Say Vikings! and certain images leap to mind, yet the well-worn stereotypes hardly tell the whole story. Behind battle axes and dragon-prowed longships lay a bustling world of keen traders, prosperous townsmen, diligent livestock farmers, and master shipbuilders. From their ranks came extraordinary,legendary explorers and settlers-men and women who expanded the horizons of their world, and ours.
Limestone Picture Stone
The tradition of carving picture stones on the island of Gotland dates from ca. A.D. 500. Many of them reflect Norse beliefs. Here, a ship bears fallen warriors to the afterlife, where they feast and fight forever in Valhalla.
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