda like going 'commando'?

Steve Bates said...

"'Viking' is a verb?" - ellroon

A few years back, they had a Viking exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and from something in that exhibit, I got the distinct impression that, yes, "viking" was a verb. Going viking was like going hunting, except that you directed the violence toward, y'know, humans.