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French Normandy Serves World’s Best Oysters

Almost two third of French clams are caught along the Normandy coast. (AFP)
Almost two third of French clams are caught along the Normandy coast. (AFP)
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French Normandy Serves World’s Best Oysters

Almost two third of French clams are caught along the Normandy coast. (AFP)
Almost two third of French clams are caught along the Normandy coast. (AFP)

In a beautiful town overlooking the English Channel, you can spot piles of hundreds of oysters in all the shapes and colors you can imagine at the Port-en-Bessin-Huppain. As of early October, you can find oysters that are at least 11 cm long at the fish auction store, according to the German news agency.

The French town features one of the best oyster fishing ports. The auction store is found at the end of the port, but it’s open only for fishermen and merchants, with few exceptions such as "Le Gout du Large" (Taste of Sea), an oyster festival held annually at the Port-en-Bessin-Huppain since 2004, usually in November.

"There is no better place that deserves to host this festival more than the Port-en-Bessin-Huppain," said fisherman Jérôme Vicquelin who inherited his profession from his father and ancestors.

He is proud of the legacy and sees fishing as a passion not a profession.

Fishing is the best industry in this town. If you are fond of oysters, France is the world’s best places to catch it alongside Ireland and Scotland. Almost two third of French clams are caught along the Normandy coast.

Oysters are fished using dredgers which search on groundwater levels and collect oysters with a net. Fishing operations have been strictly controlled for years, but oyster lovers say oysters of the Seine River are the best in the Normandy.

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Danish Archaeologists Unearth 50 Viking Skeletons

Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
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Danish Archaeologists Unearth 50 Viking Skeletons

Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA

The excavation of a large Viking-era burial site in Denmark has unearthed 50 unusually well-preserved skeletons that archaeologists expect will help shed light on the lives of the Nordic people best known for their seafaring exploits in the Middle Ages.

The skeletons, discovered near Denmark's third-largest city Odense, were kept intact by high water levels and favorable soil conditions that prevented them from decomposing, according to Michael Borre Lundoe, the excavation leader from Museum Odense, Reuters reported.

"Normally when we excavate Viking graves, we'd be lucky if there were two teeth left in the grave besides the grave goods. But here we have the skeletons fully preserved," said Lundoe.

"The skeletons are so amazing. They are so well preserved. There are five fingers, five toes. And that opens up a whole new set of possibilities for discoveries," he said.

Rare artifacts such as knives, glass pearls and brooches dated between year 850 to 970 were also found at the excavation, which began six months ago.

Lundoe said the grave gifts indicate most of the people were part of a small community of farmers, although a woman of higher status was buried with a silver-ornamented knife and a piece of glass which was rare in the Viking Age.

Archaeologists took soil samples to search for pollen to determine which season the person was buried in and what textiles they wore.

An x-ray of a soil block from the site revealed an oval brooch, an iconic Viking Age jewelry piece associated with women's garments, covered with wood and human remains.

On the back of another brooch with period-specific ornaments, mineralized woven textile fragments provided evidence of the type of dress worn in the Viking Age, the archaeologists said.

Most of the skeletons have been removed from the graves and packed in cardboard boxes at the museum to dry out before the examination and final cleaning.