The Viking helmets: Where are they all?
In Norway alone, approximately 10,000 weapons have been retrieved from Viking graves. With the frequent mentioning of helmets in the history of the Vikings and the contemporary depictions (25), one would expect a large number of helmets to be found in the graves. Similarly, one would expect Viking helmets to be found in Sweden, especially in those central areas on the east coast that are so rich in helmet finds from the preceding centuries, areas that remained strong centers all through the Viking Age. The astonishing fact, however, is that, in all of Scandinavia, only one Viking helmet has been found! Helmets are also missing in the Viking city of Birka, which had a garrison of its own, with more than 100 excavated weapon graves, which even contained pieces of cuirasses of iron (12). With the single exception mentioned above, then, Viking helmets are simply not there. Where they are, if they ever existed, remains a mystery. Let us discuss some possible explanations. If, for some reaso