A Viking ship has been found at Jarlsberg Manor in Norway. Archaeologists believe it may have been a ship grave for a Viking king.
In 2018, a metal detector survey began at Jarlsberg Manor in Norway, the historic home of the Wedel-Jarlsberg family and the Count and Countess of Jarlsberg, who headed the county of the same name. Using the metal detector, the archaeologists found rivets that could indicate that a Viking ship was buried at the manor.
After two weeks of digging, it was determined that there was indeed a Viking ship there.
– We can now say for certain that yes, here lie the remains of a Viking ship. This discovery adds a new landmark to the map, once a significant site during the Viking Age, excavation director Christian Løchsen Rødsrud told Science Norway.
The archaeologists found 70 rivets during the excavation, but the metal detector returned so many that they believe the ground contains hundreds, if not thousands, of rivets. These rivets could have held together planks about an inch thick, suggesting they were part of a large ship. However, some of the rivets were horse crampons, nails attached to a horse’s hooves to allow it to walk on icy surfaces.
– Finding horse crampons in the material suggests that the rest of the grave goods are also in the field, he says.
The son of Harald Hårfager?
Archaeologists believe that this may have been a ship grave for the Viking king Bjørn Farmann, but it is still unclear who is buried on the ship. According to Snorri’s sagas, Bjørn Farmann, son of Harald Fairhair, was killed by his brother Erik Blodyx on the farm Sæheimr around 934. This is now the village of Sem, close to Jarlsberg Manor.
– It would’ve been exciting to find out more about the person buried here, says the archaeologist.
However, the archaeologists are not surprised by the find. 100 years ago, archaeologist A.W. Brøgger found another grave nearby, and he was convinced that there was a ship buried somewhere in the area.
– It is not overly surprising that a Viking ship would have been buried at Jarlsberg, as the site is part of a rich cultural landscape with many burial grounds, indicating a place of importance, Rødsrud told All That’s Interesting.
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Norwegian and German leaders are joining forces to finance two American Patriot systems for Ukraine. The price tag for the country’s citizens amounts to seven billion Norwegian kroner (approximately €600 million).
The announcement comes just over a month after Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party) met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin.
— Together with Germany, we are now ensuring that Ukraine receives powerful air defense systems. Germany and Norway cooperate very closely to support Ukraine in the fight to defend the country and protect the civilian population against Russian air attacks, Støre states in a press release.
The package includes two Patriot systems including missiles. Norway is also contributing to the purchase of air defense radar from German manufacturer Hensoldt as well as air defense systems from Norwegian company Kongsberg.
The American-manufactured Patriot system has been something that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly requested, and US President Donald Trump has expressed willingness to provide Ukraine with the systems provided that Europe foots the bill.
— This is a major investment in effective air defense. The support will give Ukraine important tools to protect Ukrainian lives and contribute to a stronger defense, says Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik.
“Devastating power”
According to the Norwegian government, Patriot is “a highly effective air defense system that can combat multiple threats, particularly tactical ballistic missiles”.
— These missiles have great destructive power and cannot be stopped by conventional air defense. Patriot has long-range radar, missiles with very high speed and long range. These characteristics combined enable Patriot to combat ballistic missiles, according to the government’s statement.
— Based on our excellent cooperation with Norway, we are very grateful that we are collaborating on this support measure, and that we will thereby together significantly strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capability, comments German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Hundreds of billions from the West
Critics have pointed out that Western countries have so far delivered weapons packages to Ukraine worth hundreds of billions of euros – money that comes from European taxpayers while many countries are implementing welfare cuts and domestic investments are being postponed.
Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed that the country would purchase American weapons for around $100 billion – financed by Europe – in exchange for American security guarantees after a potential peace agreement with Russia.
The total support from the EU and US to Ukraine since February 2022 is difficult to determine exactly – different sources and calculation methods yield different figures. At the turn of the year, analysts estimated the sum to be between $290 and $400 billion.
The third Thursday in August traditionally marks the premiere for eating the Swedish – strongly fragrant – dish surströmming. The fermented fish, which is both hated and loved by Swedes, has a long tradition – particularly in Norrland (northern Sweden).
Fermentation is one of humanity’s oldest methods for treating and preserving food. In Sweden, for example, archaeological finds from fermentation facilities in southern Sweden have been discovered that are 9,000 years old.
Fermenting fish specifically was something that was very common primarily in the northern and western parts of Sweden, writes Levande historia. As early as 1572, fermented fish is mentioned, and the oldest evidence for the word surströmming is from 1732. It was naturally common to make fermented fish from herring, but other types of fish were also used: roach, perch, as well as whitefish, trout and char.
Even though surströmming has a very special odor, “sur” (sour) doesn’t mean it’s spoiled or rotten, but simply that it’s acidified.
Salted and fermented herring
Salting was also a common way to preserve fish. The difference between salting and fermenting is precisely the amount of salt, but also fermentation. When making salted herring, you use a high amount of salt that prevents bacteria in the fish from fermenting and thus preserves it. With surströmming, you instead use a lower amount of salt and let the bacteria ferment.
Gustav Vasa’s salt shortage
During the 16th century, Sweden was hit by a salt shortage because the then-king Gustav Vasa allegedly mismanaged his credits with trading partner Lübeck, something that Surströmming Academy writes about. As punishment for this, salt deliveries to Sweden were cut off. This in turn led to a marked increase in the production of fermented fish and surströmming because less salt was required.
Even during the 18th century, Sweden was hit by another salt shortage due to discord with England. The salt shortage led to less production of salted herring, and more surströmming.
Birch bark and barrels
To produce surströmming, the fish was first cleaned, then lightly salted in a barrel and covered with birch bark. The barrel was closed with a tight lid. There is evidence that the barrel was often buried and the fermentation process allowed to take place this way, which has led to the fish sometimes being called “grave fish”. Otherwise, the barrels were often stored in a lakeside shed. The fish fermented during the summer and was then eaten in the fall.
Surströmming premiere at restaurant Tennstopet in 1950. Photo: Gunnar Lantz
From everyday food to delicacy
Surströmming was common everyday food in the past and was often eaten by simple and poor households, primarily along the Norrland coast (northern Sweden’s coastline). Originally, surströmming was sold in the barrels it was made in or in open vessels, but during Sweden’s industrialization, the fish began to be sold in canned form.
During the latter part of the 20th century, Swedes began to regard surströmming as a delicacy. In 1940, it was legislated that the surströmming premiere should be the third Thursday in August. This was because authorities wanted to ensure that the fish had fermented sufficiently before it was sold and eaten by the public. The law remained until 1988, but despite this, the tradition of the surströmming premiere lives on primarily in the northern parts of Sweden.
Ulvön island is often called the island of surströmming because it was the place where the fish began to be produced in larger volumes. Today, no industrial production of surströmming takes place on the island, but the spirit of surströmming lives on among the population. In 1999, for example, the Surströmming Academy was founded to maintain the culture. Today there is a museum and the surströmming premiere is a traditional highlight on the island.
Traditional celebrations also exist in other cities. Today there are nine salteries that produce surströmming in Sweden.
Today, half of all surströmming is consumed north of the Dalälven river and the other half south of the river, particularly in Stockholm, Sweden. More than half of those who eat surströmming do so only once a year.
Schnapps is part of it
Eating surströmming is a festive occasion where family and friends gather to eat the fermented fish. It’s a tradition that lives on and not much has changed regarding how it’s eaten.
Due to the strong smell, it’s recommended to open it outdoors, but this wasn’t done in the past. Then you weren’t a “real surströmming eater,” according to stories recorded by the Institute for Language and Folklore.
“You opened the lid and the good ‘whiff’ was allowed to spread. Then you take the surströmming directly from the can and eat it like that”, told Karin Wedin (born 1884), Per Perssson (born 1891) and Anders Liiv (born 1881) in Hedesunda and Valbo, Gästrikland in 1973 (Isof Uppsala, ULMA 29063).
After chewing the surströmming directly from the can, it was also common to eat it with accompaniments. These accompaniments are still eaten today and consist of boiled almond potatoes, flatbread, chopped onion and sour cream. Often the surströmming is placed on the flatbread together with the accompaniments, but you can also make a so-called surströmming sandwich where you also butter the bread and fold it together into a sandwich.
It’s often served with schnapps, but also beer, something that also lives on from the past.
“You drink schnapps the whole time. It’s said that real surströmming lovers eat up to twenty herrings”, the same storytellers as above have testified.
Classic serving of surströmming. Photo: Robert Anders/CC BY 2.0
“Surströmming Challenge”
During the 2010s, surströmming reached foreign shores, not because of its delicacy status in Sweden – but because of its “stinking” character. On social media, under the hashtag “stinkyfishchallenge”, it became popular for people to film themselves both opening surströmming cans and eating it.
The viral spread has made surströmming more famous in Swedish food culture and attracts food enthusiasts as well as tourists to surströmming events.
Norwegian Progress Party politician Sylvi Listhaug has grown tired of Greta Thunberg "repeatedly" returning to Norway to participate in climate activist actions.
Climate activist protests at Norway’s largest oil refinery have triggered harsh criticism from opposition leader Sylvi Listhaug, who is now demanding that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg be expelled from the country.
Monday’s blockade at Equinor Mongstad outside Bergen, Norway, gathered approximately 200 demonstrators from the widely media-covered group Extinction Rebellion. The activists blocked roads to the refinery, which is the country’s largest and primarily produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.
Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug launches a fierce attack against Thunberg in a podcast with Bergen newspaper Bergens Tidende. She is upset that the Swedish activist repeatedly travels to Norway to participate in protests and actions, and believes that enough is enough.
Listhaug, who often profiles herself as a tough law-and-order politician, believes that Thunberg’s repeated demonstrations constitute a serious problem requiring drastic measures.
— I believe she should be expelled, says Listhaug, who even describes Thunberg as a “Swedish gang criminal”.
Thunberg, who temporarily left the demonstration to return on Tuesday, explained the action’s purpose in a press release:
“We are here because there is no future in oil. Fossil fuels lead to death and destruction”, it states.
“Breaks the rules of the game”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre tries to navigate between fundamental rights and practical consequences. In Bergen newspaper Bergensavisen, he emphasizes that Norway stands firm on freedom of expression and demonstration, but simultaneously signals that the activists’ methods are unacceptable when they prevent ordinary people from getting to work.
— It breaks the rules of the game. There are people going to work and they shouldn’t have to experience insecurity with that, the prime minister emphasizes.
The view of Thunberg among European leaders has changed markedly since she was celebrated as a teenager at summits around the world.
After she expanded her activism to include criticism of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and other political issues, she has increasingly begun to be regarded as a disruptive element and an “extremist” who must be stopped or restricted – a sharp contrast to how she was previously portrayed as a hero and role model for young Europeans.
This year's edition of the rock festival Time To Rock took place in Knislinge, a small town in Skåne, southern Sweden. During four July days, The Nordic Times' cultural reporter Mikael Rasmussen was on site to experience a festival filled with emotional artistry that blends well with a strong familial community spirit – and of course: Loads of music!
The four days were filled with community, appreciation and a tremendous amount of music. It’s friendly, cozy and the visitors who choose to attend Time To Rock do so with care. The festival is like a big family that welcomes and integrates. It strikes most visitors what a thoughtful spirit prevails within the constructed community called Time To Rock.
The musical acts are numerous and varied where many tastes are truly satisfied. It’s especially charming to observe when children also come along and show appreciation as well as provide humor in that way that only children can when, for example, their favorite band performs. Smash Into Pieces attracted children and adults alike where the entire festival area swayed as both seated and standing audience members sang along, applauded and smiled in agreement at how well everything fits like a glove.
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The promised land of camping life
The festival is also reaching its limit in terms of accommodation for those who choose to camp. There were 300 more overnight guests than last year and now the Time To Rock management needs to look for land alternatives. This means the festival can accommodate approximately 1,100 camping guests. But the land issue becomes a tough nut to crack, expresses Martin, the camping general maestro, who guided Mikael Rasmussen around the camping area in his fine golf cart. There’s a lot of recycling during these days where a collaboration with a dealer in Kristianstad, Sweden enables them to even return cans from Germany, for example, precisely because there’s such a quantity and the metal is valuable, just as valuable as the metal music that’s played and performed from the stages.
For example, the German veteran band Dirkschneider performed with Udo Dirkschneider and his characteristic workshop height that thereby lifted the entire atmosphere to the audience’s delight. Their repertoire on this occasion was to play all the songs from the legendary album Balls To The Wall which celebrated its 40th anniversary. There was also an opportunity for the audience to rock out to Dirkschneider’s encore conducting the song Princess Of The Dawn.
Three stages with 47 bands where most of the playing schedule held up health-wise except for Black Ingvars who we missed with their interpretations of children’s songs, schlager and dance band swing in incredibly heavy hard rock arrangements. At short notice, the band Alien replaced Black Ingvars’ absence instead. It’s enjoyment for all the senses with all the bands that perform. There are wonderful bands like Quireboys who offered beautiful southern rock with elements of very competent rock harmonica. The band Oomph thundered like Rammstein and the singer offered theatrical looks and expressions. More senses were also satisfied when Cobra Spell performed in latex, leather and managed to conceal the most intimate parts in kinky leather and latex as well as their instruments.
Crescendo on the fourth day
Clearly the best was the last day of the festival’s four fully packed days of beer, food, camping and musical equilibrium. Always equally fantastic to see and hear Mikkey Dee from legendary King Diamond then Motörhead and now frequently touring with Scorpions, where he traveled from Hannover to Knislinge, Sweden to perform songs from the time with Motörhead.
— It’s a shame about the bands that have to perform bad songs to empty audiences while well-composed melodies are a pride to perform such as Ace Of Spades, said Mikkey with a twinkle in his eye.
What song should we play now then, Mikkey asked the audience. Ace of Base, came the joking response from the audience.
The program continued and was followed thereafter by, for example, Jean Beauvoir, the children’s favorite Smash Into Pieces with delicious catchy songs, cool computer graphics and fire show. Then Majestica with fantastic guitar equilibrium by Tommy Johansson like Yngwie Malmsteen and with a singing voice that in its highest registers conjures images of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford himself. Yes, these are truly powerful experiences and the program delivers and then tops it off with Myrath who alternates oriental dance and musical elements in their metal-based melodic compositions.
The charismatic theater and drama-dressed singer Noora Louhimo in Battle Beast gives her band and the festival’s visitors new dimensions and it would be desirable if the musicians also knew to match the artistic drama queen Noora. New as master of ceremonies this year was Orvar Säfström.
Welcome to your comfortable comfort zone! Orvar encouraged the audience in a hymn to the legendary departed Lemmy from Motörhead. The audience was urged to look up to the sky because that’s where he is, stated Säfström, and nowhere else!
Another encounter that touches my soul and heart is with one of the festival’s most frequent visitors. The person is named Jens Björk and we can all see him usually sitting in his wheelchair on the designated wheelchair ramps with a good view of the stages and artists. At regular intervals, Jens wants to film with his smartphone or stand up and groove to the rhythmically heavy hard rock and metal songs that reach him perhaps deeper than the rest of us. Jens suffered a stroke and subsequent aphasia about 10 years ago and has since undergone various therapeutic treatments.
Jens constantly works on practicing language, movements and social contexts. It feels extra nice when trust is built up and our mutual patience means we understand each other and music is like wisdom at such a frequency that it can only be perceived. Therefore music can be healing and curative, and despite the high sound volume streaming from the speakers at Time To Rock, the ears are not damaged but instead the tones reach deep into the audience’s bodies. And Jens texts me a couple of days after Time To Rock packed up and writes like this:
“Good evening! Jens here with the wheelchair. Now I’ve woken up after a wonderful festival in Knislinge and the last band Sonata Arctica – really lovely end to the festival”.
This certainly puts a finger on how important these fantastic festivals are!
Bows & curtseys
So thanks to the entire Time To Rock management with festival general Andreas Martinsson at the helm, press manager and everyone’s Andreas Hygge Hügard to all those who built up the festival environment, host and security personnel, emergency services such as police and ambulance who also like the church had a welcoming event element where those who wanted to familiarize themselves with its so important functions. These good people were Time To Rock 2025 and visitors already express a longing for Knislinge’s oasis. May all good energies flow!
And we also put in a request for next year — the fantastic goth rock band Fields Of The Nephilim. Thanks in advance!
