With a nightmarish gash to her skull and flowing Viking locks, you wouldn’t want to meet this warrior woman on a dark longship.
The face of the 10th-century fighter was reconstructed from a skeleton unearthed more than 100 years ago in Birka, Sweden.
Originally thought to be a man, the bones of this fearsome female inspired stand-up comic and paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi in her new show, Viking Warrior Women.
She said: “It’s quite clear that women were not asking their husbands for peace treaties – they were after blood.”
Ella examined three skeletons belonging to Birka warrior women across Norway and Sweden.
And the researcher was the first to notice the huge wound on the skull.
She said: “I couldn’t understand how this skull had been on display in a Norwegian museum but nobody had noticed the gash.”
The team used technology to build up a picture of what the warrior may have looked like – resulting in a green-eyed woman with blonde flowing hair.
Because of the position of her body and tools nearby, Ella believes she may have been a military commander.
The show uncovers the possibility that there may be remains of Viking women in Repton, Derbyshire, which was a base for the Vikings during a 13-year campaign.
Viking Warrior Women airs at 8pm tomorrow night on National Geographic.
