Vikings were not only notorious raiders and seafarers who discovered America 500 years before Columbus, but they were also traders. Between the 8th and 11th centuries, they established extensive trade routes. Some of these routes spanned remarkably long distances, connecting urban trading hubs with remote rural areas.
Researchers from the UK and Europe have uncovered the scale of Viking trade through ancient hair combs. These combs were found at the site of the ancient city of Hedeby, located in what is now modern-day Germany. The artifacts were made from the antlers of reindeer that once roamed Arctic Scandinavia.
A comb from the early Viking era found in Hedeby, made from the antler of a reindeer. (Mariana Muñoz-Rodriguez / University of York)
Hedeby was one of the most significant trading centers during the Viking Age. It was situated near the southern tip of the Jutland Peninsula, in what was then Denmark. According to scholars, Hedeby also served as a vital link between Scandinavia and Northern Europe.
The city thrived on the processing of reindeer antlers. Previously, researchers had discovered around 288,000 antler artifacts at the site, which included production waste, particularly from hair combs.
What Researchers Discovered
Using a method called “Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry” (or ZooMS), researchers found that about 90 percent of the combs from Hedeby were made from the antlers of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), also known as caribou.
Since these reindeer lived only in northern Scandinavia, it can be inferred that either the antlers or the combs were imported to Hedeby. If this is the case, the findings suggest the existence of long-term and large-scale trade relations between Hedeby and the Far North.
Reconstructed houses at the former site of Hedeby. (Kai-Erik Ballak/CC-BY-SA-3.0/Wikimedia Commons)
The analysis also indicated that this trade route existed as early as 800 AD—just a few years after the Viking raid on Lindisfarne in England, which is considered the beginning of the Viking Age.
Thus, the team of scientists began to address a range of questions about travel and trade during the Viking Age in Britain and Scandinavia, noted Stephen Ashby, the lead author of the study from the University of York (UK). However, researchers still have much to learn about life during that era.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Antiquity.