Horses & dogs

HORSES and dogs may have arrived in Britain with the Vikings, new research has shown.

According to the BBC, recent analysis of bone remains from the ninth century has revealed that Vikings sailing from Scandinavia to England brought horses, dogs and perhaps even pigs with them.

It is now believed that the animals travelled on Viking longboats across the North Sea, a journey that could take several weeks. Horses were said to be smaller then than they are now, which can explain how they were made to fit on board the ships.

This would contradict previous beliefs that invading Vikings largely stole animals from villages in Britain.

The findings also reportedly provide evidence that Viking leaders had a close relationship with their animals.

Bone fragments found on funeral pyres in Heath Wood, Derbyshire ­ the only known large Scandinavian cremation site in Britain ­ show that the animals were burned together with their owners, and were therefore more important to the Vikings than merely being used for economic purposes.

The findings were published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

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