Vikings are infamous for their plundering and pillaging, but new research finds that the Viking Age may have been triggered by trade, and wasn't as violent as previously thought.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Archaeology.

Archaeologists from the University of York, who were behind the study, also suggest that the dawn of the Viking Age began earlier than scientists realized. Previously, the start of the Viking Age has been dated to a June 793 raid by Norwegian Vikings on Lindisfarne. But now, it appears that Vikings were traveling from Norway to the vital trading center in Ribe on Denmark's west coast as early as 725 - around 70 years before the first raid on England.

The researchers say that long voyages were underway early in the 8th century AD, with the establishment of a marketplace in Ribe. What were to become history's Viking expeditions can be directly linked to the development of Ribe as a town and commercial center.

Using a unique biomolecular technique developed at York's BioArCh laboratory, the research team studied bone/antler objects and fragments of manufacturing waste from the archaeological remains of Ribe's old marketplace. Several samples - including some from very early levels - curiously turned out to be reindeer antler, which is not local to Denmark.

This means that the Vikings likely brought the reindeer antler from Norway, providing proof that Vikings visited Ribe, the oldest town in Scandinavia, well before their infamous pillaging.

In all, these findings show that the early Vikings from Norway had access to large quantities of reindeer antlers - vital to the manufacturing of hair combs - and sold them to craftworkers in Southern Scandinavia.

"This shows us that merchants and other travellers from the north were visiting Ribe long before the start of the Viking Age as we know it," lead author Dr. Steve Ashby said in a news release. "Even in its early stages, the town was attracting visitors from afar. We have long wondered whether Ribe, and places like it, kickstarted the Viking expansion in trade, travel and warfare, but it has been difficult to prove."

"Now for the first time, we can confidently say that people in the more remote parts of Scandinavia were visiting places like Ribe, presumably for commercial gain, from a very early stage," he added. "It's a vital contribution to the question of what caused the Viking Age: it looks as though towns and maritime trade may have been the engine driving all this change."

Researchers hope that this study puts Vikings in a better light, and shows that they had many peaceful encounters, as well as violent military voyages.

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