“Allah” embroidered into Viking clothes

Researchers investigating Viking burial clothes kept in storage for a century believe they have found the words “Allah” and “Ali”, woven in silver thread. The garments were found in 9th and 10th-century boat graves in Birka and Gamla Uppsala in Sweden and were originally assumed to be typical Viking burial costumes. But the claim has been disputed by another expert, who believes the 1.5cm-high inscription is, in fact, meaningless in Arabic.

One of the excavated Viking fragments made from fifine silk and silver thread