
Rachel Morgan
Rachel Morgan is an archaeologist interested in material culture studies, small finds, regulatory compliance, and conflict archaeology. She holds a MA in Medieval Archaeology from the University of York and a BA in History and Anthropology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Articles by Rachel Morgan

According to Norse sagas, Erik the Red led the first Viking settlement of Greenland in the 980s CE. Does archaeology support the story of the sagas?

The Vikings erected thousands of monumental runestones around the Viking world. What can they tell us about life in the Viking Age?
The Vikings erected thousands of monumental runestones around the Viking world. What can they tell us about life in the Viking Age?

In the 1960s, Anne and Helge Ingstad discovered an 11th-century Viking settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada, proving that the Vikings made it to North America.
In the 1960s, Anne and Helge Ingstad discovered an 11th-century Viking settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada, proving that the Vikings made it to North America.

At the end of the 1930s, an Anglo-Saxon ship burial emerged from a mound in Suffolk. The rich assortment of medieval grave goods offered valuable insights into the Anglo-Saxon world.
At the end of the 1930s, an Anglo-Saxon ship burial emerged from a mound in Suffolk. The rich assortment of medieval grave goods offered valuable insights into the Anglo-Saxon world.

New archaeological tools continue to give archaeologists innovative means of interrogating the past. These advances bring experts closer than ever to understanding the Viking world.
New archaeological tools continue to give archaeologists innovative means of interrogating the past. These advances bring experts closer than ever to understanding the Viking world.

Norse sagas and archaeology document the settlement of Viking Iceland, providing both overlapping and contradictory versions of events.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a medieval treasure that reveals the history of the Norman conquest of England in extraordinary detail.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a medieval treasure that reveals the history of the Norman conquest of England in extraordinary detail.

To validate their claims of racial purity, the Nazi party turned to pseudoscience and an imagined past. Viking mythology and archaeology became essential to the Nazi propaganda machine.

Construction in York, England unearthed a Viking Age town called Jorvik. Archaeological excavations revealed an Anglo-Norse world rich with information about the past.
Construction in York, England unearthed a Viking Age town called Jorvik. Archaeological excavations revealed an Anglo-Norse world rich with information about the past.

Many Vikings lived on farms in small villages throughout medieval Scandinavia. Remnants of the longhouses they called home reveal much about their lives.

Brimming with silver and gold, Viking treasure hoards never fail to intrigue when they emerge from the earth. Their deposition reveals the wealth and instability of the medieval Norse world.
Brimming with silver and gold, Viking treasure hoards never fail to intrigue when they emerge from the earth. Their deposition reveals the wealth and instability of the medieval Norse world.

Vikings reproduced Thor’s legendary hammer, Mjolnir, across the medieval world. These artifacts shed light on Norse beliefs across space and time.
Vikings reproduced Thor’s legendary hammer, Mjolnir, across the medieval world. These artifacts shed light on Norse beliefs across space and time.