Did the Vikings exist?

Abstract

• We can all picture a Viking. But the Vikings that archaeologists dig up look rather different. Those Vikings adopted fashions from wherever they settled, and even changed religions when needed. They traded and married as much as they raided and harried. Their ships carried men, women, children and even pets. And now, new scientific techniques show that many people buried in so-called Viking graves were not from Scandinavia at all. Dr Adrian Maldonado (National Museum of Scotland) asks who are we calling Vikings anyway? And is it time to ditch the concept altogether?