This Week In History News, Jun. 21 – 27

Published June 26, 2020

Murdered Stone Age man's face reconstructed, mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke believed to be solved, historic Viking settlement unearthed.

Scientists Reconstruct Face Of Stone Age Man Whose Skull Was Found Mounted On A Spike

Reconstruction Of Stone Age Man

Oscar NilssonUsing a CT scan and other state-of-the-art technology, experts were able to reconstruct this man’s face based on the remains of his 8,000-year-old skull.

About 8,000 years ago, a man was killed alongside 10 other adults and one infant in a mysterious ritual in modern-day Sweden. In 2018, his jawless skull was found mounted on a spike at the bottom of a lake.

Scientists have since been able to piece together his grisly final moments. Now, they’ve even managed to reconstruct his face right down to his haircut and eye color.

See the amazing results for yourself.

Archaeologists May Have Finally Solved The Mystery Of The Lost Colony Of Roanoke

Lost Colony Of Roanoke Island

Wikimedia CommonsJohn White’s depiction of his 1590 expedition to Roanoke Island.

Ever since the settlers of the Roanoke colony vanished without a trace in 1590, the mystery of what happened to them has remained unsolved. Now, after a decade-long archaeological dig, researchers say they’ve solved this 400-year-old mystery.

During this dig on North Carolina’s Hatteras Island, the 16th-century home of the Croatoan tribe, researchers found thousands of artifacts that they believe are proof of what really happened to the lost colony.

Discover more about what happened to Roanoke.

Newly Uncovered Settlement In Iceland Rewrites The Timeline Of The Vikings

Earliest Viking Settlement

Bjarni EinarssonA Viking settlement dating back to 800 A.D. has rewritten the historical timeline of the ancient seafarers.

Researchers in Iceland recently discovered of a pair of Viking longhouses dating back to about 800 A.D.

The longhouses were discovered in Stöð, a town in the east of Iceland. Each measured hundreds of feet long and had been built using materials like wood, turf, and thatch.

Most astonishingly, the estimated age of one of the structures pushes back previous estimates of when Vikings first settled in what’s now Iceland.

Dig deeper here.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.