Scandinavians shaped by several waves of immigration
So you think people in present-day Sweden and Norway are different from each other? It turns out that would have been closer to the truth some 9500 years ago.
History
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Houses reused for over 1000 years during Stone Age
We’ve always heard that Stone Age people lived in caves. It turns out that’s not the case. They often lived in earthen huts, which they reused and kept up rather than building new ones.
Pope said ‘no thanks’ to Norwegian coins
Norway minted its own coins during much of the Middle Ages. But the coins didn’t always impress outsiders or even the Norwegians themselves.
Thousand-year-old cathedral surrenders its secrets, stone by stone
The secrets of St Olav’s shrine and Nidaros Cathedral have drawn pilgrims for nearly a thousand years. Curious researchers have also made the journey, eager to solve the mysteries locked up in the cathedral’s stones.
Archaeological finds unearthed on the fly
What was supposed to be a simple excavation to allow for the expansion of a church cemetery turned into a treasure trove of historic artefacts, including a decorative fitting from a book “imported” by Vikings from Ireland.
3000-year-old graves found under new E6 highway
Archaeologists from NTNU have unearthed Bronze Age graves ahead of planned road construction in Melhus municipality.
Vikings conquer Disney World
Disney World wants to showcase archaeological artefacts from the NTNU University Museum for millions of Florida visitors.
When Vikings didn’t rely on mobile money transfers
What is money exactly, and what’s the connection between modern-day mobile money transfers and the larger-than-life Viking Halldórr?
The enigma of early Norwegian iron production
Ancient Norwegians made top-quality iron. But where did the knowledge to make this iron come from? An NTNU professor emeritus may have solved this riddle.
Real men dance the minuet
The Birken ski festival, the Great Trial of Strength cycling event and the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon are considered to be real tests of manhood today. But a few hundred years ago, the minuet was how men displayed their skills and strength.
Blood, banishment and a 500-year split
A series of bloody religious wars were fought after a Church divide that Martin Luther did not originally want. How did it all go so wrong?
Brewing Viking beer — with stones
When archaeologist Geir Grønnesby dug test pits at 24 different farms in central Norway, he nearly always found thick layers of fire-cracked stones dating from the Viking Age and earlier. Long ago, Norwegians brewed beer using stones.
Moonwalkers three
Just 12 Americans have set foot on the lunar surface, and of those, only six are still alive. Three—Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt — will be in Trondheim at the Starmus Science Festival to talk about the future of humankind in space.
How plague attacks us – and how we can defend ourselves
The plague that is believed to have caused the Black Death still occasionally ravages populations, albeit to a much smaller extent than before. Now we know more about how the bacteria attack us.
The church revolution that changed Europe
Five hundred year ago, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation. He had no idea how quickly his ideas would spread and change Europe.
Medicine factories in space to shape the future of space travel
He was the very first person to walk in space. A rescue team on skis brought him to safety after an emergency landing in the Siberian forest. Now, Alexei Leonov is coming to Trondheim.
The toy boat that sailed the seas of time
A thousand-year-old toy boat from an abandoned water well gives archaeologists tantalizing clues about the culture that produced the object.
Indulgence trading was big business before the Reformation
The way to shorten one’s time in purgatory was to obtain indulgences. But they had to be purchased, so only people who were well off could afford them.
Dressed up with bling stolen in Viking raids
We might not consider it bling, but to the Viking-age woman who wore a fitting from a horse’s harness, it was an exotic piece of jewellery. Never mind that it was stolen from the British Isles during a Viking raid.
Iron-age Norwegians liked their bling
Norway’s Main Air Station at Ørland will be expanded to house the country’s new F-35 fighter jets. Archaeologists called in to examine the expansion site before construction have found evidence of Iron Age longhouses, complete with glass shards, beads and lots of garbage.
Achieving effective peace agreements
Surveys will reveal what peace agreements following civil wars ought to contain in order to be respected.
Secrets of a traditional Norwegian Christmas sausage
Making sausages is not just a question of good ingredients and skill. There’s a little science involved, too. Professor Trygve Magne Eikevik makes his own sausages, and is willing to share his technique and his recipes, especially for Norwegian Christmas sausage.
Norwegian journey, Vietnamese dreams
The Vietnamese are among the most successful of all non-western immigrants to Norway. Why?