Warlike Scandinavians emerged after the chaos caused by the massive changes from the volcanic super-eruption of circa AD 536. Crops failed, people starved, the survivors grouped up under warlords. There are videos online about this, and the pre-Viking era.
I recall reading that Bronze Age Britains also bent swords this way before sacrificing them, usually in bodies of water. I wonder if that was to prevent them from being recovered.
Exactly as depicted in the TV show, Vikings. Before they raided Lindisfarne, they went to Estonia. They didn't want to bring the dead back home so they buried them on the battlefield.
Here is my amateurish take on this.... There where several ships and many men. They fought and these men died but the overall battle was won by the Vikings. The men that died probably belonged to a couple of ships but ships the ships works best fully manned so now they got a left over ship which they could not go back with and you did not want a enemy to have it so you need to bury it or destroy it by fire. The dead warriors in the big ship and the slaves/trälar in the smaller ship. The swords and weapons is bent so everyone knows not to disturb the grave looking for usable weapons. As I guess these weapons where highly sought after and would have been dug up if they were left in usable condition... Well this is my guess how that tradition got started,...
I watched this a few weeks ago and just got my DNA results back, apparently 5 of my distant relatives are in the Salme ships, they are identified as VK485 VK496 VK551 VK553 and VK555. Wow!
5, wow. I’m related to 3. Has anyone figured out how to know how they were related to each other? I’m 506, 507 from the first ship and 498 from the 2nd. It’s all so amazing and fascinating.
This is a most complete slaughter of ''vikings'' ever recorded. I guess one of the idiots is even their king. Such a burial has not been found anywhere in the world. Þetta er fullkomnasta slátrun víkinga sem skráð hefur verið. Ég býst við að einn af hálfvitunum sé meira að segja konungur þeirra. Slík greftrun hefur hvergi fundist í heiminum. Welcome to Estonia mother f.
The bent sword means "Rest in peace". They are moving on to a peaceful place and will no longer fight with them. Its that simple, and people havent changed much over the years.
Incredible how Viking Age started in Norway and spread to other countries like denmark and sweden. Denmark was more or like an Norwegian Viking "outhouse" since they needed to rest after crossing the north sea after coming from North Norway.
Viking age didnt start in Norway, its a process that started all the way back to the bronze age and forward. The viking age is just the "End result" Oversea raids was carried out long before the viking age, in the bronze age raids was carried out locally or along the coasts of Scandinavia proper, in the 400 - 500s AD our first recorded evidence of a scandinavian raid on europe was carried out by Hygelac (Geat or Dane) against the frisians. The topic of this video, the salme ship graves was a raid done by Swedes on balts almost 100 years before lindisfarne.
My guess is that the first small ship was probably people out hunting and fishing. The skeletons look thrown around as if they fell where they died. Possibly it was caught in some bad weather and stranded? It's burial was by what was a shoreline. It was probably buried naturally over the years. The second one was obviously an organized burial.
I also took 23andme and share 4.32 centiMorgans with VK 554 and that he had a valuable ring sword. He was on the 2nd Salme ship, buried in the middle of the first row. Would be great to learn more.
@@anneh2375 We share the same ancestor cool. 😎 Yea it's wild how far back in time our genetics can go. To learn about their lives, its like something from a story book.
Me too! Hey cousins! Lol I'm also related to 4 other Viking Era individuals from that study as well, according to 23andMe, do any of you have more than 1, as well?
This was funeral burial. They had been elsewhere, either raiding and or fighting and they had to bury their dead. The first boat I would say were people wounded and died in their boat on location, or they were killed on location. It is likely the smaller boat was a resource boat following the larger, having to bury their comrades to then be killed by another larger force. At that time there were local people and the church had soldiers to protect their new land, legionnaires were used to hold back vikings. A large vessel took about 60-100+ people, so at least half of them were killed, whilst the other half then have to bury them. Not sure it was comrades burying them though. Whoever buried them may very well not have been vikings as they have bent the swords and the axes, that was possibly to make sure the weapons were not to be used again. Or those that survived the fighting took the boat back out at sea and piled them up to be able to maneuver the boat. There were many fractions of vikings, traders and mercenaries, plunderers. The wounds sounds like Danish mercenaries. Compare it with the skeletons in Gotland who were attacked by Danes, same cut wounds to the legs and arms. The fact the swords were bent it just feels it is because they do not want you to use the swords again. Those swords left were out of respect maybe to certain people, but otherwise they would have re used them. There are other burials of the time and they have all the arms, swords and axes intact, which to me, says they may have been buried by another fraction or whoever they fought. It is quite possible the boats were sent to drift and ended up where they were, not by design but because they beached here. The water tables were different back then. The people in the smaller boat may also have been wounded but managed to get them to where they were, but it is iffy, but them in the small boat were wounded or killed in the boat. Think they have all just tried to get away, very few surviving. Maybe 20-40 people surviving such an attack, as the long boat can take up to 100+. Yes, very interesting, would be great to go and pay respect to the dead. The inlet above Estland was also the passageway into Russia, one of the ways they traveled down to the middle east via the black sea, so that seaway was heavily used. x
I wonder if it was possible for the smaller ship to have been naturally buried by the sand. Like, maybe the people in that ship were the ones who buried the people in the other, and then took some kind of poison or something. It just seems kind of strange, the way they are positioned. Like they just slumped over where they were sitting. Even lower class people would have been laid out.
I don't quite understand why this find is so surprising. The Vikings had trading posts in what is now Kiev and into what is now Russia for Amber and other northern natural resources. That the ship burials were done, shows thete was at least 2 more ships in that expidition.
My Estonia Ancestors of Salme were related from the ship burial. My Suebi ancestors germanic tribe from 100BC along with the Lombardy descendants according to my DNA results provided. Motherland migration is prevalent with my Mail Empire results. One Love my Ancestors.
@@Helgrimr as a layperson who has watched a lot of archaeological documents my basic understanding of burial is that the person is usually buried laying down either on the back,side or curled in a fetal position on the side, not curled over one’s self in a sitting position at their ‘duty post’ , (the outliers being the ritual sacrifices in the mountains of South America), or strewn about higlty pigalty . So my hypothesis is the first boat could be a ship reck .
Just a theory, the boat with many men fell in battle, the remains others buried their fallen in ritual. Just about when the others are going to leave they were attacked and just left there by the locals. Maybe one escaped and theirs a tale about their king falling in an island battle.
I'm thinking that the kingpiece was laid in the yarls mouth and the rest defended him to the last man with some warriors distinguishing themselves. The swords I think then were bent to prevent retaliation in the afterlife. The smaller boat reserved possibly for cowards and not honourable enough to be buried with their comrades.
I wonder if the man. With the king piece was a king in waiting and the warrior was his bodyguard? It's all maybe he was a royal family man and DNA may give Estonia answers.when they get around to. Doing it.
Hey I took my 23andMe DNA test and am related to VK487 and VK484. I had 4.60 centiMorgans when compared to VK487 and 4.26 when compared to VK484. I’ve read that there were potentially 4 full brothers on this ship and I’m wondering if I may be related to them. I’ve been reading a lot online but would love more information if anyone has anything they can share. I’ve traced my family all the way back to 1415 so far but that’s where my journey has ended.
I just found that I have 3 Long lost relatives there too, The article implies they all came from the same area of Sweeden, and it’s so long ago, I wonder if they were probably all related
I just found that I have 3 Long lost relatives there too, The article implies they all came from the same area of Sweeden, and it’s so long ago, I wonder if they were probably all related
Why do people speak of this as a defeat for the Swedes? considering the long time it took to make a proper funeral with respect , putting up the ship on land and place the death in a certain order ,they must have felt secured enough to do it. and i doubt the Swedes only had two ships, must have been more than just two.
Okay, so you bend a sword . . . What keeps a Smith or other person who wants a sword from pounding it back into shape. The metal alone should have been valuable. If it could be bent, unless it was heated and lost its hardening it seems as though it could have been straightened and used as a knife or spear point.
Did the vikings bend the swords because they were jerks and didnt want anyone to have a cool looking sword? VALHALLA is going to look very silly, with vikings running around with their bent swords, lol....
It means it’s now peace for the warrior. No longer does he have to be prepared to fight and die for his clan. For the warriors have given all they can give being their lives. So the ultimate sacrifice has been made. This is why these WEPONS are in either a lowered position of no more enemies are around. Bending the sword is simply signifying no more WAR…..
Absolutely fascinating . Many people must have survived in order to bury these Viking warriors with high honors , which was no small undertaking
That was really fascinating. Thank you to Estonia and others for sharing
Please upload more archaeology videos they are the best
Excellent! Thank you, I've enjoyed this immensely😊
Interesting educational well presented
Thanks for an excellent documentary!
Absolutely fascinating.
Warlike Scandinavians emerged after the chaos caused by the massive changes from the volcanic super-eruption of circa AD 536. Crops failed, people starved, the survivors grouped up under warlords. There are videos online about this, and the pre-Viking era.
Gas prices got too high
@@johnnyvoodoo666Yes, that's why we call it the Dark Ages.
Interesting theory
Excellent documentary 👏💯
Love watching this Vikings history series of documentaries. 👏👏👏
Thank you for sharing. Most fascinating. The DNA results are now available, look forward to hear what they reveiled.
Loving the documentaries 😍
I recall reading that Bronze Age Britains also bent swords this way before sacrificing them, usually in bodies of water. I wonder if that was to prevent them from being recovered.
Thanks.
It would be amazing with a follow up on later results, and the situation atm.
Has there been any search for more ships in the area?
GREAT VIDEO THANK U, SHARE, SHARE
That was amazing!! Incredible...to say the least, they were warriors for sure,and barbaric...
Wow amazing great job this was done so well I loved it
så interesting, especially the early och pre viking age
Exactly as depicted in the TV show, Vikings. Before they raided Lindisfarne, they went to Estonia. They didn't want to bring the dead back home so they buried them on the battlefield.
23andme says I am related to VK549 & VK512 on the Salme ship #2.
Amazing show thank you
I love this series 🍻
Here is my amateurish take on this.... There where several ships and many men. They fought and these men died but the overall battle was won by the Vikings. The men that died probably belonged to a couple of ships but ships the ships works best fully manned so now they got a left over ship which they could not go back with and you did not want a enemy to have it so you need to bury it or destroy it by fire. The dead warriors in the big ship and the slaves/trälar in the smaller ship. The swords and weapons is bent so everyone knows not to disturb the grave looking for usable weapons. As I guess these weapons where highly sought after and would have been dug up if they were left in usable condition... Well this is my guess how that tradition got started,...
I watched this a few weeks ago and just got my DNA results back, apparently 5 of my distant relatives are in the Salme ships, they are identified as VK485 VK496 VK551 VK553 and VK555. Wow!
Hi cousin! 😂 I'm related to 507 & 553.
This is so freaking cool.
This is cool. I'm distantly related to VK554 lol
Hej cuz, me too!. Pretty interesting, huh? Thank you to everyone who worked so hard and with so much care to to tell their story :)
Very cool isn’t it 😊
5, wow. I’m related to 3. Has anyone figured out how to know how they were related to each other? I’m 506, 507 from the first ship and 498 from the 2nd. It’s all so amazing and fascinating.
It's human nature to learn of our past, a thousand years from now they'll be looking over some of our buried past.
They will find, cell phones, fake eyelashes, false nails and breast implants. Lo,
Awesome work.. thanks!!!
Please do a follow up!! It would be great to know through DNA if any of the burials were related to each other...fantastic documentary 👍
Wikipedia: "The DNA analysis showed that four of the men were brothers and they were related to a fifth man, perhaps an uncle"
And the isotope measurement taken from the teeth indicated that they came from the Mälar valley in Sweden.
@@ronjabagling7941 thank you , I can’t wait to be able to look up more information.
@@soositta4221 those four you speak of, am am related to.
Killed during raids in Estonia and buried on site by the victorious Vikings.
This is a most complete slaughter of ''vikings'' ever recorded.
I guess one of the idiots is even their king.
Such a burial has not been found anywhere in the world.
Þetta er fullkomnasta slátrun víkinga sem skráð hefur verið.
Ég býst við að einn af hálfvitunum sé meira að segja konungur þeirra.
Slík greftrun hefur hvergi fundist í heiminum.
Welcome to Estonia mother f.
This is mind blowing for me, apparently VK496 is some kind of distant relative to me... I had no idea that we had any relation to vikings.
Interesting stuff
Yes
The bent sword means "Rest in peace". They are moving on to a peaceful place and will no longer fight with them. Its that simple, and people havent changed much over the years.
A sword bent in half could be reheated and straightened probably to reuse, so I am thinking ritual.
Incredible how Viking Age started in Norway and spread to other countries like denmark and sweden. Denmark was more or like an Norwegian Viking "outhouse" since they needed to rest after crossing the north sea after coming from North Norway.
Viking age didnt start in Norway, its a process that started all the way back to the bronze age and forward. The viking age is just the "End result"
Oversea raids was carried out long before the viking age, in the bronze age raids was carried out locally or along the coasts of Scandinavia proper, in the 400 - 500s AD our first recorded evidence of a scandinavian raid on europe was carried out by Hygelac (Geat or Dane) against the frisians. The topic of this video, the salme ship graves was a raid done by Swedes on balts almost 100 years before lindisfarne.
@@thomasnyberg4229 it did - trust me!
respect
I’m linked to VK555. Fascinating. The guy must have had quite the brood b4 he was killed.
I married a 3rd generation Norwegian Viking. His family was there for over 1,000 years.
This is SO1 EP2. What is SO1 EP1 and how do I find it?
My guess is that the first small ship was probably people out hunting and fishing. The skeletons look thrown around as if they fell where they died. Possibly it was caught in some bad weather and stranded? It's burial was by what was a shoreline. It was probably buried naturally over the years. The second one was obviously an organized burial.
I also took 23andme and share 4.32 centiMorgans with VK 554 and that he had a valuable ring sword. He was on the 2nd Salme ship, buried in the middle of the first row. Would be great to learn more.
I just found that in my 23 and me results too. It’s amazing and so much fun to be able to look up Thea things about an ancient relative.
@@anneh2375 We share the same ancestor cool. 😎 Yea it's wild how far back in time our genetics can go. To learn about their lives, its like something from a story book.
@@Matthew_Pizzo I know, I had no idea that our DNA results would lead to so many interesting finds.
Me too! Hey cousins! Lol I'm also related to 4 other Viking Era individuals from that study as well, according to 23andMe, do any of you have more than 1, as well?
@@TheCovertsEnabler I have six others from other time periods in other countries some of them females, but just the 1 from this period. 7 total.
This was funeral burial. They had been elsewhere, either raiding and or fighting and they had to bury their dead. The first boat I would say were people wounded and died in their boat on location, or they were killed on location. It is likely the smaller boat was a resource boat following the larger, having to bury their comrades to then be killed by another larger force. At that time there were local people and the church had soldiers to protect their new land, legionnaires were used to hold back vikings. A large vessel took about 60-100+ people, so at least half of them were killed, whilst the other half then have to bury them. Not sure it was comrades burying them though. Whoever buried them may very well not have been vikings as they have bent the swords and the axes, that was possibly to make sure the weapons were not to be used again. Or those that survived the fighting took the boat back out at sea and piled them up to be able to maneuver the boat. There were many fractions of vikings, traders and mercenaries, plunderers.
The wounds sounds like Danish mercenaries. Compare it with the skeletons in Gotland who were attacked by Danes, same cut wounds to the legs and arms. The fact the swords were bent it just feels it is because they do not want you to use the swords again. Those swords left were out of respect maybe to certain people, but otherwise they would have re used them.
There are other burials of the time and they have all the arms, swords and axes intact, which to me, says they may have been buried by another fraction or whoever they fought.
It is quite possible the boats were sent to drift and ended up where they were, not by design but because they beached here. The water tables were different back then. The people in the smaller boat may also have been wounded but managed to get them to where they were, but it is iffy, but them in the small boat were wounded or killed in the boat. Think they have all just tried to get away, very few surviving. Maybe 20-40 people surviving such an attack, as the long boat can take up to 100+. Yes, very interesting, would be great to go and pay respect to the dead. The inlet above Estland was also the passageway into Russia, one of the ways they traveled down to the middle east via the black sea, so that seaway was heavily used. x
Everyone is interested & many share heritages
Purification of dead, clothing,weapons
Faith teaching
Agree military
I wonder if it was possible for the smaller ship to have been naturally buried by the sand. Like, maybe the people in that ship were the ones who buried the people in the other, and then took some kind of poison or something. It just seems kind of strange, the way they are positioned. Like they just slumped over where they were sitting. Even lower class people would have been laid out.
Its like the king take a bad decision and some people dont follow him, or refuse to fight.
I'm related to about 6 individuals from this .
The Norse went to England, France, Iceland, Russia, the Middle East and North America...and it's astounding they went to Estonia?
I don't quite understand why this find is so surprising. The Vikings had trading posts in what is now Kiev and into what is now Russia for Amber and other northern natural resources.
That the ship burials were done, shows thete was at least 2 more ships in that expidition.
My Estonia Ancestors of Salme were related from the ship burial. My Suebi ancestors germanic tribe from 100BC along with the Lombardy descendants according to my DNA results provided. Motherland migration is prevalent with my Mail Empire results. One Love my Ancestors.
they don't have the dna results from the ship burial so how would you know your Estonian ancestors were related from the ship burial
16:51 that looks like a shipwreck not a ritual burial…
@@Helgrimr as a layperson who has watched a lot of archaeological documents my basic understanding of burial is that the person is usually buried laying down either on the back,side or curled in a fetal position on the side, not curled over one’s self in a sitting position at their ‘duty post’ , (the outliers being the ritual sacrifices in the mountains of South America), or strewn about higlty pigalty . So my hypothesis is the first boat could be a ship reck .
Rado. Daug. Negyvų.
Just a theory, the boat with many men fell in battle, the remains others buried their fallen in ritual. Just about when the others are going to leave they were attacked and just left there by the locals. Maybe one escaped and theirs a tale about their king falling in an island battle.
Bending of the swords? Maybe a retirement? You’ve done your job
I'm thinking that the kingpiece was laid in the yarls mouth and the rest defended him to the last man with some warriors distinguishing themselves. The swords I think then were bent to prevent retaliation in the afterlife. The smaller boat reserved possibly for cowards and not honourable enough to be buried with their comrades.
I wonder if they were buried this way by their own people, or by those they fought?
Warriors don't bury their enemies
VK426 Warrior found on the second ship is a distant relation of mine, and a woman discovered in Greenland 900-1100 CE.
23 and me research project.
The picture of the skulls from the first ship seems odd. It seems elongated. I know elongated skulls have been found near the Baltic.
I wonder if the man. With the king piece was a king in waiting and the warrior was his bodyguard? It's all maybe he was a royal family man and DNA may give Estonia answers.when they get around to. Doing it.
Faith people carry responsibilities, and they are aware
Hindered, only what can be done
Learning personal handicaps
More people to take on responsibility,takes opportunities no so much opposition
Basic strategic thoughts
Tribe of Dan???
No they were from Sweden.
Hey I took my 23andMe DNA test and am related to VK487 and VK484. I had 4.60 centiMorgans when compared to VK487 and 4.26 when compared to VK484. I’ve read that there were potentially 4 full brothers on this ship and I’m wondering if I may be related to them. I’ve been reading a lot online but would love more information if anyone has anything they can share. I’ve traced my family all the way back to 1415 so far but that’s where my journey has ended.
I just found that I have 3 Long lost relatives there too, The article implies they all came from the same area of Sweeden, and it’s so long ago, I wonder if they were probably all related
I just found that I have 3 Long lost relatives there too, The article implies they all came from the same area of Sweeden, and it’s so long ago, I wonder if they were probably all related
VK554, VK491, and VK512 were my relatives 😊
Hey cousin! I'm related to 484, too. 4.36, we have about the same amount. Do you have any more from that time? I have 5 total.
I bet they where from Sweden
Yes they were. They were from "Mälardalen" from the Stockholm region, and some men were from the Swedish Island Gotland.
Why do people speak of this as a defeat for the Swedes? considering the long time it took to make a proper funeral with respect , putting up the ship on land and place the death in a certain order ,they must have felt secured enough to do it. and i doubt the Swedes only had two ships, must have been more than just two.
Came here cause I’m Mexican but I’m linked they DNA to VK551
i'm Texan and linked to one too.
I just found out I'm related to one of these guys! 23 & Me if anyone else would like to test.
The ancient human tradition! Murderous and senseless violence....😢
I don't know why they are laughing over the wounds of these poor men.
thy BENT THE SWORDS so thy dont get stolen
Okay, so you bend a sword . . . What keeps a Smith or other person who wants a sword from pounding it back into shape. The metal alone should have been valuable. If it could be bent, unless it was heated and lost its hardening it seems as though it could have been straightened and used as a knife or spear point.
let's not forget that it was the vikings who discovered america not that hobo columbus
Yes, they discovered it, but they didn’t report it and I have no problem with Columbus discovering America. It’s a proud thing.
Columbus, 👍 lolol
Older people generation, younger Columbus
All the other explorers are getting named... lolol
Can't blame just you
Taught verbally in USA
Feudalism, families
Aundu, French/China
Medici families
Vk483 I share 12 % DNA
Woooow no its Royal viking ship fouk -England
That lady is a classic bruenette, beautiful examp.e.
We're talking bones here. Male bones.
Did the vikings bend the swords because they were jerks and didnt want anyone to have a cool looking sword? VALHALLA is going to look very silly, with vikings running around with their bent swords, lol....
They are all in Valhalla now !
It means it’s now peace for the warrior. No longer does he have to be prepared to fight and die for his clan. For the warriors have given all they can give being their lives. So the ultimate sacrifice has been made. This is why these WEPONS are in either a lowered position of no more enemies are around. Bending the sword is simply signifying no more WAR…..
Enjoyed this fascinating documentary!