In the spring of 2022, Polish author Marek Kryda, the author of the book “Viking Poland,” claimed to have found the lost burial mound of Viking king Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson. Experts are skeptical.
At the time, Kryda told several media outlets (including the Daily Mail) that he used LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to spot the burial mound – allegedly located in Wiejkowo, Poland – from space. The technology measures distance by pointing a laser at a target and then analyzing the reflected light.
King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson is well known for uniting Denmark and Norway in 958 and for his dead tooth, which earned him the nickname Bluetooth due to its dark blue/grey color.
Most sources point to Bluetooth dying in 986 in the mythical Viking stronghold of Jomsborg. Still, his last resting place has eluded researchers for centuries.
By using satellite technology, Kryda says he was able to locate the grave and identify the royal burial mound in Poland. The alleged find also aligns with a previous discovery from the site.
Roughly eight years ago, Swedish archaeologist Sven Rosborn uncovered a gold disc (today known as the “Curmsun” disc) in the same area as Bluetooth’s alleged burial mound.
However, Kryda’s claims were mostly met with silence in the expert community.
Pentz: Bluetooth’s final resting place still unknown
Peter Pentz, the curator of the National Museum of Denmark, told The Viking Herald that they were familiar with Kryda’s claims.
“Thank you for your kind question about the burial of Harald Bluetooth and Marek Kryda’s article about a possible burial mound at Wiejkowo near Wolin.
“We are already familiar with Kryda’s article and his thoughts about Harald Bluetooth’s death and burial in this mound, just as we also know Marek Kryda’s other theses, all of which testify to great enthusiasm and interest in the Viking Age and this period in the Polish area,” Pentz stated.
He pointed out that the location of the burial mound of Harald Gormsson remains unknown.
“It is not known where Harald Bluetooth was buried, but several theories exist. There are many possibilities.
“Personally, I would probably expect that, in light of the significant Christian marking of the Jelling Stone’s inscription, he was given a Christian burial in a church—perhaps in Roskilde, Zealand, as one of the written sources claims.
“However, this is just guesswork. As I said, many possibilities can be imagined.”
A theory that’s difficult to assess
Furthermore, Pentz added that the currently available information makes it hard to assess the validity of Kryda’s theory.
“On the present basis, including Marek Kryda’s observations and his theory, it is difficult to assess the probability of this theory suggesting that the mound by Wiejkowo is a burial mound and, if so, whether it could contain a buried Viking and in this case, king Harald,” Pentz concluded.
Source: The Viking Herald / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayTravel
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