“While we cannot prove that the remains are those of the individual mentioned in the saga, the circumstantial evidence is consistent with this conclusion,” the researchers wrote in a study published in the journal iScience.
The archaeologist Anna Petersén, who led the excavation work, told the broadcaster NRK: “I would say there’s a high probability this is the man from the saga — not only based on the dates, but also as the whole context matches what’s written.”
The Sverris saga relates the life of the Norwegian king Sverre Sigurdsson, who rose to power in the latter half of the 12th century during a period of civil war that continued for decades after he died in 1202.
The 182-verse saga, believed to have been written by an Icelandic abbot close to Sverre, is described as unique in the rich accounts it gives of his battles. One passage describes how in 1197 the king’s enemies attacked his stronghold at Sverresborg, pillaging the castle and razing every dwelling to the ground while the monarch was away in Bergen.
This story is from the October 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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