Birka Shield-maiden.
Birka Shield-maiden.
Shield-maidens are female warriors that take on male roles including wielding weapons and are depicted in many period figures, tapestries and brooches as well as mentioned by the famous Danish historian of the time, Saxo Grammaticus.
The Birka female Viking warrior was a woman buried in the 10th century in Birka, Sweden and discovered in the 1870s.
The grave was assumed to be a "battle-hardened man" for 128 years until DNA analysis proved she was actually a high-ranking professional warrior.
Birka originates from around 750 AD, it is a strategic area of the size of 12 hectares built on an ancient defensive earthwork.
The population of Birka was between 500 and 1000 people and it is considered Sweden's oldest town.
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