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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/possible-royal-ship-grave-found-in-norway/

Norway

Possible royal ship grave found in Norway

Published June 28, 2024 – By Editorial staff
The ship's grave is linked to legends from the Viking Age.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-experts-sound-alarm-over-weight-loss-medication/

Norway

Norwegian experts sound alarm over weight-loss medication

Published yesterday 12:55 pm – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

More and more people are using weight-loss medications to lose weight. Now Norwegian experts are sounding the alarm that these drugs may trigger a new form of eating disorder – a so-called "dieting disorder" where patients become trapped in destructive behavior.

The use of various weight-loss medications has increased in many countries recently, with drugs like Wegovy and the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic increasingly being used for weight loss. These drugs have gained traction because they contain semaglutide, which increases the feeling of satiety.

Danish experts have previously warned that this type of medication can worsen and even trigger various types of eating disorders, with a larger proportion of patients taking the medication in a destructive manner. Now Norwegian experts in the field are also stepping forward, noting that there is an entirely new patient group – those who cannot stop taking weight-loss medications.

— We're getting quite a few people coming to us after having taken weight-loss medication for a while who say they can no longer control it themselves, but they don't dare stop taking the medication because they will then gain weight, says psychologist Bente Sommerfeldt to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

"Dieting disorder"

Sommerfeldt specializes in eating disorders and says that more and more people in the field are talking about how the growing market for obesity medications has triggered what may become a new diagnosis.

— We are on the verge of getting yet another eating disorder, which we might call dieting disorder.

General practitioners also see risks with the use of weight-loss medication and believe that there is currently no good method for actually stopping it once you've started.

— At present, we have no good method for stopping this medication. The most important thing is therefore that we speak clearly with patients, says Torgeir Hoff Skavøy, who is chairman of the Norwegian Association of General Practitioners.

Cathrine M Lofthu, who heads the Norwegian Directorate of Health, says they take the experts' warnings very seriously and that we must recognize this is a social problem.

— We have created a society where it is difficult to make good choices, she says.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norway-fails-to-eradicate-wild-boar/

Norway

Norway fails to eradicate wild boar

Published yesterday 7:31 am – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Despite Norwegian authorities wanting to eliminate all wild boar in the country, the population remains stable. According to new figures from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), between 450 and 700 wild boar live in the border areas with Sweden – and migration from Swedish forests makes it nearly impossible to reach zero.

The figures come from NINA's latest monitoring of the wild boar population during the 2024/2025 hunting season. Norway has been trying to reduce the population for some time, primarily due to the damage that wild boar can cause. But the population remains stable at the same level each year.

— Wild boar can damage crops and spread diseases to domestic pigs, which can harm the industry. That's why Norway wants to eradicate the species, says Inger Maren Rivrud, researcher at NINA, to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Behind Norway's difficulties in eliminating the wild boar is primarily the large population on the other side of the border. In Sweden, there are over 300,000 wild boar, and nearly 120,000 animals are shot each year without the population decreasing significantly.

Swedish biologist Marcus Öhman has previously proposed that wild boar meat should be served in public institutions as part of the solution. For Norway, the Swedish population means that animals constantly migrate across the border.

— Even if we eliminate all of them in Norway, wild boar will still come from Sweden. Keeping the population at zero will be nearly impossible, says Rivrud.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Environment Agency have previously proposed that a fence should be built along the border in areas where most wild boar migrate. But according to Rivrud, extensive hunting efforts are also required for the population to decrease.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/culture/unique-discovery-found-in-viking-grave/

Culture

Unique discovery found in Viking grave

Published November 14, 2025 – By Editorial staff
3 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

A skeleton from the Viking Age has been found in Norway with burial details that have never before been documented in pre-Christian graves in the Nordic region. The find has led archaeologists to work in secret, and now DNA analyses will provide answers to the mystery surrounding the woman from the 800s.

The discovery was made in Bjugn in Trøndelag, central Norway, after Roy Søreng was searching with a metal detector in a field in Val earlier this year. When he found a belt buckle, a typical ornament from the Viking Age, he contacted the authorities.

Archaeologists from NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet (the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's Museum of Natural History and Archaeology) and Trøndelag municipality then began work at the site where they were able to confirm that it was a grave.

— The Viking Age grave contains what we believe is a woman, buried with typical Viking Age dress and jewelry from the 800s. This indicates that she was a free and probably married woman, perhaps the mistress of the farm, said senior engineer Raymond Sauvage at the Department of Archaeology and Cultural History at Vitenskapsmuseet in a press release.

Remarkable find

The work has since continued in secret because the find was deemed so significant. Now the archaeologists reveal that they found jewelry consisting of two oval brooches that fastened the straps of the pinafore dress, as well as a small ring brooch that closed the neck opening of the undergarment. It was one of these brooches that Søreng originally discovered. The skeleton was also very well preserved.

But the most remarkable aspect is what was found at the dead woman's mouth.

— The most remarkable thing is two scallop shells placed at the deceased's mouth. This is a practice not previously known from pre-Christian graves in Norway. We don't yet know what the symbolism means, said Sauvage.

The burial custom with shells did not become common until approximately 300-400 years later, and pre-Christian graves with shells have never before been found in Scandinavia, Sauvage explains.

— We must try to find out what significance this had, he told Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Second find in a short time

The shells were positioned with the curved side outward and the straight edge upward, so that they partially covered the mouth. Along the grave, the researchers also found small bird bones, probably from wings.

During the Viking Age, burials were ritual stagings where jewelry, clothing and grave goods expressed status and identity. The deceased was displayed with dress, bedding and symbolic objects to create a strong memory and emphasize the family's social position.

Earlier this year, another grave was found in the same field, dated to the 700s. The next step is to DNA-analyze the find to learn more about the woman in the grave, including whether she may be related to the person in the other grave.

— We will examine the skeleton, preserve the objects and take samples for dating and DNA analysis. The goal is to learn more about the person and, if possible, kinship to the earlier find from the same location, said Sauvage.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/more-children-born-in-norway-for-second-consecutive-year/

Norway

More children born in Norway for second consecutive year

Published November 12, 2025 – By Editorial staff
1 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Birth rates in Norway are rising for the second consecutive year after reaching a historic low in 2022, according to new statistics from the Medical Birth Registry. Despite the increase, too few children are still being born.

Last year, 54,472 children were born in Norway, representing an increase of 3.6 percent compared to the previous year. This stands in stark contrast to 2022, when the country had the lowest number of births in many decades.

— Whether this is a trend, we are uncertain, but more children are being born now than in previous years, says senior physician Liv Cecilie Vestrheim Thomsen at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Larger birth cohorts reaching parenting age

Thomsen points to a demographic explanation. Around 40 years ago, birth cohorts in Norway were small, but those born in the late 1980s and into the 1990s were significantly larger. It is this generation that is now at the age when many choose to start families.

— It may be that they have now decided to have children, says Thomsen.

Despite the increase, only 1.44 children are born per woman in Norway. For the population to replace itself, approximately 2.1 children per woman are required. The average age for first-time mothers is now almost 32 years.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com