BBC:
Researchers in Sweden have found Arabic characters woven into burial costumes from Viking boat graves. The discovery raises new questions about the influence of Islam in Scandinavia, writes journalist Tharik Hussain.
They were kept in storage for more than 100 years, dismissed as typical examples of Viking Age funeral clothes.
But a new investigation into the garments - found in 9th and 10th Century graves - has thrown up groundbreaking insights into contact between the Viking and Muslim worlds.
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Vikings were the Klingons of the era and loved a good fight. It was probably some sort of a war trophy symbolism, like look what we did to these fockers kinda thing.
That's what I thought. Probably a gift or war loot.
AO jaan, there is a recent article in The Guardian and the Swedish university site (? Uppsala I believe ?) that I think explains the opinions of the researchers better. Apparently, there is "genetic" evidence from a Viking burial site that 1 or 2 buried individuals are believed to be from Iran. There was contact around 1000 AD or so between Iran and the Vikings that were in Russia at the time (? I seem to recall via the Caspian Sea ?), and coins have been discovered that demonstrate this. There was also a Muslim traveler named Ibn Fadlan who described his encounters with the Vikings in Russia.