New discoveries are breaking old assumptions about Viking women, rewriting history by restoring them to their rightful place on the battlefield.

Each year they prepare obsessively for Up Helly Aa, assembling, plank by plank, a replica of a Viking ship. Bristling with spears and swords, Viking and Slav reenactors face off in a mock battle ...

Two wounds in the skull were probably made by a spear, and marks on the spine ... looked as if they had been struck by swords. Could this have been a Viking attack on a monastery?

Another possible bit of Viking trivia: The Vikings must have been ridiculously fit. The steel sword Mikkelsen uses in stage battles weighs about 5 pounds, his shield weighs 7 or 8, and his helmet ...