What did the Vikings look like?

A Viking ear pick. The Vikings used ear picks to clean out their ears, in a similar way to how we use cotton buds today.

Picture a Viking. Do you see a young, strong, red- or blonde-haired man in front of you? Perhaps there is something in this. The Arabic author Ibn Fadlan described the Vikings as follows: ”I have never seen people with a more perfect body build. They are like date palms and their skin is reddish". The most important knowledge about the physical appearance of the Vikings comes from archaeological finds of skeletons from the period. Up until now, around 500 Viking skeletons have been found in Denmark. However, here the picture of the big, strong Viking fades a little. The bones show a population that suffered from tooth problems and aching joints, for instance.

Big strong Vikings? The physical build of the Vikings was much like our own. But we can assume that they must have been more muscular than we are today, because of the hard physical work that they did.

Masculine women and feminine men The fine decoration on the Oseberg Ship from Norway shows what the Vikings looked like. Photo: Annie Dalbéra. The faces of men and women in the Viking Age were more alike than they are today. The women’s faces were more masculine than women’s today, with prominent brow ridges. On the other hand, the Viking man’s appearance was more feminine than that of men today, with a less prominent jaw and brow ridges. These ambiguous facial features mean that it is difficult to decide upon a Viking skeleton’s sex based on the skull alone. Therefore, other traits need to be studied in order to identify the sex of skeletons. Pelvis width can be very useful in this respect.

Red- or blonde-haired Vikings? Genetic research has shown that the Vikings in West Scandinavia, and therefore in Denmark, were mostly red-haired. However, in North Scandinavia, in the area around Stockholm, blonde hair was dominant.

Hygiene and beauty Combs of wood or bone are amongst the most common finds from the Viking period. The Vikings often kept such combs in boxes to protect them, so they were obviously important items. The photograph also shows a pair of tweezers and an ear pick, which were regularly used by the Vikings. Archaeological finds of ”beauty items” from the Viking period show that such equipment has not significantly changed over the years. If we examine “the toilet bags” of the Vikings we find beautiful patterned combs, ear picks and tweezers. Wear marks on teeth also indicate that tooth picks were used. Make-up can also be added to the list of beauty items. A Spanish Arab who visited Hedeby around the year 1000 described how both men and women in the town wore make-up to look younger and more attractive. In England Viking men reportedly had great success with the local women. The Viking males were apparently clean and pleasant smelling, as they took a bath on Saturdays, combed their hair and were well dressed.