The Birka Warrior: Sweden's Viking Age Female Fighter

In the 1880s, Swedish archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe excavated a spectacular Viking Age grave on the island of Birka, Bj 581. It held a warrior buried with a sword, axe, spear, arrows, a knife, two shields, and the remains of two horses. For over a century, it was assumed to be a male warrior. Then in 2017, DNA analysis proved the skeleton was female. Lucas and Luna explore the controversy that erupted: was this really a female Viking warrior, or a misinterpretation of the evidence? They walk through the original excavation, the DNA study led by Stockholm University, the pushback from some scholars who argued that the grave goods might indicate a symbolic rather than combat role, and the broader implications for our understanding of gender in Viking society. The episode also touches on the find of a female warrior burial at Sala in 2021, and what the medieval sagas actually say about shieldmaidens. The discussion ends with a reflection on how one grave changed the way we think about the Viking Age.

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