warriors of Birka

Warriors from the 10th century Viking garrison of BIRKA (located on an island in Sweden).

FEMALE WARRIOR: Inspired by the grave Bj 581, with some liberties taken (some finds from other tombs from Birka have been added for the coolness factor). The burial in question, found in the 1870s, was originally assumed to be that of a male warrior. But since its discovery, there had been suspicions that the bones could have belonged to a woman instead, and in 2017, a DNA analysis confirmed that the grave belonged to a female individual, buried in full military gear, with two horses, two shields, two spears, archery equipment, a big battle axe, a sword, a long knife and a short knife, suggesting that the buried individual was, in fact, a female warrior and probably a member of the elite. I’m not aware of any traces of mail armour in this burial, but I’ve decided to add one for contrast with the eastern lamellar armour of the mercenary. Yes, remains of the silk hat with a silver cone were found in the Bj 581 grave. This type of hat was a fashion of the steppe, yet another evidence of contacts between Viking age Sweden and the East.

EASTERN SLAVIC MERCENARY FROM THE LAND OF THE RUS: This warrior has been hypothetically reconstructed using various artifacts of eastern origin found in Birka (except the sabre, which is not from Birka but based on a Rus find from Shestovica, Ukraine, as I thought it fitted well with such an eastern kit, even though a Viking sword could have been used instead). The helmet is a hypothetical reconstruction in the style of Asiatic-style helmets from the Rus but incorporating a bronze decorative edge from Birka that is believed to have been part of a helmet. The shield lacks an iron boss, as there is strong evidence that Slavs didn’t use shield bosses, and the few shield bosses found in the Rus are associated with Scandinavian colonization. The lamellar armour is probably one of the most controversial finds from Birka and any other Viking context. Despite its abuse in modern Viking combat reenactment, the most likely explanation is that lamellar armour in Birka was used by mercenaries from the East, rather than the local Norse warriors.

Replicas used:
- Eastern Slavic shield inspired by a hypothetical reconstruction by Tobias Homolka.
- Lamellar armour by True History Shop (with an added blue patina).
- Helmet bronze decoration by For the Gods.
- Carved antler marlinspike hanging from the belt of the female warrior by Lars Jensen.
- Sabre by Ruslana.
- Axe of the mercenary by Armeria Paul Castro.