10th-Century Figurine Reveals What Vikings Really Looked Like

Because Vikings almost never depicted themselves in their art, instead focusing on animals and abstract patterns, we have very few contemporaneous representations of these medieval seafarers.

A small game piece recently unveiled at a museum in Denmark may be the most accurate depiction of a Viking ever found.

This 10th-century artifact was first discovered in Norway in 1796, but then sat in storage at the National Museum of Denmark for decades. Recently, however, it was rediscovered while a curator was going through their collection in preparation for a new exhibit.

After it was rediscovered, the game piece was re-examined and found to provide a rare look at Viking hairstyles and fashion. Because Vikings rarely ever depicted themselves in their art, this figurine, believed to be a piece