All language subtitles for Secrets Series 6 Part 2 Viking Murder Mystery 1080p

(dramatic music)

Narrator: It's one of history's

Most gruesome mass-murders.

Victor: They didn't show any
mercy or anything,

They just killed.

Narrator: A norse warrior tribe,

Ancestors to the vikings,

Massacred and left to
rot where they fell.

Aldsdotter: That both children
and adults were killed

And then they were just left.

Narrator: It was
a death so degrading,

The attackers
believed their souls

Were doomed to
purgatory for eternity.

Victor: It wasn't enough
just to kill him,

You wanted to destroy
their afterlife forever.

Narrator: Now, using the
very latest forensic technology,

A team of investigators
is trying to crack

This 1,500-year-old cold case.

Dufay: This is a massive site.

What were they defending
themselves against?

Narrator: Uncovering a
story of extreme brutality.

Aldsdotter: It's ruthless.

It was a planned assault,
and probably a surprise one.

Narrator: Of betrayal.

Dufay: This could actually
be an inside job.

Narrator: And of a
bloody struggle for power

That has haunted an
island for centuries.

Victor: You could almost compare
it with game of thrones.

This seems like the red wedding.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The relics
of the past hold secrets.

(stones crumbling)

Written in gold.

(metal clanking)

Stone.

And blood.

We can unlock them.

These are the secrets of
history's greatest treasures.

(dramatic music)

The island of oland.

Just off the coast of sweden,
on the edge of the baltic sea.

180 miles of
windswept coastline.

One of the outposts of fifth
century norse warriors.

400 years before their
better-known descendants,

These were the ancestors
of the vikings.

(waves crashing)
(gentle music)

Dufay: The presence of
cemeteries and graves,

But also artifacts and
the archeological evidence

Show that 15,000 or
even 20,000 people

Could have lived on the
island in the mid-iron age.

Narrator: The island is
home to 15 ancient ring forts

From around the fifth century.

Some in ruins, others
fully restored.

With mighty round walls
up to 12 feet thick,

They're unique to the island.

And for archeologist dr.
Ludvig papmehl-dufay,

They embody the violent cult
of ancient norse warriors.

Dufay: This kind of structure

Doesn't exist anywhere
else, actually.

(mysterious music)

The presence of all these
ring forts on the island

Give a clear association
to a warrior ideology.

The iron age in
scandinavia is a society

Where violence and
warfare is normalized.

(warriors shouting)
(swords clanking)

Narrator: But one ring fort,

Known as sandby
borg, stands out.

According to centuries
-old local folklore,

It's an evil place
where bad things happen.

Dufay: Many people have told
stories about how they have

Been told as kids not
to go to sandby borg.

We've been constantly
told by people

In the surrounding areas that,

"oh, my grandmother
always told me

"this is a dangerous place."

Some have even used
the word haunted place.

(wind blowing)

Narrator: For the locals,
sandby borg was a no-go area,

A site tainted by
chilling ghostly tales.

But nothing could have
prepared the archeologists

For what they would find here.

Evidence of a 1,500-year-old
norse power struggle

That culminated in
a bloody massacre.

A gruesome testimony that
the vikings' ancestors

Were every bit as blood-thirsty
and ruthless as they were.

Dufay: We haven't seen
such a massacre

In historical times since,

So it's a major event that
was totally forgotten.

(dramatic music)

(gentle music)

Narrator: It's a
mystery that began in 2011,

When an excavation at
sandby borg quickly,

And unexpectedly,
turned sinister,

As archeologists began
to uncover human remains.

(ominous music)

(tool scraping)

Victor: We had three trenches,
and in the first one,

We found a human tooth.

In the second one we
found a human jaw.

Then we started to
think, what is this?

Then in the third trench
we found a pair of feet

And we realized that
we had a whole body.

Narrator: In just
three small trenches,

The team had found the
remains of three people.

They suspected this
wasn't just a chance find,

And that more bodies were
hidden elsewhere on the site.

So, they called in a very
special forensic investigator.

(woman whistles)
(dog panting)

(compelling music)

German shepherd, fabel,

Is the world's first
ever archeology dog.

Working with his
trainer, sophie vallulv,

He specializes in sniffing
out ancient human remains.

Vallulv: When we arrive at site,
I let him run free.

We use gps.

By doing this we can see exactly
where he's been searching.

When he finds the
smell of human remains,

He lies down or
indicates, as we call it.

He then gets his reward,
which is a green ball.

(gentle music)

Narrator: Fabel's reaction
to the sandby borg site

Caught even the most seasoned
archeologists by surprise.

Vallulv: At first, he was
overwhelmed by the smell.

The rest of the
team were skeptic

Because he was just
running around,

Indicating pretty
much everywhere.

But when we then got
the chance to excavate,

I think it definitely won
them over pretty quickly.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Fabel had located
remains all over the site.

In total, the archeologists
uncovered at least 26 bodies.

They had discovered a
village of the dead.

Dufay: We find dead
people everywhere.

This is something real,
this happened here.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: The sheer number
of human remains was alarming.

But even worse
was how they died.

As the team examined
the remains in the lab,

A startling pattern
quickly emerged.

Victor: This is from a
young teenager.

And parts of the neck
pieces have been cut in two.

Narrator: For chief
archeologist dr. Helena victor,

The bodies all showed
signs of brutal violence,

Sharp blows from swords or axes.

Victor: This is the skull
of a young man.

He was killed by a
cutting wound to his head.

If I put this together, you
can actually see the cut.

And the cut is from above,

So we think that someone
was holding him down.

So this was a
murder, an execution.

(ominous music)

Narrator: The bodies
had one thing in common.

They had all been
brutally murdered.

Dufay: We could clearly see that
this is a violent event.

Even though 1,500
years have passed,

You get this strange feeling

Of being the first
on a crime scene.

(dramatic music)

Victor: You can almost compare
it with game of thrones.

This seems like the red wedding.

Narrator: Dozens of
people, all viciously killed.

All discovered inside
a fortified camp.

To piece together what
happened 1,500 years ago

At sandby borg, the team would
need to use cutting-edge,

Modern forensic analysis.

It would reveal a
level of brutality,

The likes of which
the archeologists

Had never seen before.

A systematic, cold
-blooded massacre.

(dramatic music)

For centuries,
locals have believed

The site of sandby borg,

On the swedish island
of oland, was haunted.

A place of horrors.

Now, an investigation
is revealing the truth

Behind the legend.

A fifth century site of mass
death with at least 26 bodies

All bearing the scars
of horrific violence.

But what could
explain such carnage?

The extreme brutality suggests

This could have been
the scene of a battle.

As this was a time of
deep-rooted rivalry

Among warrior clans,

And norse society was
wracked by ruthless warfare.

But the victims' bones
tell a different story.

(woman speaking
foreign language)

Clara alfsdotter is the
team's lead osteologist.

Aldsdotter: I've never excavated
anything like sandby borg.

We see a lot of sharp force,

Which you would
expect in a battle,

But the injuries we've
identified so far,

Several of them are towards
the back of the body

And to the sides.

So, we think that this
is more like an assault,

An attack on people that
weren't ready to fight.

(somber music)

Narrator: The wounds
are almost exclusively

On the victims' backs and sides.

None show signs of
self-defense or fighting back.

And if this was the
scene of a battle,

Experts would expect to find
only men of fighting age.

(ominous music)

(children laughing)

Instead, they've discovered
not only the remains of men,

But of women
and children.

Victor: They have been killing
all ages.

The smallest one is a
baby that is around 1 1/2

To three months old, and the
oldest person is around 60.

Narrator: Experts
believe this wasn't a group

Of fallen soldiers, but the
scene of a ruthless ambush.

But there is something
strikingly odd

About how the
victims were found.

None were buried.

Many were spread-eagled, with
arms and legs sprawled out.

The position could
give the impression

They were killed elsewhere
and dragged here.

But other clues suggest they
were left where they fell.

It's a puzzle the
swedish archeologists

Had never been
faced with before.

Aldsdotter:
Archeological remains

Are almost always
found buried.

That's different than when they
are left over-ground.

And we lack the knowledge of
over-ground decomposition.

Narrator: To
crack the mystery,

Alfsdotter has traveled
over 5,000 miles

To a cutting-edge facility
at texas state university.

One that investigates
what happens

To the human body after death.

It's known in the
trade as a body farm.

Dr. Danny wescott and
his team use donations

Of real human cadavers.

Wescott: We are interested in
the processes of decomposition

And then anything
else that can happen

With the body after death.

When you're looking at
an archeological site,

You're seeing a snapshot
of some point in time.

The research that can be done
here can give you an idea

Of how you actually
got that snapshot.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: Alfsdotter is
observing body donations

Left to decompose in
varying conditions.

Aldsdotter: I'm out here
every second day

Looking at how the
body decomposes

And how the bones move in
different sized open spaces.

Narrator: Alfsdotter
is carefully observing

One movement in particular.

What westcott and his team
refer to as the bloat.

Wescott: The first thing that
happens to you when you die

Is that bacteria multiply,

Causing the internal
organs to decompose.

And one of the things
that's produced is gas.

And so this gas causes bloating.

Narrator: Evidence
suggests that the bloat

Naturally pushes the
bones to spread out.

It's a phenomemon clearly
seen in the bodies

In texas left to
decompose out in the open.

Aldsdotter: Even though this
body in front of us

Was placed with limbs extended,

They sort of contract
a bit during bloat.

In sandby borg we
actually have one skeleton

Very similar to what the bloated
skeletons look like here.

Narrator: It's
a startling match.

Several skeletons in sandby borg

Have exactly the same shape as
the bloated bodies in texas.

Aldsdotter: There was
a discussion

Whether that was a result

Of someone being dragged or
arms held back or something,

But coming out here and looking
at what actually happens,

It is quite likely that
it's just the result

Of the actual
decomposition process.

Narrator: For alfsdotter,
this can only mean one thing.

The victims at sandby borg
decomposed where they died.

Close examination of
their arm and leg joints

Backs up this theory.

They show no signs of
stress from being moved.

Aldsdotter: All the joints are
still very neatly preserved.

We don't see any manipulation
of the remains after death.

(ominous music)

Narrator: The evidence
couldn't be more damning.

The victims were left to
rot, exactly where they fell.

Aldsdotter: It seems that these
people were taken unawares,

Just killed and that they
were just left behind.

(wind blowing)

(gentle music)

Narrator: In just one
building on the site,

Archeologists unearthed the
remains of seven young men.

Dr. Ludvig papmehl-dufay
wants to get a sense

Of what that brutal scene
would have looked like.

At eketorp, a ring fort on oland

That has been completely
reconstructed,

He and his students
reenact where

And how the bodies in
that house were found.

Dufay: The layout of this house
is very much similar,

They are sort of standardized.

This is about 10 meters long.

And the houses at sandby
borg are 12 or 13,

So this is a bit smaller, but
otherwise it's very similar.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: Ludwig's students

Take the exact position
of each victim.

Dufay: Feet just right
inside the door,

You can bend your knees a
little bit more like that.

Narrator: To help visualize
the scene of the massacre.

Dufay: You can have your
face over here.

And then thomas will
illustrate a body

That was lying on his back here.

There was actually another body

Lying with feet on
top of this body.

When you excavate bodies,
that's gruesome enough,

But when you see it like this,
it's a sort of living house.

It makes it really
awful, actually.

But we're not making this up.

You can almost hear
the sounds and panic.

(people screaming)

(fire crackling)

Narrator: Ludvig believes
this cold-blooded murder

Of men, women, and children
wasn't a random attack.

It was pre-meditated.

The killers planned
to catch their victims

Completely off guard
by attacking at night.

Dufay: We haven't seen any
evidence of day clothes,

That could mean that parts
of the clothing had been
removed,

For example, belts.

Narrator: Most victims
were found indoors,

Suggesting they were gathering
at the end of the day,

Perhaps for an evening meal.

Dufay: The fact there were
several people

Inside the same house

At one time could mean
that they were feasting.

We found the bones from
eight slaughtered lambs.

It's a meat prepared for eating.

Narrator: The killers
meant to wipe out

The sandby borg community
quickly and efficiently.

Aldsdotter: It's ruthless.

The aim seems to have been
to just kill the inhabitants

As quickly as possible.

(people screaming)

Victor: They didn't show any
mercy or anything,

They just killed.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The team is faced

With a 1,500-year-old cold case.

The means of the
crime seems clear.

A brutal attack with
savage weaponry.

But now they need to establish
the two other golden elements

Of homicide investigation,
motive and opportunity.

(dramatic music)

Swedish archeologists
are trying to solve

A 1,500-year-old murder mystery.

At the ancient ring
fort of sandby borg,

Dozens of pre-viking
warriors were brutally killed

And left to rot where they fell.

The death toll is shocking.

But what could have
provoked the perpetrators

To wipe out so many people?

One theory is this
was not a military attack,

But a robbery.

(gentle music)

But the team suspects
a different story.

Because it wasn't just
the victims' bodies

That were left behind,

But exquisite hoards of
gold and fine jewelry.

Dr. Helena victor
has been studying

The norse valuables
found at the site.

The most precious of which
are gilded silver brooches

With intricate mythical designs.

Victor: All of the brooches are
unique and some of them include

Parts of what we think are old
norse saga sort of mythology.

Narrator: The late fifth
century style of these brooches

Has led experts to date the
massacre to around 480 a.D.

Each one of these prized pieces

Would have been the sacred
keepsake of the ruling family

Of a local tribe, passed on
from generation to generation.

Victor: These brooches were worn

By high-born petty
queens possibly,

And they were made to be seen.

It's like a crown.

Everyone knew your status
when you were wearing this.

Narrator: This makes
the number of brooches

Found particularly astonishing.

In total, the team
has uncovered seven.

Victor: We have never found
this many in one place,

Usually find one.

It was mind-boggling.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: But
what could explain

So many brooches in one place?

For dr. Helena victor,

It suggests the highest
-ranking members

Of a number of tribes
may have come together

At sandby borg for what
would be a fateful gathering.

Victor: Maybe they were meeting
to form an alliance

Or negotiate for peace.

Maybe they were there
to celebrate a wedding.

We don't really know,

But we do know that they
probably never left,

Since they left all
their jewelry behind.

And this is not the kind
of stuff you forget.

Narrator: For
the archeologists,

The presence of so many
riches at the murder scene

Suggests the violent
attack at sandby borg

Can't have been motivated
by the lure of treasure.

Dufay: If you think this is a
plundering act, for example,

If you attack a
ring fort to plunder it,

You wouldn't expect to find

Extremely exclusive
jewelry lying around.

How come they didn't
take these valuables?

Narrator: And precious
jewelry wasn't the only thing

Left behind by the killers.

The team also found the
bones of sheep, dogs,

And other animals.

Victor: We find animals that
had been starving

And have curled up
in a corner and died.

Dufay: If you want to
plunder a site,

Animals are valuables, as well.

But they have just been
left there to starve.

(somber music)

Narrator: Even
the ring fort itself

Would have been invaluable
to anyone seizing it.

Sat on the very edge
of the baltic sea,

It could have controlled
valuable trade routes

For hundreds of miles.

(water sloshing)

But there is no
evidence that anyone

Ever lived here
after the massacre.

Dufay: They actually left the
ring fort unoccupied.

The ring fort is
a huge investment.

Why don't you take it over?

It's clear to us that this
is not a robbery killing.

So, there must be
something else.

(ominous music)
(wind blowing)

Narrator: But if the
motive behind the mass murder

At sandby borg wasn't military
or a robbery, what was it?

The team believes
this could be the scene

Of a hate crime.

The evidence lies in
how the victims' bodies

Were treated after death.

From their research in texas,

They've established the dead

Were left to rot
exactly where they fell.

It's unlike any
post-mortem ritual

They've ever seen
in norse tradition.

(birds chirping)

Lindholm hoje, in
northern denmark,

Is a settlement and grave site.

Established around the time
of the sandby borg massacre,

It was used until
the viking era.

Norbach: Up here we have
graves from 400 a.D.

And downhill we have
graves from 1000 a.D.

And actually, it's
the same society,

The same community
burying their dead here.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Dr. Lars
christian norbach

Has spent much of his
career piecing together

The sacred burial rites
of ancient norse warriors,

Who believed that one's
existence didn't end with death,

But continued beyond
into the afterlife.

During the fifth century,
the time of the massacre,

The dead were usually cremated.

(birds squawking)

Norbach: The burial
process, of course,

You start with the
dead body of a person,

And you make a cremation fire.

(fire crackling)

Narrator: There would
also be grave goods,

Belongings the deceased
used in daily life,

They would now take with
them into the afterlife.

Norbach: Typical items found in
graves here would be a knife,

A loom, a bowl, a
snapshot of everyday life.

Narrator: The ashes were
then buried under an arrangement

Of stones made to
commemorate the deceased.

Norbach: Stone settings
represent different

Symbols of belief.

For instance, the
ship-shaped stone setting

Would symbolize the ship as
you use it in your daily life,

But also the ship as a carrier

From this world
to the afterlife.

Narrator: A proper burial,
with cremation, grave goods,

And a stone setting, gave
the deceased a good death.

One that guaranteed
passage to the afterlife.

(ominous music)

But the dead at sandby borg

Were given none
of these rituals.

Victor: Oh, these people got
a really bad death.

Leaving the bodies behind

Without getting the
proper rituals

To be able to get to the other
side, it was a big disgrace.

And you destroyed their
afterlife forever.

Narrator: Dozens of bodies
all struck with lethal force,

Purposefully denied
passage to the afterlife.

For the archeologists, it
all suggests the atrocity

At sandby borg was an act of
extreme hatred or revenge.

And the most damning evidence

Was found in the remains
of one man in particular.

Victor: He was found in a
very special house,

And he's the only one in this
house, and he's an older man.

We think that he may have
been one of the chiefs

Or maybe the chief, the
boss of sandby borg.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: Like
the other victims,

This chief was
left where he died.

But his remains then fell
prey to local animals.

Victor: His head is
obviously missing.

We think that a blow
to his head killed him.

That animals have been
in here scavenging.

And when they scavenge
they take parts of the body

And take them somewhere else.

Narrator: It
appears the man fell

Into a burning fire
after being slaughtered.

(fire crackling)

But it's what happened in the
moments before he was killed

That reveals the full
hatred behind his murder.

Victor: The jaw was the only
think we could actually find

From his skull, and
inside that jaw,

Someone has put
four sheep teeth.

You don't normally
find sheep teeth

Inside the mouth of someone.

Narrator: Sheep's teeth,
forced into the mouth

Of the chief of sandby borg.

The team knew of a similar rite

That was practiced across
europe at the time,

Where coins were placed in
the mouth of the deceased

To pay for their
journey to eternity.

Victor: To make sure that you
get to the other side,

You can pay the ferry man.

We find a lot of valuables
in the face area of bodies,

Like a coin, or a piece
of silver, or something,

That you can use to pay
to get to the other side.

(ominous music)

Narrator: But
forcing sheep's teeth

Into the chief's mouth
was a mystifying anomaly.

The team suspects
it was to make sure

The exact opposite would occur.

Victor: By putting sheep teeth
in the mouth, it's a negative,

It assures that the dead person
can't get to the other side.

Narrator: Perhaps it
was an absolute guarantee

He would linger in
purgatory forever.

(fire crackling)

Victor: It wasn't enough
just to kill him.

You wanted to make sure

That he would never
get to the other side.

And that's the greatest
humiliation you could do,

To everyone, to give
them eternal trauma.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The team
now believe the killers

Thought their victims didn't
deserve to reach the afterlife.

And that leaving
them where they fell

Was a way of ensuring they
would have a bad death.

But what could these
wealthy victims have done

To ignite such fury in
this ruthless attack?

Further clues found at the site

Now suggest a
shocking new theory.

These fifth century norse
warriors had collaborated

With a ruthless empire intent
on dominating the world.

(dramatic music)

The violence inflicted

On the late fifth
century norse community

At sandby borg has
shocked archeologists.

Whatever happened here
wasn't a simple land grab

Or a vicious case of plundering

The vikings would later
become famous for.

(men shouting)

No spoils of war were taken.

Gold, precious brooches, even
livestock were left behind.

No one seized the fort.

And no one buried the dead.

So what could have prompted
such a barbaric attack?

A major clue may
hold the answer.

Among the finds in and
around sandby borg was gold.

(coins clattering)

Roman gold.

Victor: This gold coin is
actually from the roman empire.

And you can actually read on it,

Because they have latin letters.

So, we can read
which emperor it is.

Valentine iii.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Valentinian iii
ruled in the mid-fifth century.

During a period of
deep political turmoil

For the western roman empire

Struggling to fend off
persisting invasions.

(men shouting)

Jarrett: It's a troubled
time for the empire

With a series of
militarized groups

Moving in across the
empire's frontiers.

There's a lot of movement
going on in this period.

Narrator: This type of
coin was called a solidus.

It was a high-value tender

Mostly used to pay
members of the roman army.

Jarrett: Solidi are the famous
coin, the prestige coin,

4 1/2 grams of 90%
plus pure gold,

Used to pay most
directly soldiers.

Narrator: Over 300
solidi were found dotted

Over the island of oland,

Many of which were
around sandby borg.

But the island is
hundreds of miles

Beyond the edge of
the roman empire.

So how did the coins get there?

Could the victims of the
massacre have plundered them?

Or could they have once been
soldiers of fortune themselves?

There is one crucial
piece of evidence

Suggesting the dead at sandby
borg were skilled warriors.

A very special piece of
weaponry was found at the site.

An arrowhead.

(gentle music)

As none of the dead show
signs of having been killed

By arrows, it seems this
didn't belong to the killers,

But to one of the victims.

Dufay: It was found in the
street at sandby borg.

It has a really pointy end here,

And then this square section.

Narrator: Many
arrows from the period

Found in scandinavia were
used for hunting animals.

But the arrow discovered at
sandby borg is different.

Dr. Ludvig papmehl
-dufay suspects

This one was a piece of
deadly roman weaponry.

Dufay: This is an arrow used by
a professional warrior

Who had been taking
part in roman armies.

(dramatic music)
(fire crackling)

Narrator: Ludwig believes
it was specially designed

To penetrate armor, thanks to
technology that originated,

Not in scandinavia, but in rome.

(people chattering)

To prove his theory, he needs
to test the arrow's power.

Can it puncture the
most impenetrable armor

Of the fifth century?

(metal clanking)

Chain mail, an intricate
mesh of small metal rings

Only vulnerable to the most
piercing of killing weapons.

(people shouting)
(metal clanking)

Dufay: The other types of
arrowheads that we have found

At sandby borg that you
commonly find in this period

Would be too wide to
penetrate the chain mail.

And the idea with
this small experiment

Is to try if this really
pierces the chain mail.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: It's
the ultimate test.

If the arrowhead pierces
the foolproof armor,

It's evidence some
warriors from sandby borg

Fought alongside the romans.

Dufay: So,
here's our victim.

Narrator: The target,
over 20 pounds of pig meat.

Dufay: There we go.

That's actually really heavy.

Cross them and
tie them together.

Now we see if we can dress him.

Narrator: The
pig meat and skin

Are used to replicate
human flesh.

Dufay: I think that will do.

That's the body, and then
we have the clothing.

And then the armor.

You think you can hit it?

Archer: No problem.

Dufay: Let's see.

(birds squawking)

Narrator: Is the
arrowhead powerful enough

To perforate such
heavy-duty armor

And deliver a fatal
blow to the wearer?

(suspenseful music)

(arrow thudding)

(chain mail tinging)

Dufay: Oh, this is nasty.

Archer: Yeah, really.

Dufay: It's stuck, actually.

Archer: I feel sorry for the guy
who would be inside here.

Dufay: Yeah, you can
see, there's a hole there.

So, it definitely
went through there.

(ominous music)

Narrator: The chain mail
is no match for the arrowhead,

Which has pierced
the woven metal,

And the flesh it was
designed to protect.

Dufay: I think this arrowhead
is actually a killer.

If you hit a target
with this one,

No matter if he's wearing a
chain mail or not, he will die.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: This
arrowhead was lethal

In the hands of a norse warrior.

It's further evidence the
warriors at sandby borg

Were guns-for-hire who
had earned precious gold

By fighting for rome.

Victor: They probably got them

By going down to the
roman empire,

Getting them as payment
for being legionnaires.

They were probably known as
strong and fierce warriors.

They could fight and they
didn't have any alliances.

Mostly interested in
a good story and gold.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: Not only were
solidi received as payment,

Some were pierced,
suggesting they were hung

Around the neck with pride.

Jarrett: Carrying one of
these things around

Would be almost like a campaign
medal, some kind of badge,

I guess, of having
participated in those events.

(ominous music)

Narrator: The western
roman empire finally succumbed

To its enemies in 476 a.D.,

Just a few years before
the sandby borg massacre

Is believed to have occurred.

Did norse mercenaries
return home from the war

With their riches, only
to be seen as a threat?

And fall victim to
a brutal massacre?

Victor: There were a lot of
warriors around and sandby borg

Was very rich, powerful,
and that became a problem.

Someone saw that the
elimination of this ring fort

Seemed like a good solution.

(dramatic music)

(fire crackling)
(people shouting)

Narrator: The riches and
status the sandby borg tribe

Earned from working for
rome may have contributed

To the motive for the massacre,

With jealousy and resentment

From their enemies leading
to cold-blooded murder.

But one question remains.

This fort was specially
designed to keep people out,

So how did the killers get in?

(dramatic music)

For centuries, the ring fort

Of sandby borg laid undisturbed.

A forbidden place in
the eyes of locals

Who believed it to be haunted.

A home to evil.

The site lived up to its
reputation when experts found

Bludgeoned bodies, all
brutally ambushed and murdered.

The dead, among them wealthy
mercenaries who had fought

For rome, were left to
rot without a burial.

For a norse warrior, it
was the ultimate bad death.

Victor: We can actually see
how people were killed

Where they fell.

Nothing has been removed,
everything is there,

It's a riddle.

(mysterious music)

Narrator: The discovery
of seven luxury brooches

Suggests the highest
echelons of norse society,

Possibly the heads
of different tribes,

Were gathered together.

For anyone seeking vengeance,

It was the perfect
opportunity to attack.

But the mighty
fortress of sandby borg

Was built for defense.

So how did the murderers
actually get in?

Dufay: It's a very
strong fortification

With just a few gates.

Makes you wonder how did the
perpetrators get into the site.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: To crack the mystery,

Dr. Ludvig papmehl-dufay

Has created a 3d
blueprint of sandby borg

At the time of the attack.

Measuring 6,000 square yards,

It was bigger than
a football field

And boasted vantage points to
spot enemies from far away.

Dufay: What it does say is that
this is a massive site,

With a high wall, it's quite
impressive looking from afar.

If the enemy would
come from the sea

You would see it from
a very far distance,

So that makes it, I
guess, even more strange.

(mysterious music)

What were they defending
themselves against?

Narrator: This
impenetrable fort

Gives the impression its
dwellers had many enemies.

But surprisingly, the
team found no evidence

Of any assault on the fortress.

Dufay: If they would take
this by force,

You would probably imagine
to find signs of attack.

We have done quite extensive
metal detector surveys

And we actually did
excavations here, as well,

And there's no traces at
all of an attack there.

Narrator: For ludvig, there
can be only one explanation.

And it could finally reveal

The identity of
the perpetrators.

Dufay: It rather looks
like this was done

By someone already
inside or being let in.

So, this could actually
be an inside job.

(water sloshing)

Narrator: The victims must
have known the murderers.

And either the killers had
accomplices on the inside,

Or they were welcomed
in unsuspectingly.

Could they have been close
neighbors on a vendetta?

Victor: Everyone knew everyone
else on the island.

It's not that big.

They could have been allies

But then the power of
greed started to grow.

Dufay: Was it like an
internal struggle?

Maybe there's another
elite group on the island

Deciding that the sandby borg
people should be wiped off.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The fact
the bodies were denied

A traditional norse burial
backs up this theory.

Were they deliberately left
to rot where they fell,

Not just as a guarantee they
wouldn't reach the afterlife,

But as a warning to others
never to repeat their crimes,

Or face the same fate?

Victor: It must have been really
distressing, traumatic even,

Because this is so much
out of the social norm,

To know that they were
still lying there.

Narrator: It seems
the perpetrators forbid

Other islanders from
accessing the site,

So they couldn't bury the
dead, even if they wanted to.

And so while the other
forts on the island of oland

Continued to be used, sandby
borg became a moment of horror,

Frozen in time.

Victor: It was a great
trauma for everyone

Because no one was
allowed to come here

For a very long time.

Bodies were just
decomposing in the houses,

And the walls in the houses

Also started to fall
down all over the bodies.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: If the
attack took place

During a gathering of elite
heads of local tribes,

Were there traitors among them?

Were sandby borg's
wealthy mercenaries

Seen as a threat
by their neighbors

Killed and left as a
cautionary tale to others

In an ultimate fight for
control of the island?

Dufay: You get the impression
that the perpetrators

Were using the massacre to
make a statement of power.

Narrator: Eventually,
the descendants

Of these surviving norse
tribes would become

The viking raiders
of the middle ages.

(men shouting)

Victor: The people who did this
probably won this internal war,

Or this power struggle.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Silenced
for centuries,

Sandby borg has long been cursed

By the mystery of its
inhabitants' bloody demise.

The chance discovery
of bodies and jewels

Has brought the ancient
site back into focus.

But the discoveries
may be just the beginning.

Only a fraction of the site
has been excavated so far.

And experts believe
the grim discovery

Of around 30 bodies is
the tip of the iceberg.

Possibly hundreds more victims

Are still waiting to be found.

Victor: We have only excavated
less than 10%,

But we already have found
human remains all over.

And there's still a big
mystery, we have a murder,

We have a massacre, and
we want to know more.

Narrator: The
team has discovered

That the legend of the
haunted fort of sandby borg

Is more than just a folk tale.

The legend is real.

A modern memory of a
1,500-year-old mass slaughter

That has lingered
as centuries passed,

The fort crumbled and
even their descendents,

The feared vikings,
faded into history.