Female viking warrior

Skjoldmøya at Flisa

In 1900, a Viking grave was found at the Nordre Kjølen farm in Åsnes, and a young person was buried in the grave with a weapon, shield and horse. It was eventually discovered that the person was a young woman, which could be evidence of the existence of so-called ‘shield maidens’, i.e. women in battle during the Viking Age. Such a burial was previously thought to be reserved for men only. 

National Geographic travelled to the area and made a documentary about the unique grave. A reconstruction was then made of the face of the woman in the grave. The skull was clearly characterised by an injury to the forehead, which also showed signs of having healed. British archaeologist Ella Al-Shamahi believed this was evidence of a Viking woman with a war injury.

- ‘I'm so excited because this face hasn't been seen for 1,000 years. Whereas now, all of a sudden, she has become real,’ she told the British newspaper The Guardian. 

The skull and what remains of the contents of the grave are now usually on display at the Norwegian Viking Museum in Oslo.

Read more here