Viking Sacrifice Which You Probably Don't Know About
If you are a Viking enthusiast, chances are that you know the Vikings often sacrificed values to the gods and the deceased. In this blog post, we discuss some of the Viking sacrifices which you probably don't know about.
The Vikings sacrificed four children in a well
Near the Trelleborg, the archaeologists have found many wells from which they discovered the remains of the Vikings. But what made the archaeologists astonish to the core was that these remains belonged to the children who were about their 3 or 5 years old.
Trelleborg was a Viking ring-shaped fort which was concluded to be built during the reign of Harald Bluetooth. Viking Trelleborg fort was said to nearly reached perfection because of its precise ring shape.
The remains of the children in the lowest layer of the well next to Trelleborg
It would be nothing much if the Vikings buried only the Vikings with the remains of the children. Rather, they were buried with the animals and some of the other goods. This made the archaeologists believe that it was a sacrificial pit that the Vikings once made for either their gods or their deceased beloved.
The analysis revealed that there were no traces of illnesses at all. The remains showed no traces of violence at all. However, we are yet to know whether these children met any violence or brutal demise before death or not.
Five Viking ships sacrificed in the sea
Peberrenden at Skuldelev, Denmark witnessed the excavation of five Viking ships from the sea.
Archaeologists happened to find out these five ships from the waterway of Peberrenden in 1962. These ships took the archaeologists about four months to reveal themselves to the public eye.
One of the Viking Skuldeve ships' remains on display in the museum
First, they thought there were about six ships in the site. Later, it turned out to be that the remains of the 4th belonged to the second.
The archaeologists found out that these ships were sacrificed in the waterway to prevent the attacks from the sea.
The Vikings sacrificed their enemies to the gods
One of the most brutal Viking execution was the Viking blood eagle. Although this was believed to be a kind of execution, this was also a sacrifice to the gods and the deceased ones.
The Vikings would tie the victims and start the execution. The Vikings used a sharp knife and cut the back of the victims. They literally open the back of the victims revealing the ribs and the flesh inside.
Viking blood eagle sacrifice
After cutting the back, they would pull out the lungs and the ribs to symbolise the eagle wings. This is why it was called the blood eagle. Viking legend had it that the Viking Great Heathen Army once carried out the blood eagle on King Aella of Northumbria Kingdom of Anglo-Saxon.
