Incisor raiding: Viking marauders had patterns filed into their teeth

Archaeologists say filed patterns in teeth of Viking warriors found in mass grave in Dorset may have been to frighten opponents
The remains of Vikings found in a mass grave in Dorset showed that many had their teeth filed. Photograph: PR




David Score, of Oxford Archaeology, the unit which has been studying the bones since they were discovered in a pit near Weymouth in 2009, said: "It's difficult to say how painful the process of filing teeth may have been, but it wouldn't have been a pleasant experience."

"The purpose behind filed teeth remains unclear but as we know these men were warriors, it may have been to frighten opponents in battle or to show their status as a great fighter."

The mass of bones, 54 bodies and 51 skulls all of young fit men, was a wholly unexpected discovery as archaeologists worked on the site of the Weymouth relief road.

The Romans were first blamed, but carbon dating and isotope analysis of the bones gave a much later date of the 10th or early 11th century, and Scandinavian origin - one man came from north of the Arctic circle, suggesting a rare defeat for a Viking marauding party.

Many of the skeletons showed brutal slash marks, with one bearing six cut marks on the back of the neck, and other bones of hands and arms sliced through. Skulls, leg bones and rib cages had been piled up separately in the burial pit. There was no trace of clothing or possessions, suggesting the men were naked when they died, and the missing heads are interpreted as evidence of gruesome souvenirs kept by their killers.

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