The Vendel Period pre-dated the Viking Age in Sweden between 550-800 AD as ships sailed east to explore the waterways of eastern Europe. The saga of Swedish Viking Ingvar the Far-travelled was thought to be a tale rather than a real story based on events. However a series of runestones in central Sweden tell the story about a great expedition east led by the Viking chieftain Ingvar. The Ynglinga saga states that Ingvar was a great warrior who patrolled the shores of his kingdom fighting Danes and Estonians. He made peace with the Danes so he could focus on Estonia landing at a palce called Stein. The Estonians assembled a great army inland and attacked King Ingvar in a great battle. The Estonian forces were too powerful and Ingvar fell while the Swedish forces retreated. The saga says the famous warrior was buried in a mound on the shores of Estonia.

Two Vendel Age ships were uncovered at Salme Estonia which tell the tale of a great battle 50-100 years before the famous Viking raid on Lindisfarne. The Battle of Salme began with an attack from bowmen. The rain of arrows hit the ships and the men causing the first casualties. Fierce close combat ensued with swords clashing. The remains show broken bones and skulls and dismemberments - clearly the attackers were very strong and experienced swordsmen. The Swedes were themselves caught in an unexpected attack. Some were struck from their backs, some were attacked by multiple enemies at the same time. Wounds on the skeletons depict the Estonians first tactic was to to target their arm or shoulder rendering them unable to fight. These wounded warriors were finished off with a blow to the head.

Here one can see the beach where the battle took place, as well as the monument where the ships were found. These ships were clinker-built between 650-700 AD in Scandinavia - one was 12 meters long and the second over 17 meters long. Neither had a mast or sails - but rather had been rowed across the Baltic. The sides of the ships were covered in embedded arrowheads. After losing too many oarsmen to the Estonian archers, the raiders pulled their ships aground and tried to defend themselves behind them. The ships were buried with the skeletal remains of 41 warriors including a variety of weapons and tools. It appears the Estonians allowed the Scandinavians to ritually bury their dead afterwards in the boats. The dead warriors, along with their belongings, were placed in the ships and were in turn filled with sand and gravel from the beach.

Bodies from the larger ship hilighted in this Spotlight likely belonged to noble birth as many had expensive bronze sword-hilts. The first 4 samples shown were all brothers having identical male and female haplogroups. The grave goods were of Scandinavian design and the isotropic ratios of strontium and oxygen in the teeth combined with the artifacts show these early Vikings had come from the Stockholm region. The saga of Ingvar ends: the fair-haired Swedish king laid low. On Estlands strand, oer Swedish graves. The East Sea sings her song of waves; King Ingvars dirge is oceans roar. Resounding on the rock-ribbed shore. Nonetheless the few survivors were allowed to bury their dead comrades on the beach with honorable ship burials. Could it be these ships themselves belong to Ingvar and he was among the ancient samples uncovered? You decide!