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BIGGEST VIKING TREASURE FOUND

Friday, January 19, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we discover a Viking burial ship, investigate a mysterious disappearance in the Arctic ... and learn who is responsible for coining new words.

Sheathed in iron and leather, Viking reenactors wear their grim game faces.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID GUTTENFELDER/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

When you think of Vikings, you think of portrayals of macho, muscular men, such as the reenactors shown above. But the greatest Viking burial ship ever found, filled with treasure, belonged to two women.

Who were they? What the heck is a burial ship? And what was it doing under farmland, far from a body of water?

HERE’S THE STORY

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Nils Strindberg’s haunting photograph of the wreckage from Andrée's balloon

BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

They tried to ride a balloon to the North Pole (Above, the Arctic crash-landing.)

Your detox might do more harm than good to your body

Why your dog helps you relax more than your friends do

Before the tux: When men's fashion was an even more elaborate affair

This was the largest primate to ever exist

The unique pirate history of Claddagh rings

Britain’s first Black queen? The real story of Queen Charlotte

Searching for Planet Nine?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Dolly Parton’s music is inspired by the easygoing charm of the Smokies and her creativity is channeled through her Eastern Tennessee roots. She’s shown here in a 2008 publicity photo.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GILLIAN LAUB

It's Dolly Parton's birthday! To celebrate, we reached into our archive for an exclusive interview with the one-of-a-kind singer in which she shares her love of the Smoky Mountains and all things that serve as inspiration.

“The Smokies have a heart of their own. It’s the way the water flows, the way it sounds, and the way it feels when you get in it," Parton tells Nat Geo. "...I think it’s just one of those special places that God put here for us to enjoy.”

Happy Birthday, Dolly.

SMOKY MOUNTAINS

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The mummified remains of a monk, dressed in clean ornamental robes and displayed at an altar

PHOTOGRAPH BY DR. KEN JEREMIAH

Beyond the bounds of life and death: Sokushinbutsu, also known as "living" or "instant" Buddhas (pictured above, the self-mummified remains of Shinnyokai-shōnin) are monks who have achieved a state of deep meditation through years (or more) of strict diets of only tree bark, pine cones, or even crystals. The practice is linked to a sect of esoteric Japanese Buddhism.

LAST GLIMPSE

Young women check their phones on a fire escape on East 138th in the South Bronx. Often young women, and in particular young women of color, are the greatest innovators in the area of linguistics.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID MAURICE SMITH, OCULI/REDUX

The most common language revolutionaries are not who you think. They’re not all men, not even primarily men. According to historians, women lead 90 percent of linguistic changes, and are usually linguistically ahead of men “by a full generation.” (Above, women checking their phones in the Bronx.)

WHO RULE THE WORD?

WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED: After running this story last week, we keep getting contributions from readers on people whose names match the work they do. They've found a science teacher named Darwin, a dentist named Fear, a gym teacher named Armstrong, and a Dr. Nurse. “In Russian we call these kind of names ‘говорящие фамилии’, which means that these names speak for themselves,” writes one reader, Irina. “They are used a lot in Russian literature.”

Today’s soundtrack: I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open, Dolly Parton

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, Nishita Naga, and David Beard. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup.

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