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VIKINGS

DiCaprio to headline ‘Viking Braveheart’

Leonardo DiCaprio has been lined up to play Harald Hardrada, Norway's warrior king, in a Warner Brothers production pitched as the "Viking Braveheart".

DiCaprio to headline 'Viking Braveheart'
King Harald (wielding battleaxe and clad in red) - taken from 'The life of King Edward the Confessor'.
According to Hollywood industry website Deadline, Warner Brothers has signed a "blind script deal" with screenwriter Mark L Smith, who is developing the script as a vehicle for DiCaprio. 
 
DiCaprio, a history buff, has long been interested in headlining a Viking movie, and was once slated to star in a Mel Gibson Viking epic that was eventually never made. 
 
The Great Gatsby star will co-produce the film alongside Jennifer Davisson Killoran, his partner in production company Appian Way.
 
Harald Hardrada ruled Norway from 1046 until 1066, when he was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, bringing the last Viking invasion of Great Britain to an end. 
 

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VIKINGS

Danish treasure discovery could yield new knowledge of pre-Viking people

An amateur archeologist has found 22 gold objects with sixth century symbols that could yield new details about pre-Viking peoples in Denmark, the museum that will house the treasure said on Monday.

Danish treasure discovery could yield new knowledge of pre-Viking people
An unrelated illustration photo from an earlier discovery showing Saxon, Ottonian, Danish and Byzantine coins. STEFAN SAUER / DPA / AFP

Some of the objects have runic motifs and inscriptions which may refer to the rulers of the time, but also recall Norse mythology, Mads Ravn, director of research at the Vejle museums in western Denmark, told AFP.

“It is the symbols on the items that makes them unique, more than the quantity found,” according to Ravn, who said the treasure weighed about one kilogram.

One piece even refers to the Roman emperor Constantine from the early 4th century, said Ravn.

“The find consists of a lot of gold items, including a medallion the size of a saucer,” Ravn added.

According to initial examinations, the treasure could have been buried as an offering to the gods at a chaotic time when the climate in northern Europe dramatically turned colder after a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 536 sent ash clouds into the sky.

“They have many symbols, some of which have not been seen before, which will enable us to enlarge our knowledge of the people of this period,” he said.

The treasure was found near Jelling in southwestern Denmark, which historians say became a cradle for kings of the Viking-age which lasted between the 8th and 12th centuries.

The treasure will be on display at the museum in Vejle from February 2022

The amateur archeologist using a metal detector found the treasure about six months ago but the news was only disclosed now.

READ ALSO: DNA analysis reunites Viking relatives in Denmark after 1,000 years 

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