episode-header-image

Aug 2023

55m 38s

358: Viking Sorcery

About this episode

Warning! This one isn’t for the faint-hearted... A naked, torch-carrying man, who would walk backwards around a funeral pyre, with his fingers covering his anus. The armed woman who worked a loom made from human body parts. 6-legged reindeers. Slaves buried alive with their owners, tapestries woven of human flesh, and rituals with horse penises. Tom and Dominic, in one of the most eagerly-awaited The Rest Is History episodes of all time, are joined by archaeologist Neil Price, as they delve into the strange and gruesome world of Viking Sorcery.

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter:

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Producer: Theo Young-Smith

Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next

581. The Irish Civil War: The Killing of Michael Collins (Part 2)

After the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson and the signing of the polarising Anglo-Irish Treaty, how did the bombastic Battle of the Four Courts break out in Dublin? With British guns opening fire on the building, how long did the men of the IRA hold out? What was the outcome of ... Show More

580. The Irish Civil War: The Assassination of Sir Henry Wilson (Part 1)

Who was Sir Henry Wilson, and how was he shockingly murdered in 1922? Who ordered it? What was his attitude to the question of Irish Home Rule? Why has death been compared to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose death triggered the First World War? How did he garn ... Show More

579. The Irish War of Independence: Showdown in London (Part 4)

What were the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed in December 1921, following negotiations between the UK and Sinn Féin? How was it received by the Irish people? What was the process by which it was agreed between Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Michael Collins, and Arthur G ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

Viking Yule: The Norse Winter Holiday & the Wild Hunt w/ Dr. Terry Gunnell

Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historyofvikingVisit my friend and Swedish blacksmith, Philip Lufolk: https://lufolk.comMedieval Scandinavians and other Germanic peoples celebrated a holiday called Yule during the time of year when days became longer and ... Show More

Viking Combat: The Violent Society of the Norse w/ Hurstwic

Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historyofvikingDuring the Middle Ages, seafaring Scandinavian marauders wrought havoc in lands both near and far—from Iceland to Finland, and Córdoba to Constantinople. These were warriors who belonged to an altogether viol ... Show More

Britain's forgotten slave owners: Part two

How one man used research by historians at University College London into Britain's forgotten slave-owners to track down the descendants of the family who'd owned his ancestors two centuries earlier. Dr James Dawkins tells Louise Hidalgo how his quest led him to the famous evolut ... Show More

Jersey: Ice Age Island

The largest of the Channel Islands, when you think of Jersey, it's doubtful that Neanderthals, Woolly Mammoths, and Woolly Rhinoceroses come to mind. But thanks to 20th-century excavations and advancing science in the modern age, we now know that Jersey was one of the largest sit ... Show More

31A-Viking Sagas: Odd Man Out

The saga of the legendary Viking Arrow-Odd contains trolls, ogres, giants, magic arrows, and a sorceress getting smacked in the nose. The mistakes of one Viking's past...or just a Viking being a Viking, haunt him. There's a dangerous Viking teddy bear, and if an angry, famed warr ... Show More

163. The Tattooed Girl: From Mormon to Native American

In 1850, 13-year-old Olive Oatman and her family set off on the perilous journey by foot from Missouri to Arizona. Olive and her little sister were captured by a group of Native Americans and then sold to another. Yet rather than being treated as slaves, the girls were treated wi ... Show More

S2E13 For King and Country

Three soldiers of the Black Watch are put to death at the Tower of London. Their sentence: mutiny. Their silence, historic. Why did they choose not to defend themselves? Is the truth wound up with the mysterious stranger who visited them on the eve of their court martial, and how ... Show More

Before Rome: The Truth About Late Iron Age Britain

Roman connections with Britain stretch back to (at least) the mid 1st century BC. But what has archaeology revealed about the Late Iron Age British societies they interacted with? Do we have any concrete evidence for the druids? Was human sacrifice a thing? Sit back and enjoy in ... Show More

The Parthians were heavyweights of ancient Mesopotamia. Hailing from what is now modern day Iran, they charged onto the scene by destroying the Seleucid Empire and became one of Rome’s most formidable enemies. They are perhaps most famous for capturing Crassus - Rome’s spider-lik ... Show More

Human Origins: Australopithecus

For millions of years, Australopithecus thrived in Africa's vast landscapes, laying the groundwork for the emergence of the Homo genus. Later, alongside early members of the Homo genus, Australopithecus played a crucial role in shaping human evolution and our present-day existenc ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami