Archaeologists discovered the sculpting of an enigmatic stone animal in Iceland. (Image credit: Antikva)
Archaeologists in Iceland have actually found what might be an uncommon Viking Age toy took of stone, however it’s anybody’s guess regarding which animal it illustrates.
The figurine, which professionals dated to in between A.D. 940 and 1000, was discovered at the Fjörður excavation website in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. It’s a little, four-legged animal with a broken ear sculpted from regional stone.
The majority of the group believed the animal was a pig, Ragnheiður Traustadóttir, director of the Antikva historical group that uncovered the toy, informed Live Science. This isn’t improbable, because Vikings utilized domesticated pigs for meat. 2 employee, nevertheless, translated it as a bear, and while bears are foreign to Iceland, a minimum of 600 polar bears (Ursus maritimushave actually been reported on the island given that human settlement started to today. When images of the figurine were published on Facebook on Aug. 13, lots of Facebook users ended up being persuaded that it represented an Icelandic canine.
“Children are not so noticeable in the Viking Age, so this is an incredible discover,” Traustadóttir stated. The director sees a pig and is hesitant about the Icelandic pet analysis, as she states the face does not match the animal. “I owned an Icelandic canine for 14 years,” Traustadóttir stated. “I’m not exactly sure.”
The Fjörður excavation, called after the historic Fjörður farm, started in 2020 ahead of the organized building and construction of avalanche defense walls in Seyðisfjörður and was expected to last just 2 years. The excavation exposed so much that Traustadóttir is now in her 5th summer season there.
Related: 1,200-year-old ‘Viking graffiti’ is the earliest illustration ever found in Iceland
Is this stone sculpting a pig, bear, Icelandic canine or another animal completely? (Image credit: Antikva)
In 2021, archaeologists revealed a farm mound, mill and sheep shed dating to at some point in between the 18th and 20th centuries, per Seydisfjord Archaeological Research, a site run by Antikva that releases findings from the Fjörður excavation. Underneath that, they discovered middle ages remains, and below those, they found 4 Viking Age (A.D. 793 to 1066) graves buried underneath an 11th-century landslide.
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Simply put, a single excavation had actually exposed 1,000 years of Icelandic history. In 2022, south of the previous website, the archaeologists found a Viking longhouse with a weaving space, animal enclosures and a farm midden, or garbage stack, dating to in between the 11th and 13th centuries. They put their findings on this historic timeline by dating the layers of ash from the numerous volcanic eruptions that have actually affected the area given that the arrival of human inhabitants.
The animal sculpting might have been a toy, which would be an unusual discover from the Viking Age. (Image credit: Antikva)
“There’s no other website in Iceland that has many finds,” Traustadóttir stated.