Cats Were Rare And Expensive During The Viking Age – Spectacular Discovery Reveals Why
Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Unlike many other ancient civilizations, Vikings never worshipped cats, but these wonderful animals had a special place in Viking society.
Vikings used to give kittens as gifts to their brides, and cats often traveled the world with farmers and Vikings. We know that Freya, the Norse goddess of love and fertility, loved cats. The cat is her sacred symbol.
Despite appearing in Norse mythology, cats were rare and expensive during the Viking Age, and archaeologists can now explain why.
Goddess Freya with her cats. Painting by 1905 Carl Emil Doepler Jr. Credit: Public Domain
While excavating in Aalborg, Denmark, archaeologists made a spectacular discovery. Scientists unearthed the remains of two of the oldest cats ever found.
We still await the results of the analysis, but archaeologists believe these cats are the oldest found in Denmark.
What is anticipated is that this spectacular discovery will shed more light on the history of felines and their spread across the globe.
Curator Niels Haue from the Historical Museum of Northern Jutland explained that age-old cats are essential to our understanding of history.
Credit: Adobe Stock - Chris Brignell
"The find puts our entire perception of when cats were introduced to Denmark into question. We expect that it happened through contacts with the Roman Empire that they came to North Jutland," Niels Haue said.
It was previously assumed that cats arrived in Scandinavia during the Viking Age when domestic felines were supposedly introduced as pest control, but this assumption appears wrong.
The clues about how and when cats arrived in Scandinavia lead us to ancient Roman times.
This discovery is of great importance and has already been listed as among Denmark's most spectacular archeological finds.
Updated on December 15, 2023
Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
More From Ancient Pages
-
The Norns – Shapers Of Destiny Who Recorded Days In Person’s Life In Norse Mythology
-
Food In Ancient Roman Funerary Meals Was Similar To That Consumed During Life
-
Unexplained Historical Mass Disappearances – Where Did They Go? – Part 2
-
Mysterious Sumerian Star Tablet And Strange Divine Omens – Communication With The Gods – Part 2
-
Mysterious Death Of Cambyses II – Natural, Suicide Or Assassination By Darius I The Great?
-
Early European Farmers Traced To Anatolia, DNA Study Shows
-
Binary System Was Used By Ancient Polynesians 1,000 Years Before The Concept Of A Computer Was Introduced
-
Traces Of Viking Raids Remain Visible In Modern Russian Economy And Politics
-
Egypt’s Dendera Temple: Second Restoration Phase Is Now Completed
-
Evidence Of Unknown Ice Age Civilization Discovered In Michigan Ignored By Pipeline Company!
-
On This Day In History: Army Of Tsar Alexander I Of Russia Enters Paris – On March 31, 1814
-
When Giants Ruled North America – Giant Skeletons ‘Erased’ From History – Part 2
-
Something Never-Before-Seen Is Hidden Beneath 15 Giant Viking Burial Mounds Spotted By Radar In Norway
-
Cyclops – First Generation Of Giants Who Were Prisoners Of Tartarus
-
3,500-Year-Old Tomb Of Egyptian Goldsmith Discovered
-
Norse Legend Of Hero Sigmund And The Magical Sword In The Branstock Tree
-
Ancient King Who Built A Mysterious Underground City Illuminated By Artificial Lights As Hiding Place
-
New Insights Into The Dawn Of The Indo-European Languages
-
Alwilda – Imprisoned Viking Princess Who Became A Pirate Queen
-
Medieval Ring Found In Piast Stronghold Near Gniezno, Poland – Is A Unique Christian Artifact
