The Vikings were a warrior tribe that inhabited the Nordic region, now comprising Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, during the period from the 8th to the 11th century. When people think of the Viking tribe, they often envision fierce warriors or brutal pirates wearing the distinctive Viksø horned helmet.
However, recent research published by Danish scientists in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift reveals that this helmet was not originally created by the Vikings; rather, it dates back to the Bronze Age, approximately 2,000 years before the Viking era.
The Viking horned helmet. (Photo: CNN).
“For many years in popular culture, the Viksø helmet has been associated with the Vikings. But our research confirms that these helmets appeared around 900 BC, nearly 2,000 years before the Viking Age,” said Helle Vandkilde, an archaeologist at Aarhus University in Denmark and one of the researchers involved.
Similar Viksø helmets have also been identified from the Bronze Age in Sardinia, Southwest Iberia, and Southern Scandinavia. During the Bronze Age in Sardinia, symbols of horned creatures held significant religious meaning and were often used to adorn graves.
The study indicates that the emergence of Viksø helmets in Iberia corresponds to the expansion of Phoenician society in the West. The Phoenicians were a group of people living along the Levant coast in the eastern Mediterranean, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Vikings wearing horned helmets are considered elite warriors. (Illustration: Istock)
The maritime routes of the Phoenicians coincided with the lands of Scandinavia, opening a Mediterranean-Atlantic sea route to the Baltic Sea.
Researchers also revealed that the Viksø helmets could not have been transported overland, as this transnational trade route did not facilitate the spread of the image of horned-helmeted warriors.
“Descriptions of Viking warriors wearing Viksø helmets in Scandinavia closely resemble images found in Sardinia and Southwest Spain. This is evidence of the strong connections between the great civilizations of Europe during the Bronze Age, marking the first steps toward globalization,” added Helle Vandkilde.
Viking warriors with horned helmets in Scandinavia, Sardinia, and Southwest Spain were closely linked to political regimes that controlled metal resources and maintained a new religious belief. According to researchers, only those who possessed Viksø horned helmets were considered elite warriors.
