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For more than a century the skeletal remains found in Birka, Sweden, were held up as an archetype of the Viking warrior. The body was found in 1889 buried with a sword, axe, spear, armour-piercing arrows, shields and even two horses. Interred with an arsenal of weapons, what else could the ‘Birka warrior’ be? The answer is a woman, according to modern-day DNA testing.
Is this conclusive proof that 10th-century Norse women actually fought alongside men in raiding parties? Or does it mean the long-held archaeological assumption about Viking burial practices (buried with a sword = warrior) is wrong? This is a debate that has been raging in the historical community ever since the DNA results were revealed in September.
In this month’s issue, we weigh the evidence on the Birka warrior, but also ask you to rethink other assumptions you’ve made about history. Why is Leonardo da Vinci regarded as a genius? Was Macbeth really blood-thirsty and treacherous? Should the Nazi general Erwin Rommel — who may or may not have plotted against Hitler — be regarded as a hero or villain? We’re keen to kickstart a conversation about these topics, so please let us know your thoughts about them via Twitter or Facebook.