Rather than go to Denmark, we went to the British Museum to learn all about the Vikings. The longest Viking ship ever was discovered in Denmark some time ago. Curators soaked the wood in some special substance for 10 years, then spent another 4 years freeze drying all the boards. Some inferences were made, and the boards have been laid onto a metal framework as part of an incredible special exhibit here in London. In L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, there was ONE clasp from a cloak, and evidence of buildings, fires, smelting, etc. In this exhibit we saw MANY clasps.
Probably the most interesting things we saw were the "hoards" of silver coins and jewelry that have been found in the last 30 years in various spots where the Viking had been. The most common written phrase from the Viking times in the Viking territories, "There is but one God, and his name is Allah." To date 200,000 coins from Muslim lands have been found as part of hoards!
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